


Persona 5: Going the Distance

by Kupow



Series: Persona 5: Going the Distance AU [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Puns, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Depression, Dramedy, F/M, Fanservice, Firefly References, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, Historical References, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Literary References & Allusions, Love Triangles, Mutually Unrequited, Original Character(s), Persona 3 References, Persona 4 References, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smut, Star Trek References, Star Wars References, Suicide Attempt, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Training Camp, Tropes, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-10-05 23:01:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 44
Words: 472,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kupow/pseuds/Kupow
Summary: ‘Are you simply going to watch? He is going to die if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake? Aren’t you a fighter? A warrior?’The voice asked, half concern and half mockery.“It wasn’t a mistake! I would do it again!Every fucking time, I’d do it again! Let people suffer, so I can have an easy life? So I can just keep my head down and hope that no one has to sacrifice me to get the same? If that’s what fighting fair gets me… then, it’s time to fight dirty!”Laughter. Delighted, dark. It was exhilarating to hear, even as the excruciating pain of the chains on his ‘other self’ breaking apart made him scream.Yet another novelization of P5 - AU/HeadCanon in which the protagonist was a high school level boxer and son of a loving family before sticking his nose in where it didn't belong. Expect canon-divergence, and convenient changes to battle sequences for flair/author sanity.





	1. Standing Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A ‘standing eight’ count rule refers to the referee’s right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that he feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting, the referee will observe the fighter and decide if he is fit to continue. In theory, this rule is in place to avoid unnecessary loss of life, as the ability to stand up is not necessarily indicative of an absence of brain injury. However, this does give a referee the ability to hand a TKO to either fighter, regardless of their physical state or willingness to fight._

February 28th, 2016

“Come _ on _ , kid! Wake up! What the hell are you waiting for?!” The grey-haired man in the blue corner slammed his fists into the canvas mat, yelling at his fighter. Coach Shinji Takeda was a fairly quiet man by most accounts - except in the ring. Then he was animated, using his voice and gestures to squeeze every ounce of fight out of his fighter. Rarely _ this _ animated, though. His beard practically bristled; his sharp features looked like they could cut diamond with how hard he was glaring. It was this particular fighter that always drove him to the end of his wits - simultaneously his most beloved and most irritating ‘son’.

In the ring, his fighter slipped in and out of range gracefully, utilizing an out-boxer counter-punching style. He looked good doing it, too - even the sweat flying off his jet-black curls seemed to dance through the air as he fought, and his silver eyes reflected the lights of the flashing cameras at this inter-high championship bout, looking like stars. He was frustrating his opponent - and his coach.

“God _ damnit _, Amamiya! You missed your fucking chance!”

The referee shot a quick glance at Takeda, before turning his eyes back to the match. As he circled closer to the blue corner, he snapped at the coach. “That’s another warning, Takeda! Language! This is a high school match, not one of your pros!”

“Oh, for the love of... FINE. Amamiya-_san _ , can you _ please _ stop dancing around and _ punch _ this guy so we can _ go home _?!”

Ren slipped another punch, returning a quick jab to the other boy’s face, spraying sweat and saliva as his head snapped back from the impact. He stumbled back, his gloved hand instinctively going to his headgear, and then grimacing as he awaited the combination that never came.

Instead, Ren kept his distance at the center of the ring, that infuriating little smirk on his face. That had been the story for the first two rounds - Ren had largely evaded or parried most of his opponent’s attacks, but hadn’t stepped into any of the openings he created. It was like he was stalling, or trying to win on points. Completely out of his pattern. Usually Ren aimed for a knockout.

The bell rang. The two fighters went back to their corners; Ren sat down on the stool, sipping and spitting out some water. His eyes wandered to the crowd.

Takeda grabbed him by his headgear. “KID.” His voice dropped to a whisper as the referee gave him yet another warning look. “Where the _ fuck _ do you think you’re looking? This guy is getting wise to your timing. You need to _ finish _ this! This is a championship bout! Why are you playing around?!”

Ren made a non-committal sound, looking over the coach’s shoulder, and into the crowd. He craned his neck.

A flick to his ear from his other corner ‘man’ brought him back. A petite middle-school girl with long, violet hair glared at him. She wore a t-shirt emblazoned with ‘TAKEDA BOXING GYM’ on it. Although they were technically affiliated with Ren’s high school, he was essentially a Takeda fighter. Ren proudly called the Takeda Boxing Gym his second home, after all.

“Ouch! Kana-chan, you’re not supposed to flick your fighter--”

“Renpai, stop looking for _ her _, and kick that guy’s ass! What the hell! He’s eventually going to figure out your timing and knock you the hell out! Why are you wasting dad’s time?!” Kaname yelled, even more in his face than her father.

Ren scoffed. “Oh, please, like I’d be stalling to wait for a girl--”

“Ren-kun!” A clear voice called, from the spectator area.

Ren stood, immediately turning and leaning over the ropes. He grinned more than a little stupidly as he waved a gloved hand at the girl there - she was slender, beautiful. Long, dark hair, pale skin, and wearing a simple white dress that seemed to glow in the arena light. The classic _ yamato nadeshiko _. “Rei-chan! You made it!”

She smiled, waving back. “Of course!”

Takeda rolled his eyes. He ground a knuckle into the top of Ren’s head as his boxer winced. “You are a fucking _ moron _. I swear to God, if you try throwing a haymaker to impress her and get countered, I’m going to stuff you into a heavy bag and give you to my pros…”

“Yessir.” Ren said, faux-serious. Complete with a salute with his gloved hand. Takeda rolled his eyes yet again.

The referee called. “Seconds out!”

With a cocky grin, Ren opened his mouth for the mouthguard, shoved in none-too-gently by Kaname. The girl rolled her eyes, looking remarkably like her father.

“I don’t know how I ever had a crush on you, idiot.” Kaname said. “You don’t study, you have a boxing glove for a brain, and you can be such a _ sucker _.”

Ren winked at Kaname. She averted her eyes; the destructive power of the expression was still fairly high.

The bell rang.

Ren’s opponent, a burly highschooler named Jiro, charged him at the bell. He was _ pissed_. Ren had played with him for the last two rounds, and now, before the third and final, had taken the time to flirt with the pretty girl in the stands. He wasn’t being taken seriously by this scrawny playboy. He was going to mow him down.

He stopped suddenly, as if his feet were glued to the floor.

It was as if he was suddenly facing a very different fighter - a different human being. The grey eyes seemed more like flat steel than starry silver, now. Gone was the little smirk. Instead, Ren faced him down, the only motion being the slight motion of his left hand, the shift of his body as he constantly adjusted his position to face down Jiro. It was ominous; the ring seemed much, much smaller. Previously, Ren had moved with precision and textbook boxing technique; nearly mechanical.

Now, he was organic; dangerous. Like a cobra preparing to strike. Openings in Ren’s stance appeared and reappeared, tantalizing, but promising pain.

Jiro thought back to his practice - Amamiya was known to look for his chopping right, but he tended to deliver it as a counter-punch. If Jiro didn’t over-commit, he’d be able to figure out what was going on. He’d have time to figure out where this _ sakki _ came from.

He was wrong. Ren shot forward suddenly, taking the initiative for the first time in the match. Jabs lanced forward, slamming into Jiro’s guard with a sharpness and hand-speed that simply weren’t there before.

Swearing, Jiro adjusted his guard quickly as Ren moved around him, occasionally driving jabs through into Jiro’s headgear. It was a storm of leather as Ren attacked, the pace of the match changing in the blink of an eye. Earlier, it seemed like he had been trying to win by points, by decision. Now, he was going in for the kill.

But there was a pattern, Jiro saw - the jabs were all coming from Ren’s shoulder height, just a few inches taller than Jiro’s - he was leaving a gap low and to Jiro’s right, perfect for a body punch, if he could find the timing.

No one could punch forever. He just had to weather the storm.

Jiro winced, as he covered his head. _ ‘Fuck… where the hell is this power coming from?! He’s slowing down, though. Any second…’ _

The punches slowed again. Ren panted through pursed lips.

Jiro drove forward, slipping a jab and driving his right fist toward Ren’s body. This would cause him to collapse down, open him up to a shot to the jaw. Or, if he was lucky, it might even drop him to the mat. Ren was taller, but certainly hadn’t grown into his frame yet.

The sharp smack of a punch connecting was followed by the sound of a body striking the canvas.

The crowd went berserk as they saw Ren Amamiya raised his right fist, the same one that had delivered a vicious chopping right into his opponent's head. The referee immediately crossed his arms, signalling the end of the match before tending to Jiro, on his hands and knees, staring blankly at the floor.

Takeda shook his head, clapping Ren’s shoulder with a beefy hand. “You fucking moron.” He said, even as he grinned. “You just wanted to show that off to your girl, didn’t you?”

Ren grinned back. “Maybe a little. Got us another one for the trophy case though, didn’t I?”

Kaname rolled her eyes. “Whatever… ...You did look a _little_ cool, though.”

Ren looked over at Reiko, waving again; she cheered, happily, a pretty blush on her cheeks as the local students recognized Ren’s girlfriend and biggest supporter. They teased her good-naturedly.

Takeda flung a clean towel at Ren, catching the first year high-schooler in the face.

“Well, come on then. We have a party to get to, don’t we?”

>>>

“Kan~pai!”

“Kanpaaaai!”

Inoue and Kenji Amamiya, Ren’s parents, raised their glasses while laughing boisterously. Inoue was already red-faced from her first drink; Kenji’s loud guffaws were just his usual self. The pair were hosting the celebration at their business - a successful seaside inn in Kamakura. It was the quiet season, with few guests - and so, they celebrated in the dining room. The Takedas, the Amamiyas, Reiko, and oddly enough, the few guests that were staying at the inn during this quieter time.

Though, once one got to know the Amamiyas, they quickly understood - if you were staying at their inn, you were quickly treated like family. Ren laughed as well, furtively squeezing Reiko’s hand at his right while watching Kaname, on his left.

Kaname was on her feet, mimicking parts of the fight for the guests.

“And then, this idiot, right here…” She gestured at Ren. “Screwed around for two rounds, before his girlfriend shows up. And then… jab… to a chopping right!”

Instead of delivering the chopping right, Kaname’s hand shot down, smacking Ren on the back of the head with an open palm.

“Ow! Damnit, Kana-chan! What the hell?!”

“You nearly blew it!" Kaname scoffed. "Stalling for a girl..."

Coach nodded. “Mm. You’re lucky that’s all you’re getting, punk -- Ow!”

Hana Takeda, Coach’s wife, sat beside him, poised with her own open hand. Coach rubbed the back of his own head.

“Dear, don’t you think it’s a little impolite to call your favorite boxer a _ punk _ in his parents’ home?”

Kenji’s booming laugh filled the air. Ren resembled him quite a bit, with the quick smile and lively eyes. But, Kenji was much, much louder. “Maybe a little! Doesn’t make him wrong, though! Seriously, kid… Though, for Reiko-chan, I can understand.”

Reiko blushed, her eyes downcast.

Kaname rolled her eyes; wincing as Ren caught her, elbowing her in the side lightly. Kaname had really never quite approved of Reiko, only recently becoming a little less vocal about it.

Inoue glanced at the clock on the wall. “Ah… Ren, shouldn’t you be getting Reiko-chan home? It’s getting late.”

Kenji blinked. “It’s not that la--urk!”

Inoue smiled pleasantly, fingers pinching Kenji’s forearm. “See you later, sweetie.” She said, to Reiko.

Grinning, Ren stood up, leading Reiko out and grabbing their coats. It was chilly out; winter’s grasp only starting to slacken a little. Ren paused, leaving his elbow out from the side of his body.

With a little smile, Reiko took his arm, holding onto him as they walked.

“It really isn’t that late, you know.” Reiko said, smiling knowingly.

“...Heh. Yeah, it isn’t. No better wingman in Kamakura than Mamamiya.” Ren replied, shrugging.

“I really wish you’d stop calling her that.” Reiko said, grimacing. “Your penchant for bad puns is one of the things I don’t really like about you.”

“At least when we left, I didn’t say, “Mama-miya, here I go again.”

“God, you’re weird. Why am I dating you again?” Reiko asked, the corner of her lips quirking slightly.

“Handsome. Witty. Champion face-puncher. Recreational jazz pianist…”

“Boxing glove for a brain. Cocky. Average student, never studies. Doesn’t practice enough piano.” Reiko giggled.

Ren turned his head, lowering his voice. “Good in the sack.”

Reiko turned bright red. She punched his arm.

“Ouch! Nice right…” Ren said, laughing.

“You’re _ literally _ the worst.”

“Figuratively. There’s no way you could know I’m the worst, without having met everyone on the planet.”

“It’s a reasonable, logical conclusion that you’re the worst.”

“Fair enough. Just like how I’m pretty sure everyone loves you…”

Reiko frowned.

“...Rei-chan?”

“Kaname-chan still doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“She’ll come around.” Ren said, shrugging. “She gets protective of me, still, even if she doesn’t have a crush on me anymore.”

“She still calls you Renpai…” Reiko murmured, referring to the nickname she had given him when Kaname had been a first year middle school student, and he was on the way out as a third year. That year, Kaname had pursued her senpai - Renpai - relentlessly, and the jiujitsu practitioner/boxer had scared the shit out of every other girl in the school. Only after a careful talk, did she let Ren go _ romantically _. But, as Ren said, he still had his own little ball of hate acting as his bodyguard and vetting every girl he had any interest in.

“...Are you jealous?”

Reiko pouted, averting her eyes as they came to a stop outside her house. She perked up at Ren’s quiet exhale.

“...Ren-kun?” She let out her own little quiet gasp as Ren gently pushed her into the shadows of a nearby hedge, out of sight of her family’s home, as he kissed her. The softness and heat made her think of the last time they were truly alone together. She was his first real girlfriend; he was her first real boyfriend. Earlier in the year they became each other's _first_, as well.

She looked up at him in the dark, her hand caressing his smooth face. She didn’t need light to know how he’d look, right now. The heat of his face, the way his breathing shifted subtly. She felt him turn his face to kiss her hand.

“...Sorry, Rei-chan. Just there, you looked _ really _ pretty…”

She smiled. “I don’t always look pretty?” She teased.

“I wish your parents weren’t home.” He said, the implication clear.

She blushed, again. “...Er… ...well, they’re going away on business again, next week…”

Ren grinned, stupidly, in the way that teenage boys do at any mention of _ getting some_. Until Reiko smacked him.

“_I__f _ you study. You’d better not get left back a year. I’m _ not _ going to be known as the girl dating the idiot still in first year. You know, if you applied yourself, you’d have nothing to worry about. So study!”

“Yes’m.”

Reiko rolled her eyes. Standing on her toes, she kissed him again before disappearing into her house.

Ren, grinning again, started the walk home. Life was good. Inter-high champion, beautiful girlfriend, loving family. He was _ probably _ going to pass his exams.

He rounded the corner, frowning as he saw an unusual car on the street. In his part of town, while the people weren’t poor, no one could afford a Bentley. It bore a sharp contrast to the well-cared for but humble street - Ren would always recall first of all, the car. The sharp lines, the shining metal. As if it was the only real object on a night that years later, still felt like the start of some bizarre fantasy.

“Just get in the fucking car, whore!”

“No! Stop it, let go!”

The unmistakable sound of a slap and frightened whimper followed, by the slurred speech of the first voice.

“Get. In.”

Without hesitation, Ren moved forward. “Hey!”

The man looked up, red-faced. “Mind your own god damned business.”

The woman, pretty, face tear-stained, blouse ripped, looked at Ren. Desperate. “Please! Help me!”

The man just laughed, as if she had told the world’s best joke. He shoved her, her slender body slamming into the car with another yelp.

The drunken man lurched toward Ren, stabbing a finger at him.

“Do you know who I am? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll forget this!”

“I know you’re a drunkard trying to force himself on a woman.” Ren replied. He immediately sized the man up; a function of his chosen sport. _ ‘At least ten kilos on me. Slow, though, and drunk.’ _

The man cocked his fist back. Ren slipped the sloppy right-straight from the older man, simply stepping around him to get between him and the woman.

The man caught his toe on the sidewalk, sending him tumbling into the pavement.

“Augh! Fuck! You little _ shit _!”

Ren ignored him, helping the woman up. He saw two police officers round the corner. Her eyes grew wild with fear as she caught sight of them.

“You… you need to leave!” She pleaded, looking at Ren. “Right now!”

“Miss, we’ll be fine. The police are here, they’ll..”

“Hey! Kid! What happened -- oh. Sir! You’re bleeding…”

_ ‘...Sir? Oh, _ ** _fuck_ ** _ .’ _Ren really had no idea who the man was, but he as he watched the officers deferentially help him up, a cold feeling washed over his spine - the same feeling he got when he was about to eat a counter punch from one of the pros that boxed out of Coach’s gym.

“This _ thug _attacked me!”

The police officers looked up at Ren, recognizing him - it was a relatively small town, after all, and Ren was known locally as an up and coming boxer, with parents prominent in the community.

“...Him? Sir, are you--”

“Yes, him! You!” He stabbed a finger at the woman. “Tell them.”

She was silent for awhile. She drew herself up, at first, until the man smirked at her. She deflated, looking defeated. The cold feeling Ren had turned into ice in his veins as she spoke.

“...This boy attacked him, for no reason. I begged for him to stop, but…”

It felt like the floor had fallen out from under him, as the police cuffed him. It turned out, life was good enough to make Ren feel the fall that much more acutely.

>>>

April 9th, 2016

Ren and his parents made their way down to the train station’s platform. It was hard for the boxer to not tug at the collar of his new school uniform - it felt alien, tight in the wrong places. He knew it had nothing to do with the actual fit; if anything, the blazer and sweater were a little more forgiving than his old _ gakuran _ . But, it just felt _ wrong _. It didn’t help that the pants were gaudy, tartan-checkered monstrosities. He supposed it was appropriate, though - he was going to school in a city of millions, and they had to make the students stick out, somehow. Just like making prisoners wear orange jumpsuits.

He breathed a sigh as they came to a halt, waiting for the train. He put his bag down. He bit his lip, hearing a suppressed sniffle from his mother. When he turned to them, they both affected smiles.

“H-hey, kid, it’s only an hour away, right? We’ll come visit you, any time you want.” Kenji said, grabbing Ren by his shoulder and affectionately shaking him.

Inoue nodded. “And we’ll call you every Saturday.”

Ren just nodded. For his parents, he too, affected a smile. They were expressions that just a short time ago, would have seemed entirely alien to him and his parents. The three of them had lived simply, their hearts there for each other to see.

But now, there was so much pain. Pain that they all knew was there, but carefully tucked away, buried under fake little smiles. Because, not one of them would give anyone the satisfaction of seeing it. Ren glanced down the platform; a man in a suit watched them impassively, from a distance. At least, they hadn’t paraded him down here in cuffs.

The arrest, the hearing, and sentencing had all been a circus. Everyone in town knew; Shido had made sure of it. Everyone seemed eager to talk about it and gossip. The fallen boxing star of Kamakura.

When his parents had attempted to hire Ren a lawyer, every single one they contacted had been otherwise engaged or unable to take their case. When they had contacted his uncle Sousuke in another prefecture, he had at least started to look into it - only to call the Amamiya family back within a day to warn them. Every lawyer in the area had been warned to _ not _ take the case and convinced either through bribes or blackmail. The idealists who had balked at this and started to look into the case themselves had through other, entirely unrelated ways, lost their licenses to practice.

Ren had been the one to tell his parents and uncle to stop trying - it was clear that the Masayoshi Shido was going to take no prisoners in his quest to bury Ren. Ren had also told the Takedas to keep their distance, which they did, reluctantly. The only saving grace was that Shido seemed to be satisfied with ruining Ren’s life - as far as the teen knew, he wasn’t going after his parents or their business.

At first, Ren had been enraged. He was a boxer, after all - used to facing people down, used to literally having a fighting chance. This time, though - the outcome had been determined before he had even set foot in the ring.

And so now, he was being railroaded out of town, to some prep school in Tokyo. He remembered the sleazy smile on the face of his public ‘defender’ vividly.

_ “We should be grateful that Shido-san’s happy to let this go at probation in Tokyo.” _

Grateful. Ren had quietly seethed, clenching his fists under the table. And even that, he was careful not to show anyone. Much had been made of his boxing background, insinuations that he was a violent, ill-tempered thug. A ticking time bomb, who had to be defused for the public good. Before it was too late.

And in Kamakura, the story had become widespread at his school. His friends had vanished into the ether; those that knew his few secrets twisted them to feed the rumours about him. There were even rumors floating around that he had been an abusive boyfriend - it was something that another boxer, jealous of Ren and Reiko, had said in the past. Something that Reiko herself had easily dismissed. This time, though, it was different.

Reiko had ghosted on him.

It was probably that, that had made Ren stop being angry; he just became _ numb _. Memory of her, her soft kisses, her warmth, intersected with the empty feeling of unreturned texts, of calls that were cut off at the first ring. Just enough time for her to see the caller ID before declining.

_ ‘Rei-chan… I love you.’ _

_ ‘Hi hi! This is Reiko Takahase, please leave a message!’ _

_ ‘Don’t say it, Ren… ...just show me. And I’ll show you, too…’ _

_ ‘Hi hi! This is Reiko Takahase, please leave a message!’ _

The train pulled up.

“Kaa-chan. Oya-ji. _Ittekimasu_.”

Kenji nodded, giving Ren one last shake - before Inoue burst into tears, hugging them both.

“Make sure you eat well. Oh, and wear these.” Inoue sniffled, reaching up to slide a pair of glasses onto Ren’s face. “It makes you look studious. Unassuming.”

“No one would hit a guy with glasses, huh?” Ren said, a wan smile on his face. A face that seemed much older beyond his years, now. “Thanks, Kaa-chan. Tell the Takedas I’ll miss them, too.”

Kenji nodded. “Just you keep up with your training. Or Shinji will have your head…” Kenji said, biting his lip in the same manner Ren had, moments earlier.

“I will. ...And, Oya-ji.. ...No, Otou-san. I’m so--”

“If you say you’re sorry one more time, _ I’ll _ have your head.” Kenji said, firmly. “We’re your family. All five of us. We always will be.”

Ren smiled again - that same smile, that never quite reached his eyes. He stepped on the train.

Inoue cried bitterly, watching her only son disappear into the distance. Kenji quietly stroked her shoulders, feeling powerless, as he had the last month, watching his family come apart. He wondered, as they stood long after the train was beyond sight, if he should have fought harder to keep his son in town. It hadn’t been a _ requirement _ for him to go to Tokyo - but, the other option would have been to stay here, under the eyes of all the people who had abandoned him. And in a school for ‘project’ children…

At least in Tokyo, he’d be going to a prep school - he could play the role of unassuming transfer student, away from gossip, and prying eyes…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this for a long time. It started off as just a single shot that I wrote to get back into writing, where Ann and the protagonist think back to how they met each other (the encounter in the rain). From there, it just... grew. In various forms, writes and re-writes. I wasn't sure if I wanted to bother posting it or doing anything with it; I got what I needed from this by writing it, and there's already so many great stories here that I wasn't sure what I was really contributing.
> 
> On top of that, when everyone's writing based on the same rough skeleton/story, I became really worried about committing some form of plagiarism.
> 
> But, after having so much fun reading everyone else's work (particularly during ShuAnn week), I felt like if I could give someone even a minute of enjoyment, then I'd be paying back all the authors who put their time in.
> 
> So - why boxing? Mostly because I like the sport, and I was a Hajime no Ippo fan for a long time before Persona 5. I also liked the idea of a protagonist who even before his run-in with Shido, was familiar with violence, but worked hard to not be violent. A thin distinction, but an important one to martial artists/people who do combative sports. You're trying to defeat your opponent, but you're not trying to harm them, or at least, not permanently, and certainly within a predetermined set of rules. It's something that the Ren in this story will struggle with.
> 
> Edit - 2020/06/08 - Funny, going back to look at this. I abused commas way too much.


	2. The Marquess of Queensberry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensbury Rules, are a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. The Queensbury Rules are what eventually evolved into the rules of modern-day boxing. The term ‘Queensbury Rules’ is now sometimes used in popular culture to refer to a sense of fair play and sportsmanship in not just boxing, but many sports._

April 10, 2016

The day, he supposed, went about as well as could be expected. First, upon his arrival he had somehow hallucinated blue flame and strange laughter. Apparently, he was now depressed enough to have hallucinations.

Then, both Principal Kobayakawa and Kawakami-sensei had spoken about him to Sojiro Sakura like he wasn’t even there. Like he wasn’t a human being standing in front of them. And honestly, he probably wasn’t, to them - he was seen as a spare part, something rejected by society. Just trash to be swept out of the way until it could be properly disposed of. At least, he had thought at the time, this would be the worst of it. The next day, he was going to slip in quietly and just try to get through the year unnoticed.

It was supposed to be a clean start. Finally a fair shot in a month of fixed fights.

Supposed to be, anyway.

Ren stared down at his phone, where he had just deleted that ‘red eye’ app again - what was that, anyway? - and had checked the Shujin website for any details he might have needed to know prior to school tomorrow. Someone had posted, anonymously, of course, to the school’s forum that a _ criminal transfer student _ named _ Ren Amamiya _ was going to be joining them for the school year. So much for a fair shot.

The tall, slim boy just tilted his head, looking down at the smooth screen. What struck him the most, oddly, was his lack of reaction. That was strange. Being surprised at his own lack of feeling. How could he surprise himself? He just continued to feel numb - like he was watching the perspective of a first person video game, rather than living his life. He didn’t cry; he didn’t rage against the situation. He didn’t feel self-pity.

It was just easier not to feel, is what he told himself.

Putting his phone down, he stared down at his hands, as if surprised they were there. 

Idly, he turned them to look at his palms, and then the knuckles. He thought back to the last time he had wrapped them up, put boxing gloves on and indulged in what he loved best – a good practice with his coach. Coach Takeda hadn’t abandoned him; far from it. He had advised his closest ‘son’ to hang up the gloves for his own sake – to avoid even more questions, more challenges. He had warned him to stay fit for when the year was over. But he wanted Ren to avoid adults who would assume he was another ‘boxing delinquent’ and to avoid actual delinquents challenging him to fights to prove something. Even in modern day Japan, boxing evoked a certain image that would only be accentuated by his criminal record.

He turned his hands back over, looking at his palms again, his slender fingers. No more piano, either. Certainly wasn’t one here in the attic. And after growing up on the stand-up piano at his parents' inn, any of the electronic keyboards within his price range just didn't have the right sound to them. There was the one at school, obviously. But that was a moot point. Really, he didn’t want to do anything to stick out. That meant doing anything other than joining the infamous ‘go home club’ was out of the question.

Before even arriving in Tokyo, he decided that letting go of boxing and piano for the year were probably for the best. But now, it didn’t matter that he was trying not to stick out. His ‘reputation’ followed him, with both his principal and homeroom teacher letting him know exactly where he stood. And then there was the forum post about him. Everyone knew his name; all eyes would be on him. This year was going to be a complete waste.

It should have hurt more. But instead, he just felt numb. Just another punch he had to take. An intrusive thought, humming around the edges of his mind, pushed its way into the forefront as he looked at his hands.

_ ‘Would it still hurt if I had a cut there? Maybe if I…’ _

He stood up, shaking the thought out of his head as he grabbed the mop out of the bucket he had filled earlier. He had to keep busy. Busy was _ safe _. He scrubbed away at the floor, keeping his hands moving. He wondered if he’d be able to sleep that night; he wondered if he’d work up the guts to call home to his parents. They loved him, they believed him - but he could never forget the pain in their eyes, their faces. It made Ren wonder if it would be better for them if he just disappeared. After all, that was what Reiko had done to him in her heart. 

Ren kept cleaning. At the end of the day, he knew that this year was either going to be very long or incredibly short, depending on how long he could stay numb to the feelings that ate away at his young heart.

April 11, 2016

Ren trudged away from the Aoyama-Itchome Station, toward Shujin Academy. He felt like he was being watched - probably because on the train, he had already heard students wearing the Shujin uniform gossiping about the news he had read on the school’s forum last night. Even though it had been mercifully taken down by a school administrator, the damage had been done.

_ ‘Did you hear?!’ _

_ ‘Oh my god, yeah, we’re getting a transfer student who’s a convict…’ _

_ ‘Wow, Shujin’s really gone to shit…’ _

_ ‘I heard he beat the shit out of someone in his old town…’ _

So much for unassuming, studious transfer student.

He paused, taking his phone out on feeling the vibration. He frowned; the red icon was back, now filling his screen. _ ‘What the hell? Am I going to have to just wipe this thing? Not like I have any numbers to save, anymore…’ _

It was true. He had his parents’ numbers memorized, and the Coach’s also.

Rain drops started to dot the screen of his smartphone. Sighing, he deleted the app (again) and ducked under a nearby awning to escape, just as the downpour truly started. It was an easy decision for him to wait out the worst of it - not like anyone would expect him, the delinquent convict, to be on time anyhow.

He stared out at the street as the downpour continued, the white noise of the water hitting the ground and the sheets of falling rain obscuring both his hearing and vision. It was nice, in a way. For a brief moment, he felt like he was alone in the world, in this three metre wide awning. Alone, safe, away from prying eyes. He glanced back down at his phone, deleting the red icon again.

Someone brushed by him to escape the rain as well.

Ren looked up, feeling some mild irritation - so much for his sanctuary. It was another Shujin student, like himself. But, wearing red tights and a hoody. Apparently the prep school had fairly loose enforcement of the uniform code. Or, the girl simply didn’t care.

In happier days, Ren might have admired the length and shape of her legs. Right now, though, he wanted to just fade back into his procrastination, a few minutes before walking into a school where _ everyone _ thought they knew exactly who, and what, he was.

Squaring his shoulders, he figured he’d step into the rain, find another place to be alone.

She took her hood off. Long blond pigtails tumbled down, a seemingly impossible amount of hair tucked away into the sweater’s recesses.

Ren stared blankly, frozen in place. All thoughts of leaving disappeared. Sure, she was pretty - an understatement, even. With the grey sky and rain, and the sheets of rain around them dulling everything, the juxtaposition was incredible. In a way, it was that contrast that made him stare. Emotion, previously dulled, washed back over him: He became irrationally afraid that if he looked away, she would be gone.

>>>

Ann muttered to herself as she darted forward in the rain, pulling her hoody up over her head. The rain sucked, but at least this way, she wouldn’t have to deal with people recognizing her. With the whispers and pointing from the girls, the predatory grins and lecherous stares from the boys, and even some of the teachers. One teacher, in particular. The downpour started to accelerate. Swearing, she ducked under the only awning on the street beside another Shujin student.

Glancing quickly at his uniform, she could tell he was in second year like herself. She didn’t recognize him. Probably not in her class. Sighing, she pulled her hood off, shaking out her hair. She looked out at the rain, her mind helpfully providing a cheerful little chant for her to summarize the school year thus far.

_ ‘The rain sucks. School is torture. Everything is awful.’ _

She hoped the deluge would turn into an outright storm, give her some excuse to be absent today. Or, better yet, the district would flood and wash the cesspit they called a prep school out of her life.

She felt the familiar feeling of eyes burning a hole in the side of her head. Inwardly, she prepared a scathing remark and rude gesture, turning to the tall young man standing beside her.

>>>

Ren forgot, briefly, that it was rude to stare. Especially at pretty young girls on a morning commute in Tokyo. His mind flashed back immediately to all the stories of the crap that girls had to deal with on the commute to school in the metropolis. It crossed his mind that he should look away.

She turned to him, taking notice of him. Too late, now.

_ ‘Oh. Shit.’ _

If he turned away suddenly now, he’d be like every other creep in the city who had been caught staring. He didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t ‘eye of the tiger’ right now - it was ‘dull stare of the dairy cow’. Should he keep staring? Look away suddenly like he had been caught in the act of mentally undressing her?

_ ‘DON’T THINK ABOUT UNDRESSING HER.’ _ A small corner of his mind then added, not-so-helpfully, ‘ _ ...right now.’ _

He kept staring. It didn’t make sense. Reiko was a stunner too. He was smoother than this.

_ ‘I’m going to ride this stare straight to hell. She’s beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. Do something. Say _ ** _anything_ ** _ . What is _ ** _wrong_ ** _ with me--” _

She _ smiled _ at him.

>>>

She paused, her now habitual venom on hold. She didn’t recognize him at all, and a guy who looked like him, she would have noticed before today. He was cute. Handsome, even. Oddly entrancing eyes, behind bookish glasses. A bit thin, though - drawn out, like he hadn’t eaten well or slept well in awhile. But best of all, an expression of bewilderment etched on his face, rather than lust. No sneer; no wandering eye that went up and down and back again, that made her feel like she had to shower. Instead, he was perfectly confused, like he had never seen a girl before. Like he was shocked she could exist.

It was oddly endearing. Befuddled and adorable. She found herself smiling a little, despite herself. She turned away, with a stifled chuckle.

_ ‘If he lost the glasses, I think he’d have half the girls in the school trying to drag him to the rooftop. Or behind the gym. Or a closet. The other half would leave letters or other things in his locker.’ _

She found herself feeling self-conscious. Was her hair frizzy from the rain? Did she put on her makeup properly on her rush out the door? She tried very hard not to bring her hands up to adjust her uniform, or smooth out her hair. She smiled a little again, eyeing him sidelong. He was now blushing, staring out at the rain awkwardly. Still standing there. Still cute, too.

Ann felt _ normal _ for once. It felt good, to worry about mundane things like how she looked to a boy, or how to start the first steps to the world’s oldest dance. She quietly tried to recall how to start a civil conversation with a fellow student that _ wasn’t _ Shiho.

>>>

That smile. That small smile quieted his mind, the self-recriminations turning into mild gibbering in the far recesses. She seemed amused by him rather than creeped out or annoyed. He may have heard a quiet giggle. Unbidden, a memory his father shared with him came to mind.

_ ‘I’m not a religious guy, kid. But let me tell you. When I met your mother, I felt the hand of God on my shoulder. It felt like he was telling me, don’t you _ ** _dare_ ** _ let this woman walk out of your life.’ _

Ren, for the first time in over a month, allowed himself to want something: her name.

A car pulled up, breaking the little world apart that the two had found themselves in. The window rolled down.

“Good morning. Do you want me to give you a ride to school? You’re gonna be late.” The teacher inside the car said, to Ann.

“Oh. Um… Sure. Thank you.” Ann said, heading to the car.

“...And you? Do you need a lift, too?” He asked. His lack of sincerity was clear to both Ann and Ren.

Ren blinked; the sudden turn of events left him unable to do much other than shake his head and wave awkwardly.

As the window rolled back up, Ren caught a change in the girl’s expression - her eyes caught Ren’s, and then flicked down, her brow furrowed. It reminded him of the night in Kamakura where everything changed; where that woman had called out to him for help. The girl had eyes that were empty and defeated. Trapped. It pained Ren, briefly, until the proverbial knife in his gut turned and he recalled in an instant the world of pain he had earned by putting his nose where it didn’t belong.

Before he could internally debate the merits of finding out more about the girl’s situation, rapidly approaching footsteps made him look up to see a boy wearing a Shujin uniform with dyed blonde hair. He moved with a bit of a limp, as if one of his legs was heavier than the other.

“Screw that pedo teacher! Fuck.”

“Pedo...teacher?” Ren said, frowning.

Noticing Ren for the first time, the boy approached Ren, glaring at him. “Eavesdrop much? Are you gonna rat me out to Kamoshida?”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “I was literally standing here first, and then you ran up and started talking to yourself. That’s hardly eavesdropping. And who’s Kamoshida?”

The boy frowned. “...Wait. You don’t know Kamoshida? That was the guy in the car. You go to Shujin, don’t you? You’re wearing the uniform…”

“Ah… I’m a transfer student.” Ren said, carefully.

Ryuji nodded; it seemed that was enough of an explanation. “Right… Second year, by your uniform, same as me. I’m Ryuji Sakamoto, by the way.”

“Ren. Ren Amamiya.” Ren said, relieved that at least one person hadn’t heard of him yet.

Ryuji nodded again, and then jerked his head in the direction of the car. “Come on. We should get moving, we’re gonna be late. I’ll fill you in on the shithole you’ve transferred to, including the ‘king of the castle’ there.”

As they walked, Ren frowned - it was as if the density of the air itself just changed. Shaking his head, he moved to catch up to Ryuji.

>>>

“And so that’s basically it.” Ryuji said. “The entire school basically exists to suck Kamoshida’s dick. Literally.”

Speaking with Ryuji was relaxing, in a weird way - like being with his boxing ‘family’ in Takeda’s gym. Perfectly crass in a way that was completely disarming. And so, Ren fell back into old habits. With a little wry smile, he spoke.

“Figuratively.”

“...What?”

“Figuratively. I mean, you don’t mean to say that when we get there, we’re gonna find lines of students and teachers on their knees, and--”

“Oh! Haha. Gross. Yeah. Figuratively…” Ryuji said, frowning. “...At least, I hope so.”

Ren put two and two together. “That girl, you mean…?”

Ryuji sighed. “S’what the rumor mill says. I can’t see it, though. I went to middle school with Takamaki, and she’s not the type to… ....what the _ hell _?”

Ren blinked, looking up at the ‘school’ - it was a gaudy looking castle, right in the middle of Tokyo. “...This is Shujin?”

“..N..no, man. But the school’s crest is on the gates…” Ryuji stammered. “I’ve missed some school because of an injury, but I don’t think they’d remodel _ this _ much.”

Ren looked over his shoulder. “This seems to be the right way, though. Maybe we should have a look around…?”

>>>

Once again, Ren learned the downside to sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Captured by ‘knights’, and then hauled into a prison. Ren could do nothing but watch, pinned to the wall by two of the masked knights. He numbly watched as Ryuji, the first person outside of his family to speak to him like a human being in the past month, get beaten. And then he was going to watch him die.

Somehow, even this didn’t surprise him anymore. It was absurd beyond surprise. He was going to watch someone get killed by a grown man wearing a cape and Speedo, and then he was going to die next.

If it weren’t for the fact that their deaths would be very real, he might have even laughed.

_ ‘And the moral of the story, kids, is to be good citizens that mind their own business. Or, a douchebag in a man-thong will order his burly guards to stab you with their swords. Wow. That was really phallic.’ _

“N...no… I don’t want to die!”

Ren closed his eyes. He found he couldn’t watch.

_ ‘This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be hope…’ _

Ren looked up at the voice, seeing something flicker in and out of his vision. A butterfly…? It was soothing, gentle... The voice calmed his despair even though the cold metal gauntlets still gripped his shoulders painfully.

Another voice - deeper and male this time, resonated through his mind. He hadn’t known before that velvet could have a _ sound _. Ren’s eyes flicked to the guards, to Kamoshida. The lack of reaction from them told him that this intercession was for Ren and Ren alone.

_ ‘Are you simply going to watch? He is going to die if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake? Aren’t you a fighter? A warrior?’ _The voice asked, half concern and half mockery.

Ren’s mind flashed back to that night. The night where he stuck his nose in. Of course it was a mistake. Because of that, he had spent the next month powerless and afraid. His family had been fractured. His life had been ruined - any chance at a good career and peaceful existence had been taken away. Reiko was gone. He hadn’t even been given the chance of a fair fight. His innocent faith in the system had given him nothing but a ticket out of town.

...But what would have happened, if Ren had done nothing? If he hadn’t stuck his nose in? That woman would have gotten in the car. He never would have seen her again. Maybe he would have gone on to a normal school life, gone on to more championships. Maybe gone pro. Maybe married Reiko. They would have had kids… Been happy. Maybe.

Almost certainly not, actually. Ren would have known. He would have known that some part of that life would have been purchased for the price of doing nothing, for watching impassively as a woman was beaten and dragged into a car. Probably to be raped and disposed of.

His emotions had started to thaw earlier, when he met Ann. Now, though, the flash of rage he felt lit his fighter’s heart. He spoke out loud, making the knights turn. Ryuji blinked, hearing a new note in the transfer student’s voice.

“It wasn’t a mistake! I would do it again! _ Every fucking time _, I’d do it again! Let people suffer, so I can have an easy life? So I can just keep my head down and hope that no one has to sacrifice me to get the same? If that’s what fighting fair gets me… then, it’s time to fight dirty!”

Laughter. Delighted, dark. It was exhilarating to hear, even as the excruciating pain of the chains on his ‘other self’ breaking apart made him scream.

“What? Can’t keep still, peasant? Then I’ll just finish _ you _, first. Guards!”

One of the knights punched him; Ren heard the impact, but felt nothing. His grin was manic, full of anticipation and a desire to _ hurt someone _that deserved it.

_ ‘Well said, Trickster. I feel your resolve. Vow to me. _

_ I am thou. _

_ Thou art I. _

_ Thou, who art willing to perform sacreligious acts for thine own justice _

_ Call upon my name, and release thy rage!’ _

“Finish him!”

One of the knights raised its blade - it was blown back, suddenly, by an unseen force.

“...Wh… no. A Persona-user? This _ pissant _?!”

Ren, his head bowed, looked up. He wore a white domino mask, reminiscent of a Victorian-era ball. The manic grin was gone. Instead, he _ smiled _. That same, cocksure smirk that had gone hidden for weeks since his arrest. He reached up - and with a scream of pain, rage, and exhilaration, ripped the mask from his face.

Blue flame flared out from Ren’s feet, covering him, burning away his bruises, his wounds, his clothes - and leaving an ankle-length tailcoat, high necked waistcoat, black pants, and red gloves. And, he was backed by a shadowy figure, a gentleman with fire for eyes, held aloft by dark wings that curled protectively toward the boy below him.

To Ryuji, Ren was unrecognizable. His silver eyes were intense, his back was straight, confident. He gave off an aura that was simultaneously commanding, but uncaring… If he had to put words to it…

_ ‘...It looks like he has no fucks left to give.’ _Ryuji thought.

“...Ar...Arsene?! Here!? Guards! Stop them!” Kamoshida screamed, turning tail and running. He hadn’t prepared for this - not in his sanctuary.

The knights advanced. Arsene, glowering, advanced - until Ren threw out his arm.

“They’re _ mine, _Arsene.”

_ ‘As you wish, Trickster.’ _The shadowy figure bowed his head deferentially, sweeping his arm out toward the knights as an invitation.

Ren was pissed. And it felt _ good _ . He clenched his fists, and cocked his wrists in a way that he somehow _ knew _ was just right.

The hidden blades on his forearms snapped forward, now situated just above the knuckles of his clenched fists. He fell into a familiar stance; his body turned slightly, left foot forward; left hand low, at the level of his chest. His right hand by his jaw. Some part of his old self recoiled at what he was about to do - but the rush of power and feeling of invincibility overrode it in an instant.

The first of the three knights charged forward at Ren.

He slipped the downward slash of the sword with ease, jumping as he grabbed onto the shield and using it to flip over the knight, spinning halfway. He landed behind his opponent, and then delivered punches he never would have in the ring - three blows in rapid succession, his left blade stabbing into the back of the neck twice, his right burying itself into where the kidney should have been. The knight crumpled to the ground before exploding into shadowy wisps.

Laughing, Ren spun away from the two swords that were coming from him, darting inside their range and finishing them with brutal efficiency, bladed fists stabbing into vital areas.

Arsene paused, and then performed a sweeping bow, as if applauding the bloody display before vanishing, the mask returning to Ren’s face.

Ryuji looked up at Ren. “...D...dude.”

Ren twitched his wrists; the blades retracted. “...Yeah. my thoughts exactly. How about we get the fuck out of here?”

>>>

Ren and Ryuji made their way down the same alleyway they had taken to end up in Kamoshida’s ‘castle’.

“Dude, are you sure? Doesn’t this take us back to where we got into that place?”

“I’m pretty sure.” Ren replied. “...Kind of sure. Actually, just an educated guess? I think we were in some kind of alternate world, or something… We were in our world, and then somehow crossed over when we tried to get to where we know Shujin is. So it follows that if we’re back in reality now, we should end up where we should have ended up the first time if we just stick to the same path.”

They rounded the corner, seeing instead a normal looking school.

Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.

Ren stretched out his arms, now feeling the tension finally bleed away. “Hey. How late are we, anyway--”

“You! You kids are _ this _ late?”

Ryuji and Ren looked up, seeing the social studies teacher, Ushimaru-sensei.

“Sakamoto. I should have known. And you… the new transfer… I’ve heard all about you. You’ve got some nerve, starting like this.”

Ren thought quickly.

“Sensei, our apologies. Sakamoto was showing me where the school was, but I distracted him and he took a fall down some stairs. I felt responsible, so I took him to a clinic to be checked out.”

Ushimaru rolled his eyes, stepping forward. “What utter bullshit.”

He grabbed Ryuji’s arm.

Ryuji cried out, yelping. And then he really did stumble back, falling down the two steps he had ascended. Hurriedly, Ren moved to help him. He rolled up Ryuji’s sleeve, revealing the huge bruise left from his beating in the Metaverse.

Ryuji stood slowly, holding his ribs. “Do ya believe me _ now? _”

Ushimaru’s eyes widened. “I… Er… Just get to class!”

Ren and Ryuji made their way past the teacher. The bottle blonde looked at Ren, raising an eyebrow. “You seem too straight laced to lie off the cuff like that.”

“Turns out I had to be treated like a criminal to learn how to be one.” Ren said, dryly.

“Oh… you’re _ that _transfer student.” Ryuji said. He caught Ren’s change in expression. “Don’t worry. I don’t really care about the stuff that gets said on that forum... In a way, that kind of makes us friends by default…”

As they reached the second floor, both of them recoiled, running into Kamoshida.

Ren immediately felt for his wrist blades, already familiar to him.

Kamoshida sneered. “Figures. The Track Traitor’s late.”

“You son of a bitch…” Ryuji growled, fists clenching.

Kamoshida looked surprised at the intensity of the response, for a moment. He seemingly had no recollection or awareness of what had transpired in the other world. He just smirked at Ryuji, and then looked at Ren. “And you… I recognize you…”

_ ‘Must be an alternate world. He has no idea who I am. I should deny it. Lay low, maybe.’ _ He thought back to Ann’s downcast expression. The way Kamoshida acted in the other world. His own circumstances. _ ‘...Fuck it. What the hell has being a good citizen ever gotten me?’ _

“Yessir. We met briefly when I watched you drive off with a teenage girl in your car.”

He met Kamoshida’s eyes with a flat, accusing stare. The two shared a long look, as enmity in reality formed to match the enmity in the other world.

“...right. You’re that transfer student. Perfect how the two trash students of Shujin end up together. Makes you easier to clean up.”

“Sounds like you know a lot about cleaning. Did you end up a gym teacher because you couldn’t make the cut as a garbage man?”

Ryuji’s eyes widened. His gaze snapped from Ren to Kamoshida and back as the teacher’s face turned red.

“Get. To. Class.”

“Yessir.” Ren said, as Kamoshida stalked away.

“...dude. I hate the guy more than anyone else, but that’s…”

“He was going to make my life miserable anyway. All these assholes are going to try. In for a penny, in for a pound.” Ren said, nonchalantly polishing his glasses.

“Right…” Ryuji said. He looked at Ren in fascination. From mild mannered to stupid recklessness and back. “Er, that’s your class, there. It’s the break right now though, so you should head to the office first. Here, let me show you the way.”

>>>

Of course, Kawakami didn’t really believe him, either. Not until Ryuji showed her the bruises. After his (probably) friend left, though, Ren had to listen as his homeroom teacher bemoaned _ her _ circumstances. How _ her _ life was going to hard from now on, and how _ she _ couldn’t catch a break.

“The students are already talking about you, you know. When I introduce you… Ugh. What a pain.”

“My sincere apologies, Kawakami-sensei.” Ren replied, with exaggerated politeness. Just enough to drive home the point that playing the victim wasn’t going to work particularly well with him.

She stiffened up, bristling slightly. “...I hope you study as well as you snark, Amamiya-kun. Let’s go.”

They stepped into the classroom.

“Everyone. This is our new transfer student from Kamakura, Ren Amamiya. He’s starting this afternoon because he wasn’t feeling well this morning.”

That was the agreed-upon lie. Kawakami didn’t want it to be widely known that her new troublemaker was already associating with the other troublemaker, even for good reasons.

Ren mumbled a polite greeting, as he headed to the only empty seat - located just behind a familiar face. As he passed Ann, he heard her speak, just loud enough for him.

“Lies…”

Ren paused, before sitting. _ ‘Seriously? She’s going to get on my case, too? Well, fine…’ _

“Good to see you again, Takamaki-san.” He said, simply, remembering her name from Ryuji.

She looked back at him, blinking - she hadn’t given him her name.

That was enough to re-start the buzz in the room.

“Did you hear that? They know each other…”

“No way. Is she banging a yakuza as well as a teacher? Man, no wonder normal guys don’t have a chance…”

“He looks way too quiet to be yakuza.”

“They all do! Haven’t you seen the movies? I bet one day, he’ll snap, and…”

Kawakami sighed. “Everyone. Take out your books.”

>>>

As Ren left the school, he turned to see Ryuji falling into step beside him.

“Hey, Amamiya…”

“Sakamoto.” Ren replied, automatically.

They walked in silence, before speaking almost simultaneously.

“So that totally happened, right?”

“So you remember all of that, right?”

They blinked - made eye contact. Laughed. Laughed not so much because it was ‘ha ha funny’, but more so, ‘thank God, I’m not crazy’.

“Oh… oh man. We almost got skewered by a perv in a Speedo…”

“Sakamoto… If you say it like that, it makes it sound like… haha... “

“Oh, fuck that man, that’s disgusting.”

The two had to stop walking, moving to the side of the sidewalk until the run of relieved giggles was over.

“Hey, Sakamoto…”

“Hm?”

“...I’m going to go back there, tomorrow.”

“W-wait, what?!”

Ren shook his head. “I have to believe it happened for a reason. After everything you told me, and what that place looked like… what if… what if there’s something there that’ll help, somehow? When we were escaping, it looked like there were other students in there… If they’re there, we have to do something.”

“I don’t know, man. You can fight in there. Me, I can’t--”

“Sakamoto, I didn’t say I wanted you to come with me. I can’t ask you to risk your life. I just thought you should know.” Ren said.

“Well, that’s fucking stupid. I’m coming with you, Ren.”

“Ren?” He raised an eyebrow.

Ryuji rubbed the nape his neck. “Er… if that’s okay. I figured, after what we’ve been through together, we’re pretty much friends.”

_ ‘...Just like that. Friends? After everything he’s heard about me? Then again, a near-death experience and being fellow outcasts would do that…’ _

“...Let’s meet on the school rooftop tomorrow, after class, Ryuji.”

>>>

Ren laid awake on his bed in the late hours of the evening. Like many of the nights prior, he stared blankly at the ceiling. This time, though, he didn’t have to try to find things to think about other than his probation and the situation leading up to it. He didn’t have to think of ways to distract himself from the crushing emptiness, the guilt, the hurt. He didn’t have to avert his eyes from the rafters, where he could imagine looping rope, or a belt over the wood… All he had to do was think about what happened during the day.

_ ‘What the ever-loving fuck was that?!’ _

Kamoshida. The only proof he had that this wasn’t some sort of depression related psychosis was the fact that Sakamoto was involved, and the app on his phone. He wasn’t sure whether to be thankful for proof of being sane, or frightened that this was somehow reality.

Ren turned onto his side. What could he do about this, other than meet with Sakamoto tomorrow and see where this led? If he tried to ignore this, pretend like it never happened, what would it leave him with? A terrible life in a terrible school, where everyone was already convinced that he was a step away from showing up with a knife? He smiled, bitterly, allowing himself to feel some self-pity. He had nothing to lose. So at least that was decided. He’d return to that other place. If there was even an iota of a chance of improving someone else’s lot by doing so, then he’d do it.

And, there was the other reason. He looked at his hands, the feeling of the black blades on the back of his wrists, turning his already precise and hard punches into deadly strikes. It had felt _ incredible _ . It made him feel alive again. The feeling of letting loose, of wreaking havoc for ‘his justice’, as Arsene put it. Of feeling _ powerful _ again. He wasn’t sure if killing those _ things _was truly killing… but they cried out in pain, they spoke Japanese… It was only now, in the night, that Ren felt guilt. It wasn’t just the killing - it was how he had done it. He had punched, dodged, and parried with the form that Coach Takeda had instilled into him from his childhood, when he first started to box.

Coach had always taught him, from the start, that boxing was for _ sport _. Never for hurting others, never violence for the sake of violence.

Ren told himself it was self defense, but he couldn’t deny it. The feeling of his blades punching through armor, punishing the guards that had hurt him and Ryuji. It felt _ good_. And so, Ren felt guilt. And shame.

Sleep was clearly still some distance away. Some distraction was still needed, to avoid thinking. To avoid feeling.

Ren turned to his back again. He looked out the window, looking at the soft yellow glow of the nearby streetlight. He’d need to get a blackout curtain at some point, he noted. 

_ ‘Or a garbage bag…’ _ He thought sardonically. _ ‘Perfect for the contents of this room.’ _

He stared at the light. Golden, bright.

He thought of _ her _.

_ ‘Ann Takamaki…’ _

Through the evening, his thoughts had drifted back to her. He had spitefully implied that they knew each other, fully aware of what it would do to her already sketchy reputation. All because he had been sick of people assuming the worst of him, getting on his case. A more reasonable part of his young mind pointed out that the single word, ‘Lies’, didn’t mean she was out to get him.

He turned again. He should apologize. And then ask for her number. And a date.

Or something. He drifted off to sleep, hoping in vain to dream of the girl in the rain, as his soul started to show him instead, chains and the darkness of a damp cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren's Awakening.
> 
> Regarding Ren's weapons - I wanted to use something that showed Ren 'crossing the line'. For him, boxing was a source of joy, of achievement. It was never violence, and never something he considered a form of rebellion. The use of the hidden blades, particularly ones suited to be used with punch-like motions, is meant to signify that our boy has had _enough_. He's throwing away restraint, throwing away the years of training and rules that have been instilled in him. He's now using boxing with the intent of causing permanent and 'real' harm to those that are getting in his way.
> 
> As we'll see later on, Coach Takeda is a second father to Ren - by using his blades the way he is, he's effectively betraying him for the sake of his own revenge.
> 
> That, and the blades look really cool.


	3. Chief Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A boxer will generally have a team ringside to tend to him between rounds. First and foremost is the chief second, the coach or trainer in charge of the corner. Often, this will be the coach responsible for not only training the fighter in general, but preparing tactics for the specific fight. A good corner can mean the difference between victory, and ending up on the mat._

April 12th, 20xx 

Ren opened the attic door and headed downstairs into Leblanc, noting the smell of coffee and curry in the pot. He composed his face into placid neutrality, hiding the frown. He had woken up early, hoping to avoid Sojiro. The man clearly didn’t like him - or at least, he didn’t seem to have anything stopping him from throwing Ren’s ass onto the street if it came to that, as he was wont to remind him.

“Good morning.” Ren said, heading to the door.

“Mornin’. Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Sojiro said, gruffly. He jerked his head at the plate of curry and cup of coffee. “Eat.”

Ren blinked, surprised. He sat down, slowly. “Uh… thanks.”

“It’s part of your room and board. That’s all.” Sojiro replied, returning to his duties. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ren’s reaction as he had his first bite of his famous curry. He smiled slightly.

Ren finished his meal, cleaning his plate. “...The coffee really brings out the curry flavor. You use more cumin than most, don’t you?”

Sojiro raised his eyebrow. “...What kind of delinquent are you, again?”

“I did a lot of the cooking at my family’s inn.” Ren replied, shrugging. “...Anyway. I should go. I was late yesterday, after all.”

“Right.” Sojiro said. He then coughed. “You’d better keep your nose clean today. Or I’ll throw you out.”

Ren nodded. He got up, walking to the door. He paused.

Sojiro blinked, raising an eyebrow as Ren turned back, and asked, with a perfectly straight face.

“Hey. Sakura-san. If I don’t behave, what are you going to do again?”

“Throw you ou--...”

He trailed off, as Ren’s placid face devolved into a smirk.

Sojiro threw a rag at Ren. “Go on, get to school! Friggin’ brat…” As Ren left hurriedly, Sojiro shook his head, chuckling. “Damn… I might actually start to like that kid…”

>>>

Ren walked into class. He had gotten used to the stares, the hushed silence that fell whenever he walked into a new area.

Shrugging it off, he moved to his seat. He sat down, moving by Ann, who studiously ignored him.

He watched her, for a moment. He sighed inwardly. He _ had _ created a lot of trouble for her. Being associated with him was… problematic. Newfound power or not, he knew he was a pariah. The only reason it wasn’t bothering him was because he just had too much to _ do _… But not everyone had his escape of an alternate reality.

>>>

Ann watched Ren enter the room. She felt a mix of irritation and… something else, as he walked in. He had caused some trouble for her yesterday - after his simple greeting to her, the rumor mill had gone into overdrive, even leading to more drunken texts from Kamoshida that evening demanding to know how she was involved with ‘the trash’, and how he wouldn’t be in Shujin very long anyway…

Followed by pictures that she would never be able to unsee. The Former Olympian felt so untouchable that he could send dick pics to teenaged girls.

Shuddering at the images that involuntarily bubbled up in her mind, she watched as Ren moved by her. _ ‘All because I said one word. It’s not like I was accusing _ ** _him_ ** _ of lying. Just that Kawakami, always making excuses to do as little as possible. She could have addressed the rumors, helped him out more…’ _

She watched as a pen rolled forward, clicking against a leg of her chair. She turned, reaching down to get it - only to have her hand brush against Ren’s. He was kneeling, to collect it - their faces were only inches apart.

Naturally, Ann yelped a little, blushing as she startled. Ren, moving faster than she anticipated, caught her wrist, speaking low enough just for her to hear. He positioned his body so no one could see them talking.

“Takamaki-san. Sorry about yesterday. I’ll keep my distance from now on.” He said simply, before returning to his seat.

She recognized a familiar note in the transfer student’s voice - a note of resignation. Isolation. It hit too close to home for her to just ignore, even despite all her own problems. She started to turn, to tell him it was fine - when their first teacher of the day, Ushimaru, walked in the room. The social studies teacher known for a good throwing arm and merciless aim with chalk.

“Good morning, class. Today, in light of the upcoming elections at the end of the year, we’re going to talk a little more about the government. First, the basics, and then we’ll talk about how we got to the modern day structure. Can anyone come to the board and chart out the three government branches, and the checks and balances between them?”

Ann didn’t volunteer, but was careful to pay careful attention, looking straight forward at Ushimaru. Her heart sank as his eyes went in her direction.

In truth, he was looking one seat behind her.

Ushimaru’s eyes lit on Ren. He sneered. The boy who had intentionally humiliated him earlier, alongside Sakamoto - that was how Ushimaru interpreted it, anyway. Ren was staring out the window, apparently lost in space.

“Amamiya! Glad to see you’ve volunteered!” Ushimaru snarled, as he flung the chalk right at Ren’s forehead.

With a flash of movement and the loud rattle of his chair against the floor, Ren stood and caught the chalk at the same time.

In the moment of stunned silence, Ren approached the front.

Her eyes wide, Ann watched the boy stalk toward Ushimaru. There was something different there - the set of his shoulders, his posture.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to distort - she could have sworn she saw the outline of a long coat draped over Ren’s lanky form.

The class started to murmur.

“Oh shit, is gonna kick Ushimaru’s ass?”

“Quick, start filming…!”

Ushimaru took a step back. “Er… I…”

Ren brushed by him, going to the board.

“The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy, in which the emperor is limited primarily to ceremonial duties.” Ren began, the chalk making a _tak-tak-tak_ sound as he started charting out the structure. The imperial family was set at the top, but with no lines connecting it to the other branches.

“The true political power of the state is divided into the legislative, executive, and judicial branch…” Ren went on, in detail, describing the roles of the Cabinet and Prime Minister, the Diet, the Courts, and the checks and balances between as Ushimaru and the class looked on in stunned silence. What they didn’t know was that in the month after his arrest, Ren was barely at home - he had been detained up until the last week and wasn’t allowed to do anything _ but _ study. It had actually been one of the few ‘fixed fights’ he had won - he had been required to write several exams with unreasonably high passing standards, in order to ‘earn’ probation.

“...And so, these checks and balances, in theory, ensure that the system remains equitable and in service to the people of Japan, should they remain law-abiding citizens who dutifully contribute to society.”

Ann watched, as Ren turned back to Ushimaru. She saw a flash of seething anger cross his features, before being replaced again by the placid calm.

“Sir.” Ren said, holding out the chalk. He smiled, his glasses catching the light of the sun outside and obscuring the view of his eyes.

“I… uh…” Ushimaru coughed loudly, clearing his throat. “I… I suppose that will have to be sufficient. Please return to your seat.”

Ren just nodded, making his way back.

“Whoa… ...pretty smart for a criminal, I guess?”

“Maybe he’s not so bad? I wonder if…”

As Ren got to his desk, he kicked his chair out with a loud thud, making everyone in the room jump. Maybe he _ was _ so bad. Ren returned to staring out the window.

Ann looked back at him, blinking curiously. _ ‘So he’s smart _ ** _and_ ** _ cute. Is he really a criminal…?’ _

Ren noticed, catching her eye. He didn’t move his chin from his hand, but winked at her. A quick, small expression - but one that seemed completely out of place for his straight-laced uniform with no accessories, the old school glasses.

Startling, Ann turned back, facing front, her face burning. _ ‘What the hell is he?’ _

>>>

At the end of the day, Ren met Ryuji on the rooftop.

“So how was your second day, buddy? Word is that you snapped and shoved a piece of chalk up Ushimaru’s nose after you described the entire history of the founding of modern day Japan’s government.”

“Up his ass, actually. Do you have any hand sanitizer?”

“Ha ha.” Ryuji said, grinning. He sighed. “So I guess we gotta wait for people to leave, and then we leave, and come back…?”

Ren shook his head, thinking back to the Velvet Room, and his conversation with Igor. “I… I think I can get us there a little easier.”

He took out his phone; the Red Eye app was pulsing. He tapped it.

The world _ distorted _ again, rippling. The ground beneath them changed - briefly, to a castle rooftop, until they were inexplicably teleported to the main gates. Ren reappeared in his alter-ego’s outfit. He blinked, looking up at where they had been.

_ ‘Too bad,’ _ he thought, _ ‘I’d assume the objective is to get to the top…’ _

_ ‘...You aren’t ready.’ _ Said the gentle voice. He thought he caught a flicker of glowing blue wings. _ ‘You have more to do, yet.’ _

Ren strained his ears, trying to hear more - nothing. Sighing, he looked over at Ryuji. The blonde boy was rummaging around in his bag. He withdrew a cheap-looking airsoft gun. Ren raised an eyebrow, his skepticism clear despite the mask.

“H-Hey. It’s not like I can get a _ real _ one, you know.” Ryuji said, defensively. “Maybe I can be a distraction, at least.”

“Maybe. Just be careful. You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” Ren said, amusing himself with the Western reference.

Ryuji stared blankly at his friend.

“...It’s a movie reference. An American one. From ‘A Christmas Story’, where -- ah, nevermind. Let’s move.”

They descended into the castle, making their way into the dungeons. There, they set about identifying the faces of the students they saw there.

Ren frowned, after Ryuji pointed out a dark-haired boy. Mishima.

“Ryuji, there’s something wrong…” He said, as they left the area where the students had been tortured by getting volleyballs spiked at them.

“Well, obviously.” Ryuji said. He contemptuously spat on a statue of Kamoshida. “This place is fucked. Did you see that shit?”

“No, I mean, the students. They aren’t missing. We saw them just today, remember? That Mishima kid is in my class, and the one here looks like he’s been here forever. And where are the girls? There's a girls' team as well, isn't there?” Ren said. The obvious thought flashed to his mind, unbidden. “...He’s probably got them stashed somewhere else.”

“Why would.. ...oh. God.” Ryuji said, disgusted, horrified. “We need to find them, and get them out of here--”

“That won’t do you any good.” A third voice intoned.

Turning, Ren’s wrist blades flashed out; Ryuji drew his gun.

A strange being in the cage raised its hands. It was a little, cat-like bipedal thing. It might have been an amusement park mascot, if it weren’t for the fact that its mouth was moving, and its eyes were lively, animated.

“Holy shit. It’s some kind of weird monster cat!”

“I’m not a cat! Or a monster! I’m Morgana.” The thing yelled. “Look. You rookies need me. Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you more about this place.”

Ryuji shook his head, still holding up his gun. “No way, Ren. This is way too sketchy. For all we know, he could be a plant.”

Ren knelt down, looking the monster cat - rather, Morgana, in the eye. “...I don’t think we have much choice, Ryuji. We need information.”

Morgana smiled, crossing… his(?) arms and raising his nose triumphantly. “I’m glad you see it my way. With me in the lead, we’ll--”

_ -Shing- _

Ren smiled pleasantly, the wrist-blade extended well past his knuckles now, sticking into the cage. Inches from Morgana’s nose. The not-a-cat leapt backwards.

“H-Hey! What’s the big idea?!”

Ren stood up, eyeing the lock, and then his blade. “Hm. Probably can’t cut it.”

“Of course you can’t. Look, just--”

“Arsene.” Ren said, simply. A feeling of _ rightness _ flooded into him as the Persona’s power enveloped him, his mask dissolving. Cursed blue flame imbued the black blade as Ren cocked his fist, punching forward and stabbing into the cell door’s lock.

The metal creaked… and then rusted, years of corrosion and decay appearing in an instant. The door to the cell crumbled away into dust the color of dried blood.

“...Y-yeah. Just do that.” Morgana said, shaken. _ ‘...Arsene? He’s chosen someone…?’ _

Morgana couldn’t quite remember the significance of it - there was something, some kind of block that he couldn’t get past. The very same block that had driven him to delve into this Palace, to seek out the Treasure.

“A-anyway. Look. This place isn’t your world - not really…”

Morgana explained, as the trio made their way out of the dungeons.

>>>

Ann sat in the courtyard by the vending machines, waiting for Shiho. Anxiously, she looked over the hedges for her only true friend in the school - lately, Shiho had been too busy to see her. The season was coming up, and practices were frequent. Ann’s phone buzzed insistently; she didn’t bother checking. It could only be one person.

Shiho waved at Ann as she came into view, a wan smile on her face.

Ann smiled back - unaware that to her friend, her own smile looked exactly the same.

“Shiho! It feels like it’s been awhile…”

“Mm. Sorry, Ann. Practice has been…”

Ann nodded. “I know you’re working hard. You’re going to do great! When’s the first game?”

Shiho paused, her expression stiff, for a moment. “...I’d rather talk about you.” She smiled. “I mean, it feels like the only thing people talk about in this place lately is volleyball. Or that transfer student slash yakuza.”

“He’s not a yakuza.” Ann replied, surprising herself with how defensive she sounded. “...Uh, I mean, he doesn’t seem like it.”

“Hm? So it’s true he’s in your class?” Shiho asked, curiously. “Did he _ actually _ punch Ushimaru in the face?”

Ann laughed. “No. If you ever saw him, you’d be shocked if he even knew how to make a fist. He’s really tall, and lanky. Messy hair, thick glasses. Really bookish, too - he made Ushimaru look like an idiot when he--”

“Oh! Wait, that guy.” Shiho said, suddenly remembering the tall stranger who had helped her pick up papers earlier in the day. “He’s polite, too.”

Shiho eyed Ann sidelong, feeling _ normal _ for the first time in awhile. “...And _ cute _.”

Ann knew her friend too well. “Oh, shut it.”

Shiho knew _ her _ friend too well. “You’re blushing.”

“I’m not!”

“You are!”

“Because _ you’re _ saying these things, _ not _ because he’s cute.”

“So you think he’s cute.”

“Yes--no! God!” Ann said, laughing. Laughing for real, for the first time in awhile.

The spell was broken, as Mishima limped up, his face bruised. “...uh… Suzui. I’m sorry to interrupt. Coach wants to talk to you…”

“...Oh. ...Sorry, Ann.”

“...Right. Don’t worry about it.” Ann replied, as her phone buzzed. “Just… have a good practice, ‘kay? We’ll talk.”

“Right.”

Shiho and Mishima left.

Ann glanced at her phone. Swearing, her fingers moved over the screen, angrily typing replies.

**SK: i need an answer. or ur friend is gonna provide it.**

**AT: I’m telling you, I can’t. The agency has me booked.**

**SK: we’ll see about that. shiho’s been looking slow on the court lately. shame if she lost her position.**

**AT: Fuck you.**

**SK: exactly. you’ d better. Ur boyfriend won’t be able to save you. I’ll make sure of it.**

Ann shoved her phone into her pocket, her face sinking into her hands. Ren had dared to even create a _ rumor _ they were closer than classmates. And now, he was going to pay for it.

_ ‘...What do I do? What _ ** _can _ ** _ I do, now?’ _

>>>

Back in the Metaverse, the three returned to the castle’s main floor.

“We should go, for now.” Morgana said. “The alert level’s going up. They must have realized they’ve had guards go missing.”

“Right.” Ren said. “Looks like the coast is clear…”

The three of them peered out the door of the hallway, into the castle’s main foyer. It did indeed look abandoned - the knights must have been summoned to the dungeons.

They stepped out, moving cautiously at first, but relaxing as they reached the main door. Ryuji and Morgana pushed on it - it didn’t budge.

“That’s weird, it was fine when we got here…” Ryuji muttered. He pushed again. “Hey, Ren, help us out… Ren?”

Ren was facing the stairs. “Guys.”

Spotlights turned on, highlighting the trio.

King Kamoshida stood at the top of the stairs, now, surrounded by Knights… and accompanied by a girl in a bikini, with a cat-ear hair-band. Ren’s eyes widened as he recognized her.

“Takamaki...san…?” His eyes wandered up the pale skin, her ample bust. But he recoiled at her expression. Dim; lazy. Vapid. Not a single hint of what had captured him before - even when Ann’s eyes were downcast, trapped in Kamoshida’s car, she still had a _ spark_. This imposter looked completely empty.

“What a _ meow_velous looking girl…” Morgana intoned.

Ren didn’t have time to appreciate the terrible pun as spears were launched toward them; they leapt back, the weapons stabbing into the ground.

“Looks like we’ve got trespassers!” Kamoshida boomed, before laughing. “Did you really think you could invade my castle undetected? Little ants, I…”

As Kamoshida talked, Ren sighed, turning. He headed toward the other exit to the foyer.

Blinking, Morgana and Ryuji looked at him. Ren paused.

“I figured we’d just leave while he’s monologuing. I mean, it’s not like we have to stay.”

Ryuji frowned, gesturing at the bikini-clad girl. “But what about Takamaki? She’s…”

“That’s not her.” Ren said, with finality.

“How can you tell? It looks just like her.”

“Her eyes aren’t right.” Ren replied, shrugging.

“You were looking at her _ eyes _?”

“Well, I was looking at the other things, too…” Ren replied, thoughtfully.

“Aheh. Yeah. You know, I kind of had a crush on her for a bit until I learned what her personality’s actually like…”

“Haha. You don’t seem like the kind of guy who’d care about personality--”

“HEY! You’re supposed to listen to me!” Kamoshida yelled.

“Oh, we’re listening.” Ren said, waving his hands placatingly. “You’re really loud, great speech voice. We’ll just listen on our way over there…”

“Insolence! Guards! Take them!”

With a grin and a flourish, black blades sprang from Ren’s sleeves. With a brutal uppercut, he impaled one knight from chin to crown. As he moved to the next, he was kicked hard by a Bicorn and thrown back to his allies.

“Ah… ouch. Uh, one down?” Ren said, getting to his feet.

“And an army to go…” Morgana murmured, pointing his sword this way and that as he tried to prevent a flank attack.

Ryuji felt utterly powerless as he watched his friend and new ally begin a desperate battle. It was all he could do. He watched as Morgana used his slingshot until he was out of ammo, and then was run down from behind by a Bicorn. He watched as Ren made them pay for every inch they stepped forward in blood, the outfit of a suave gentleman thief for once seeming out of place as even to the end, Ren savagely attacked and counter attacked without regard for his own safety.

Ryuji was forced down to his knees as the commanding knight, armor plated in gold, put his foot on Morgana’s back. Another two knights held down Ren by his arms, still struggling, still glaring defiantly at Kamoshida.

Kamoshida sneered. “Was there ever any doubt that it would end this way? Two peasants and a _ beast _ invading _ my _ rightful castle? Trying to tamper with _ my _ property?!” 

To emphasize his point, he fondled ‘Ann’, laughing lecherously. He raised an eyebrow as Ren’s glare went from defiant to coldly seething.

“Oh? Does this bother you? Then don’t worry. I’ll kill you before you have to see this in the other world.”

He motioned at a knight. The sword raised.

“No! Stop it!” Ryuji called.

Kamoshida laughed again. “Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten about _ you _, Track Traitor. You’re next, after your friends. I just haven’t decided if I should break your other leg and send you out, or to end you here. It would be amusing, really. I could cripple you, and just tell the school it was self-defense again.”

Ryuji felt powerless before. He felt like he was hitting rock bottom, now. He was going to watch his only friend left die. And then he’d die. Or, worse yet, he’d live, crippled, and with the shame of knowing he could do nothing. And his mother would have to take care of him.

As if reading his mind, Kamoshida grinned. “Maybe that mother of yours will come apologize again. You know, she’s older than I like, but I’d make an exception. I bet she’d do _ anything _ to make sure her little boy can still go to school...”

Ryuji, on his knees, felt the depths of despair.

Ren heard Arsene, his velvet voice echoing in his heart.

_ ‘Call to him _ ** _now_ ** _ , Trickster! He is ready to hear you!’ _

Somehow, that made sense. Again, that feeling of something _ right _ flooded Ren, a sort of resonance.

“Ryuji!”

The blonde looked up at Ren, almost groggily.

“Is that all the fight you have in you?! Did I misjudge you?!”

Ryuji shook his head - not so much in response, but as if he was shaking off a haze.

“Stand up!”

“Haha. What do you think this trash could possibly do—“

With a crash of thunder, Kamoshida’s garrison of shadows was blown back, away from the trio.

“Shut your god damned mouth, you piece of _ shit _ !” Ryuji snarled, his eyes flashing yellow. “The real trash is _ you _ , hurting the kids you’re supposed to protect! I’ve had enough. I’m going to _ rip you apart!” _

_ ‘I have heard your will, Chariot _

_ Though this scum has stolen your speed _

_ Under my sail, you will fly once more. Swear to me! _

_ I am thou _

_ Thou art I _

_ Your flag will now be the crossbones of rebellion _

_ Call my name and we will plunder thy enemies!’ _

Screaming and clutching his face, Ryuji stood, the visage of a skull now on his face. His scream faded. He looked up at Kamoshida with a triumphant grin. Standing tall, he tore the mask from his skin. In a blaze of lightning, he was revealed - a thug in black pants, a jacket, and bright red ascot.

Above him hovered a skeletal pirate captain, standing on the prow of a ship.

“Captain Kidd!” Ryuji called, gesturing with the pipe he held in his hand.

The laugh of the pirate, like dry bones rattling together, was music to the ears of Ren and Morgana. The Metaverse around them briefly darkened, resembling for a moment a dark, stormy sea.

And then the lightning fell, blowing apart the Bicorns and turning this into a fair fight.

“What?! Another Persona user? Sergeant!” Kamoshida turned, moving away quickly with ‘Ann’ trailing him.

The remaining Knights ‘melted’ into Shadows, melding together - and forming a massive, mounted Knight, wielding a lance.

“Defend yourselves, villains! I, Sergeant of the great--”

His speech was cut off, figuratively, as Ren ran forward, leaping up and landing on the pommel of the saddle. “All these monologues…”

His left jab struck the Knight in the mouth, Ren’s fist clanging against the metal face plate. Unlike his usual form, he didn’t snap his wrist back to his fighting stance. Ren’s lips quirked, thinking of what Coach would say if he saw it.

“Hah! Foolish mortal. As if a simple punch could penetrate the armor of I, Sergeant of the great-- Urk!”

His speech was cut off, literally, as Ren’s hidden blade sprang forward, punching through the face plate like an ice pick through an aluminum can. Blood washed out as the young man literally cut out the knight’s tongue.

The Sergeant gurgled and screamed, the horse rearing back as he flailed with his lance. Ren deftly backflipped, landing beside his allies, his back to the Sergeant - he held up a hand.

Ryuji, his heart uncaged, struck the offered palm with his own as he tagged in with a yell that was more like a snarl. He leapt up - and Captain Kidd flew behind him, the ghostly buccaneer offering his own hand as he alley-ooped Ryuji into the air - true to his word, Ryuji _ flew _. As the Sergeant still reeled, the boy crashed his electrically-charged pipe into Eligor’s skull.

Ren gave Morgana a quick look - the not-a-cat was already in motion, gales of wind battering and cutting the Knight from the tip of Zorro’s rapier.

“Argh! Erngh!” The Sergeant screamed. The horse reared and stomped, the shockwave sending the three back.

“What did he say?” Morgana asked, a fierce little grin on his fanged mouth.

“It sounded like, ‘my, what an impressive show of force. Please, dear heroes, allow me to show you the way out of our realm so that you may rest and return at your convenience.’” Ren said, straight faced.

“I didn’t know you spoke asshole.” Ryuji said, flashing a grin.

“I’m a bit rusty. He might have also said ‘Argh, enough’. Really, it’s anyone’s guess.” Ren shrugged - and then turned, as the Knight charged.

“Ren!” Ryuji shouted, now alarmed.

“Just get ready!”

Ren stood, shock still - until the spear lanced forward and down. He leapt into the air.

The Sergeant slashed upward - only to have his lance caught in the ‘V’ formed by Ren crossing his blades downward. He pinned the lance to the ground.

The horse prepared to rear, to kick this impertinent human.

Ren looked up, that cocksure smirk on his face. “Arsene.”

Cursed blue flame exploded out from behind Ren, consuming the lance, flaring up. In of itself, the flame was damaging, accelerating decay and rust…

“Zorro!”

“Captain Kidd!”

The tempest of lightning and wind joined the flame, turning into a cursed storm that whirled around the Knight, eating away at his armor, his horse, his spear - and leaving a rusted skeleton behind.

Exchanging glances, the three escaped the Castle.

>>>

They talked with Morgana for a few brief moments until the pursuing guards drew a little too close. A tentative deal was made with the mysterious being to at least hear him out at a later time. At least now, they had a rough explanation of how the other world worked - and a name for it. They were literally in Kamoshida’s head, and Morgana heavily implied they _ might _ be able to change the real world, _ if _ they agreed to his deal.

Ryuji sighed. “It’s just… really sketchy, man.”

Ren nodded. “I know. But if we want to keep making incursions there, I don’t see how we do it without his help. We need someone in our corner that knows the turf.”

“True. But we have some faces and names, now, right? If Morgana’s right, and those ‘cognitions’ are being abused in some way in real life, too, we might not have to go back in there. If we can find them, and get them to testify.” Ryuji said, hopefully.

“Yeah… Hey, where are we going, anyway?”

Ryuji rubbed the nape of his neck. “Uh, I started automatically walking toward this ramen place…”

Ren shrugged his assent. They sat down in the restaurant.

“This ain’t my favorite spot, Ren, but it’s the best one that’s close to the school. Man, I’m beat. And hungry.”

Ren nodded. “I was the same, after… ...my turn.” He finished, quietly.

“...right.” Ryuji replied, thinking back to Ren’s awakening. After they ordered, he looked down at his hands, thinking of the gloves, the metal pipe. It wasn’t hard, to swing a pipe. And, the movements came naturally. But it wasn’t that Captain Kidd gave him an entirely new fighting style - he was still scrapping in the way he had learned being in poorly supervised schoolyard. “Hey, Ren… the way you move in the… place. Were you able to do that stuff before?”

“No, Ryuji. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t able to do backflips and land on the pommel of a saddle.” Ren said, thanking the server as his ramen was brought out.

“No, not that. I mean, I used to watch some boxing, and…”

Ren fumbled as he heard the question, dropping his chopsticks. Swearing, he reached for another pair. He broke them apart, sticking them in the ramen as Ryuji waited for an answer.

“...Yeah. Used to do it.” Ren said.

“...Just like I used to do track, huh…” Ryuji replied, hearing the heaviness in Ren’s voice.

There was an awkward silence; a moment of emotional chicken. Did they share what had happened, or did they do the stupid teenage boy thing, and keep their mouths shut about their hurt?

Again, sharing a near-death experience tended to move a friendship along.

“There was this woman…”

“The track team was taken over by Kamoshida…”

Another pause. Ren gave a resigned smile. “Flip a coin to see who shares their shitty story first?”

“...Nah, man. Let me. You saved my ass in there more than I saved yours.” Ryuji said. He went on to describe the events of the last year - Shujin was once known as a school that could boast first and foremost a swimming team and track team. When Kamoshida was hired, it was hailed as a brilliant move; assurance that they would dominate a third sport. While that was true, issues started to crop up - members of the swimming team suddenly quit, or were suspended for using drugs. The old coach of the track team was suddenly fired.

And then, Kamoshida graciously offered to coach the track team - starting brutal practices that led to injury after injury. Until, Ryuji stood up to him. Initially, it was a heated discussion. But it got personal, fast. Kamoshida had access to student files. So, just a few comments about Ryuji’s father, and then his mother…

Ren shook his head, listening. It was a wonder Ryuji held on as long as he did before starting the fight.

“...But he was ready for it.” Ryuji said. “He knew just what to say to set me off. I threw a punch; he had actually timed it so that he ‘pushed me away in self defense’ - right down the stairs.”

“Son of a bitch…” Ren muttered, quietly.

“He’s a fucking coward.” Ryuji cursed, bitterly. “Didn’t even want to take the risk of getting into a fist fight with a high school student, so he set a trap. And I’m a fucking idiot for falling for it.”

“You’re not.” Ren replied. “I would have taken a swing at him, too.”

“The worst part was my Ma, man. She… she was forced to _ apologize _ to him. And the school. And then, when we got home… She apologized to _ me _. For not setting a better example.”

“...Jesus, man…” Ren breathed. That one hit close to home. Inoue and Kenji hadn’t been angry with him, not even once, for what happened. And somehow, that made it worse. He was still dreading the phone call on Saturday, now just a few days away, on the 16th.

Ryuji was quiet, obviously trying not to not choke up.

“Ryuji.”

“...?”

“We’re going to_ get Kamoshida _ . Even if I have to become an _ actual _criminal to do it.”

“...Right. Your conviction.”

Ren nodded. He recounted his own story. The arrest. The farce of a hearing. The public defender who was basically a prosecutor in disguise. How his friends evaporated… how Reiko simply erased him from her life.

“...Fuck, dude.”

“Yeah…”

Ryuji shook his head. “I… I wish there was something we could do for _ you _.”

Ren shrugged. “Nothing _ to _ do. Any hope of me laying low was gone before I even got here. All I want to do is do some good before it’s over. And take it out on someone that deserves it.”

Ryuji blinked. “...Before _ what _’s over?”

Ren froze, like a deer caught in headlights. “The year.”

Ryuji frowned, staring at him.

“The year.” Ren re-affirmed.

“...Right.” Ryuji said, warily.

“A… anyway. So tomorrow. It was originally supposed to be a sports rally, I take it? And now it’s a figuratively suck Kamoshida’s dick day?”

“Pretty much.” Ryuji said, disgustedly. “The only good thing about it is that it’s going to give us a chance to get people to talk. Here, give me your number. That way we can keep in touch. We’ll both meet up in the gym for the rally anyway, and during one of the breaks we can split up…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren falls further into battle-frenzy - if it isn't obvious by now, it's a form of escape for him, even if he feels conflicted about it later on. Trying to show him as struggling with depression also, without getting too heavy-handed about it.
> 
> I've been trying to write Ryuji as just a bit brighter than in the game. I always thought the protagonist had many 'Confidants', but no actual _confidant_, someone to actual confide his insecurities and issues with.
> 
> Mona's a bit weird, for me. I don't _dislike_ the character, but in all versions of this, I've had trouble writing him. Cat got my tongue, I guess.
> 
> 2020-07-19 Edits - Going back to this chapter after recently posting chapter 20 of GtD:XR is both interesting and horrifying. My writing style's changed for the better, despite the fact that this wasn't put up _that_ long ago.
> 
> Made some minor edits for flow/clarity/comma abuse, etc.


	4. Rumble in the Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Foreman v. Ali, ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, was a historic fight between George Foreman, the undefeated world champion, and Muhammad Ali, in 1974. It was during this fight that Ali won an upset victory against the younger, heavily favoured, hard-punching Foreman. It was also the first known use of the ‘rope-a-dope’ tactic in boxing, wherein the fighter tires out his opponent and uses the ropes as a way to dissipate the force of a hard punch. It requires the fighter to be technically sound, cool under pressure, and reasonably durable. It also requires the opponent to be angry, or dumb. Preferably both._

April 13, 20xx 

It was the day of the rally; Ren and Ryuji sat together on the sidelines of the volleyball court. The rally had started with a speech by Kobayakawa, followed by demonstrations by the volleyball team. They had marched out silently, going through the motions of the game. They might have seemed disciplined, if it weren’t for the look of abject terror that they regarded Kamoshida with. The second and third string players seemed particularly afraid.

Ren frowned. “There’s a _ third _ string? Hard to believe there’s this many students who play volleyball here.”

“There aren’t.” Ryuji said. “Not really, anyway. The second and third string guys don’t really get on the court for competition, but they’re hoping they can get some kind of sniff at it. If you’re hoping for university on a sports recommendation, volleyball is all Shujin has left. The worst part is, everyone celebrates Kamoshida for it. ‘Oh, look at how _ kind _ he is, for letting so many people on the team!’. Tch.”

Ryuji sneered. He then pointed at the court. “And this group is mixed. There’s a few people from the kendo club.”

“Ah…”

The kendo club was one of the school teams that Kamoshida had deigned to allow to exist, according to Ryuji. They had never drawn much notice on the national or even prefectural level, so Kamoshida hadn’t seen any reason to take them apart. This was essentially the case with any sport left in the school other than volleyball - they were allowed to exist, so long as they didn’t outshine Kamoshida. Even so, these clubs were slowly dying. They were allowed to exist, but received little in the way of funding or faculty support.

Apparently, there had even been a boxing club… the ring was still up on the side of the massive gymnasium, currently being used as the stage and podium for the announcers and referees.

Ren shook his head, watching the proceedings as Kamoshida’s team of teachers started to build an overwhelming lead in the first game.

“Why are we even doing this? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s like playing with the cheat codes on in a video game.” Ren said.

“I know, right? Look at the way he’s acting with the other teachers, too. In a way, it’s kind of sad.”

As if on cue, Kamoshida let out a loud yell and high-fived another teacher after a cannon-like spike into the rear corner of the court.

“Yeah! Did you see that?! Let’s get another!”

Ren caught the way he glanced at Ann, who was absently playing with a twin tail, looking anywhere but the court. Her boredom was almost certainly intentional. He smirked a little at the brief look of rage on the egomaniac’s face; Kamoshida couldn't stand that Takamaki wasn't duly impressed.

_ ‘...Nice, Takamaki.’ _

Ren turned back to Ryuji. “It’s like he’s re-enacting winning an Olympic medal.”

“...well, technically he _ lost _ to get the medal.” Ryuji said. “You lose to get a silver.”

“Huh. Funny way to put it. True, though. It was kind of strange how he insisted the kendo club join in…”

The loud slam of a palm striking a ball was followed by a cry of pain. One of the kendoka fell to the ground on the last point of the first match, bleeding from the nose. Ren noted it was the tallest boy on the team and probably the best looking. He also happened to be the captain of what was left of the kendo team.

“...Oh.” Ren said, shaking his head. Kamoshida was consistent, if nothing else. He'd mercilessly cut down anyone he saw as a 'threat'.

After Kamoshida’s clearly insincere apology and show of concern - complete with his fangirls, cheering for his display of ‘sportsmanship’ - his eyes set on Ryuji.

“Sakamoto. Why don’t you come up and sub in?”

“Wow! What a great guy. Inviting that troublemaker to play, even after he tried to hit him…”

“Sakamoto? Seriously? Haha…”

Ryuji narrowed his eyes. He started to stand.

Ren stood first, stepping on the hem of Ryuji’s shirt to pin him back to the ground. He knew his friend had more guts than brains - something he himself understood and fell victim to once in awhile. He spoke loudly. “Seriously, Sakamoto? Your leg’s cramping up, and you still want to go up there? You’re gonna break the other one. Let me.”

Ryuji looked up at Ren, wide-eyed. “Dude! You saw that! He’s going to…”

Ren spoke more quietly, now, for Ryuji alone. “He’s going to _ try _. I’m better for this, Ryuji. I don’t know people here as well as you do, and we haven’t questioned anyone yet. Best to do it while Kamoshida’s occupied, too. Consider it me buying you time.”

The crowd murmured even more at Ren’s re-enactment of Katniss Everdeen than they did at Ryuji’s selection.

“The convict? I heard he’s smart, but…”

“No, he caught the chalk! Seriously, this will be interesting…”

Ren took off his track jacket; he wore the regulation t-shirt in the same way Ryuji did. Sleeves rolled up. He dropped the jacket on a nearby chair, also taking off his glasses. If he screwed up, he didn’t want to have plastic ground into his face by a volleyball.

“Ren? Can you see without your glasses?” Ryuji asked, as he stood to leave.

Ren smiled slightly at this; at least the fake glasses were still a secret. “Well enough. Get out of here. Make this count.”

Ryuji nodded. He stood, making a show of limping to the door.

Ren approached the court, considering how he was going to play volleyball without looking like a complete ass. Despite his hand speed and coordination in boxing, ball sports were never his forte. Fortunately - or unfortunately - he wouldn’t have to deal with it.

“Ah. Wait.” Kamoshida said, loudly. “It isn’t really _ fair _, isn’t it? As our kendo team showed, I can’t really expect a non-volleyball player to stand up to us. Why don’t we do the hospitable thing, and do a sport that our new transfer student is accustomed to?”

Ren’s stomach turned cold. _ ‘Oh, hell.’ _

He had been set up. Ryuji had been the bait - Kamoshida had figured out through their brief interactions, and probably through speaking with other teachers that Ren had no issue with disappearing into the background, and seemed fine with casual disobedience. If he had directly picked Ren, the boy might have just left, or refused and happily been branded a chicken. But he had been spending a lot of time with Ryuji, becoming thick as thieves, as it were.

“So, Amamiya? What’s your preference? Kendo? Basketball?” Kamoshida asked, mockingly. “We can do whatever you want.”

_ ‘Admitting I’m a boxer will be as good as admitting I’m a delinquent. And as good as a direct challenge to the _ ** _actual _ ** _ delinquents.’ _

Ren shrugged. “...nothing, really.”

“Oh, come now. Don’t be so modest. You’re the inter-high boxing champion from Kamakura, aren’t you?” Kamoshida asked, a ‘friendly smile’ plastered on his face.

Ren let out a long, low breath. The crowd murmured loudly. His year just became a lot more of a hassle.

“...Please. It’s nothing special.” Ren said.

“Then let’s do some boxing! Show me some moves.”

“I can’t fight.” Ren said, playing his last card. A lie, but a credible one. Everyone knew about his record, anyway. “Conditions of my probation.”

Kamoshida laughed, waving a hand. “Don’t worry about that! Here, everyone! Listen! Amamiya-kun has my _ personal permission _ to participate in a friendly spar with yours truly! No consequences! If his probation officer shows up, everyone here can tell him - I asked him to fight!”

“...I won’t do it.” Ren said, quietly.

Kamoshida approached, with his teeth bared in a ‘smile’. “You will. Or I’ll drag Sakamoto back in here.”

Ren stared quietly at Kamoshida, as the old gear was brought out. The ring was cleared.

_ ‘...This is what I get for getting close to your ‘property’, is it? Even just a rumor…’ _

Ren stepped forward to the box of dusty gear, carefully selecting out a pair of gloves and handwraps. Also, headgear and mouthguard. Kamoshida was beside him, doing the same, but the man smirked, eschewing the head protection. He clearly didn’t think much of Ren. As they stood side by side, the difference in the physical build of a teenager, even an athletic one, versus a full grown man and Olympic volleyball player were manifest.

Ren spoke, his voice low. “Are you serious? You’re a grown man, and you’re going to publicly beat up a high schooler?”

“That’s what you get for getting close to what’s mine. I need to teach both you and the whore a lesson.” Kamoshida said, still smiling, making the appearance of friendly chatter.

“There’s no way anyone here’s going to let you just thrash me.” Ren said. “No matter how important your team is.”

“I don’t need to touch you to make your life shit. Just telling everyone here you’re a boxer was enough.” Kamoshida said, pulling on his gloves. “This is just icing on the cake. And you’d be surprised what they’ll let me get away with. This is a ‘friendly spar’. And you consented, didn’t you? Time to show me what you got, Amamiya.”

Ren shook his head, walking back toward his corner. Kamoshida raised his fists. He blinked as Ren instead sat down on the canvas, spreading his fingers. He began carefully winding the cloth around his hands.

>>>

Ann had been dreading the day of the volleyball rally.

In truth, she dreaded every school day - every day meant another eight hours of Kamoshida trying to corner her, trying to get her alone. Another day of avoiding increasingly more daring hands, increasingly more lecherous stares from the man. Another day of feeling powerless, unable to stand up to him with Shiho’s position on the team, her scholarship, and almost certainly her physical well-being at stake.

In a fair and just world, all Ann had to do was report it, and it would stop. Schools were supposed to protect their students. But it wasn’t a fair and just world. She had seen what happened to Ryuji. She had seen what happened earlier in the year, to some of the braver members of the volleyball team. Through various circumstances, they were ostracized, their names dragged through the mud before the complaints disappeared. And he had made it clear - if she said anything, it would happen to both her _and _Shiho.

The reason was simple. Kamoshida had embedded himself too deeply in the school. The championships won by the volleyball team were too big of a draw for Shujin, a source of advertising and therefore funding for the private school. By the time the school had started suspecting something strange going on, it was too late. If he were ever exposed, the school would lose the funding - and also lose face, for not stopping him sooner. Every single achievement or award they had won on the back of Kamoshida and his volleyball teams would lose legitimacy. It was easier for the administration and for the parents who cared so much about scholarships, that everything be swept under the rug.

And so Ann was stuck attending the rally, and dreading having to dodge a Kamoshida pumped up on the rush of proving himself the ‘alpha male’ over a bunch of high school kids. The man would want to celebrate afterwards… It was only through luck, scheduling, and frequent lies that she had managed to avoid doing anything with him. But his patience was obviously wearing thin, made worse by the perceived threat of Ren Amamiya to Kamoshida’s position as top dog.

The only means of petty rebellion she had was looking absolutely, totally bored. It gave her some satisfaction, pissing Kamoshida off, until her eyes wandered over to Ren and Ryuji. She still found herself intrigued by the transfer student. He seemed to be full of contradictions. He spent most of his time staring out the window, and yet, was always prepared with an answer for teachers eager to catch him off-guard. He was polite and mild-mannered, but occasionally had this fierce look in his eye, or the oddest little smirk…

He almost caught her staring - she immediately shifted her gaze toward the court, the student side. Second string players, and the kendo team. She saw the captain of the team, there - Kenta Kamiya, if she remembered right. A third year - he was pretty good looking, too.

Her eyes widened as the boy went down, clutching his face. Her eyes snapped to Kamoshida. The man smirked at her, before going to feign concern.

_ ‘...Now I can’t even _ ** _look_ ** _ at anyone without his say so? Is that what he’s saying? That Kamiya was hurt because of me…?’ _

Ann was truly and completely trapped.

She then watched in mute horror as Ren was baited into fighting a boxing match, of all things. Somehow, the quiet boy was a boxer in his previous high school.

_ ‘There’s no way they’re going to allow this. There’s absolutely no way.’ _Her eyes shot to Kawakami, her and Ren’s homeroom teacher.

Kawakami started to raise a hand to say something, the teacher’s face anxious. Her mouth opened… and then closed, as she sat back down into her referee’s chair. The homeroom teacher of 2D bit her lip, staring at the floor. Ann shook her head, slowly. They were all dancing to his tune.

Kamoshida raised his fists…

And Ren sat down. Ann stared - the move was probably just part of Ren’s usual routine. It had that feel - he was carefully wrapping his hands before sliding them into the gloves. But it had an interesting effect. He had already gotten into Kamoshida’s head, and had already taken the pace.

>>>

Ren finished wrapping his hands, getting his gloves on. He had sparred with adults before and typically, it didn’t go well unless they were rank amateurs. Ren was still growing, not at the physiological peak for strength and power. His only hope was that Kamoshida had no idea what he was doing.

Ren glanced at the man - who had taken an orthodox stance. He at least knew how to guard.

_ ‘...This really isn’t my day.’ _

Ren stood up, noting the growing irritation of the volleyball coach as he put on his head gear. Kamoshida really couldn’t take it when people didn’t jump at his word - even the two minutes he had taken to get his hands wrapped up had bothered the man.

Ren took a deep breath, trying to strategize. He was against an athletic man, who had more strength and reach than he did. In terms of physical attributes, all Ren had in terms of advantages was speed, maybe reaction time… and maybe conditioning. And Kamoshida was impatient and egotistical. Slowly, a plan formulated.

Ren stood up. He gratefully accepted the mouthguard from a student who had rinsed it off for him - Mishima, he thought it was - and popped it in his mouth. He turned at the bell, his body moving on instinct.

He saw Kamoshida approaching slowly, like a wolf stalking an injured deer.

Ren had one shot. He raised his fists into a peek-a-boo type guard, different from his usual stance.

_ ‘...I really hope he isn’t familiar with Foreman versus Ali.’ _

>>>

The dull smack of leather against leather filled the gym. At first, the crowd had been excited and interested - there were even scattered cheers because Kamoshida’s groupies were interested to see the man dominate in something other than volleyball.

But this wasn’t even really a match, as far as they could tell. The gym had grown quiet at the one-sided affair.

Ren had been driven back into the ropes, and there, Kamoshida had buried the teenager with punches. Over and over again, the gloved fists slammed into Ren’s guard, not giving the boy even an inch to move.

Ann watched in mute horror. She’d have wrung her hands, if they weren’t holding Ren’s glasses and jacket. She had rescued them from a particularly daring classmate who had wanted a souvenir of the fight. She heard voices behind her.

“Wow, the transfer’s really taking some punishment. Why isn’t anyone stopping this?”

“Not really. Look at his body, he’s still upright, his guard hasn’t dropped. He’s totally doing the rope-a-dope…”

Ann turned to face the boys seated behind her. She recognized one of them.

“...Takao-senpai? What do you mean, rope-a-dope?”

“Ah…” The boy seemed surprised Ann was talking to him. “Er, that is… it’s a thing from boxing. I think Amamiya’s trying to tire out Kamoshida. He’s using the ropes to absorb the blows.”

Ann’s head snapped back to the match. Takao was right. Ren wasn’t losing consciousness; he wasn’t taking a single clean blow. His grey eyes were still full of fight, and she found herself feeling something unusual - hope. It was completely irrational. Even if Ren won, nothing would change. In fact, things would probably get worse…

But, in that moment, the prospect of seeing Suguru Kamoshida get punched in the face was just too tantalizing.

“Amamiya! Lay him out!” Ann shouted, getting to her feet.

She wasn’t sure if he could hear her - but Kamoshida certainly had. Panting heavily, his eyes snapped over to Ann, his face a rictus of anger.

As it happened, Ann’s cheer timed perfectly with Ren. He wasn’t a trash-talker in the ring; he didn’t have to be. But to beat an athletic, grown man, he needed Kamoshida stupid and angry.

“Winded already? I guess it’s true what they say. You lose to get a silver. Did the medal come with ‘choking hazard’ printed on it?”

“YOU LITTLE SHIT!” With a yell, Kamoshida cocked his fist back, preparing for a full body weight haymaker from his right.

It was precisely the moment Ren had been waiting for. Kamoshida was fatigued, sloppy, and angry. The punch was wildly telegraphed. Ren caught his timing, slipping his head to the left - he winced, feeling the punch graze his right cheek before it went over his shoulder. The force of it would have taken Ren’s head off.

Simultaneously, Ren threw his own right straight, the punch crashing into Kamoshida’s face with Ren’s own punching power, good for a fighter his age, combined with the body weight and force of Kamoshida’s own motion.

The man crumpled to the mat with a little groan, before slumping to his knees, and then falling forward, the ropes catching him under his armpits to prevent him from hitting the mat. There was silence, and then chaos, as people dashed forward to help the coach.

Ren was victorious and elated - but he wasn’t stupid. He exited the ring, and quickly got out of the gym.

>>>

Ryuji sighed, sitting in the courtyard, near the vending machines. He had heard some loud yells from the gym a little while earlier, but nothing after that. He hoped Ren was okay, and hoped he had fared better than he had in the investigation.

Ryuji had gotten nothing. All of the students he recognized had various signs of injury, but not a single one of them was willing to admit to any abuse. They all seemed completely terrified of saying anything. The first years were frightened that if they said anything, the next three years of school would be hell. The second years just wanted to get their recommendation letters. The third years just wanted to lay low and get out of school.

He glanced down at his leg - still not 100% after the fall. _ ‘...I kinda get it. That scholarship would have changed everything for Ma and me…’ _

He looked up, as Ren approached him, walking quickly. For some reason, the boy wore boxing gloves, and didn’t have his glasses or jacket.

“Ren?! Why are you wearing those? They look good on you, but--”

“Rooftop. Now.” Ren said, nervously looking over his shoulder.

Ryuji was savvy enough to not ask questions. They made their way to the roof.

“...So what happened?” Ryuji asked, once they were safely alone.

Ren shook his head. “More importantly, did you get anything?”

Ryuji sighed. “Sorry, man. Not a single one of them is willing to speak up. They’re all worried about things getting worse, or their scholarships. I’m _ sure _ something is going on, though.”

Ren sighed. “I thought as much. It’s not so much a volleyball team as it is a cult. It’s all completely fucked.”

Ryuji’s eyes flitted to the boxing gloves.

Ren caught his look. He let out a low breath as he prepared to explain.

“Kamoshida cornered me. In front of all the teachers and students there, he got me to box him. In that old ring.” Ren left out the part where Kamoshida had used Ryuji to bait him into fighting.

“Holy fucking shit. For real? How are you still… ...did you _ beat _him?!”

“I channeled some Ali. I did the rope-a-dope and baited him into a wide right. Then I fed him a counter punch and put him on his ass.”

“Did you knock him out?!”

“No idea. I was too busy getting the hell out of there.” Ren said, glancing at the door to the roof, and then over his shoulder again.

Ryuji let out a low whistle. “Wish I had seen it.”

“You will. Students were recording. Kamoshida… he’s going to be out for blood. We should finish our investigation and get the hell out of here for the day. I don’t think he’ll do anything once he calms down because he _ literally _asked for it, but no telling what’ll happen when he’s still hot.”

The door to the roof creaked open. Ren looked for a place to hide.

Ann Takamaki stepped onto the roof.

Ren started to make some excuse to leave, motioning to Ryuji. He didn’t want to get Ann more tied up in this than she already was. He knew the reason he had been targeted by Kamoshida was the rumor he himself had started. He stopped, seeing that she held his jacket and glasses in her hands.

“Ah… ...Thanks, Takamaki-san.”

She just nodded, once. Her eyes flitted to Ryuji, meaningfully. She had words for Ren, and Ren alone.

Ryuji blinked. “Er… Ren, we should leave separately, anyway. If they’re actually looking for you, they’re going to assume you’re with me. Hopefully I’ll work out as a decoy.”

“Be careful, Ryuji.”

“You bet, bro.”

The bottle-blond passed the natural one; she nodded gratefully at him - Ryuji returned the gesture as he left.

Ann approached Ren, holding out his things.

Ren reached for them - only to look at his boxing gloves, surprised. He quickly took them off, receiving the jacket and glasses - he put them both back on. _ ‘I’d better go,’, _he thought.

That was what he started to do, but something hung between them, keeping his feet motionless. A kind of quiet interaction between two spinning magnets. Attract… repulse. Attract… repulse.

Attract.

“You know, I tried your glasses on.” She said.

It was a neutral statement. No accusation, no amusement.

“You did?” Ren asked - for no reason other than to fill the space between them, and to ensure his voice still worked.

She turned, walking over to the fence that lined the roof. She looked down at the school’s pool - covered up most of the time, except for gym class. The now defunct swim team didn’t need it, after all.

“I did.” She replied. She didn’t look up as Ren came to stand beside her, instead, just remembering her own first month in Japan. “You know, I was born here, but I actually didn’t do any school in Japan at first. I lived in the US, and in Europe, until I moved back during middle school. When I got back, the bullying was bad enough that I thought about dyeing my hair black.”

Silence, for a moment. Ren considered her profile, her delicate nose, her blue eyes and blonde hair. She was pensive. Prettily pensive, he noted.

_ ‘She could be brushing her teeth and still look pretty…’ _His mind, once again unhelpful, provided a few scenarios where he might be in her proximity while she was brushing her teeth.

He coughed, raising his hand to hide his face and to cover his mouth. “And? Why didn’t you?”

“I met Shiho.” Ann replied, simply. “...she showed me it was fine to be _ me _. She’s all I have, in this place.”

“Ah.”

“And that’s why I’m going to ask you - what are you trying to do with Kamoshida?” She asked.

“Well, for starters, I was trying to not get my clock cleaned.” Ren said, a wry smile on his face.

“You know what I mean.” Ann said. When it concerned Shiho, a quip and a charming smile weren’t enough to distract her. “You and Ryuji have been asking around. And Kamoshida hates your guts. More now, since you literally knocked him out.”

“...there’s something wrong with this school.” Ren said, after considering Ann for a moment. He decided to go with the (abridged) truth. “Really wrong. Ryuji and I, we saw some… things, and wanted to see if we could do anything to help.”

“Out of the goodness of your hearts?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Something like that.” Ren said, shrugging. ‘_ What else am I going to say? It feels _ ** _good_ ** _ to stab, and cut, and kill for a cause? It’s better than feeling _ ** _nothing_ ** _ ?’ _

Ann sighed. “Look. You… you’re right. There’s horrible things happening. But there’s nothing any of us can do. All you’re doing is making things worse for the people who’re stuck. Who don’t have a choice. Shiho… she’s trapped. Just like I am.”

“There’s always a choice, Takamaki-san.” Ren said, reflexively. 

“Not everyone is that brave, Amamiya-kun.”

Silence, again. Ann turned, to look at him. She was struck suddenly by his proximity. He was lanky, slender. But his shoulders were already broad, and once he filled out...

Repulse. She turned her face again and stepped away, to hide her blush.

Ren nodded; he hadn’t noticed. He looked down at the pool, and then the other detritus on the roof. More boxing gear; some gymnastics items. Hurdles and swimming posters.

“A lot of relics up here…”

“Yeah.”

“From people who weren’t that brave?”

“And some who were.” She turned. “I… should go. If you’re seen with me, he’ll… well, you know already. Just… ...just remember that your actions don’t just affect _ you _, Amamiya-kun.”

Ann headed for the door. His voice stopped her, deep, gentle. Lonely.

“...So do you think it’s fine if I don’t wear my glasses?”

“It is.” Ann said. She didn’t turn around.

“...but it’s fine if you want this to just be our secret, too.” Ann said. She smiled to herself, at the thought of that.

“...Thanks, Takamaki-san. And, thanks for your support in the fight. It… meant a lot to me.”

Attract.

>>>

Kamoshida stalked the halls of Shujin, livid. When he had regained his senses in the nurse’s office, the day and volleyball rally were essentially over. He actually had no memory of the last few seconds of the fight, his intended public humiliation of that transfer student. All he could recall was laying into the runt, punching him like he was a sandbag. He had been getting tired, his arms getting heavy... until he had heard that _ slut _ cheer for Amamiya. And then he said… something… that had pissed him off. Something he couldn’t quite remember, as his recollection of it got foggy. He had cocked his fist back, ready to blow through the boy’s guard with his hardest punch yet…

And then he woke up. In the nurse’s office, with the early signs of a nasty black eye forming. None of the teachers seemed willing to tell him what had happened - in fact, most of them avoided him, after seeing his mood.

He stalked into the gym, where the volleyball team was dutifully practising. Despite his mood, he smirked slightly at that - he had them perfectly terrified, unwilling to step out of line even when he was indisposed. He pointed at Mishima.

“You. Mishima. You’re always on your phone. Did you record the fight?”

“Y… yes, Coach.”

“Well, then get your ass over here! And the rest of you! Keep going!”

“Yes Coach!”

Kamoshida snatched Mishima’s phone from the trembling boy, bringing up the video of the match. It was a view from the side, and it was exactly as Kamoshida remembered. He was punching Ren’s guard repeatedly, mostly striking his gloves when he went for his face, and then his elbows when he went for his body. The man grit his teeth as he started to realize Ren hadn’t let a single clean blow through.

He watched, as the harder blows were simply absorbed by Ren leaning back into the ropes, using the elasticity to dissipate the force from the much stronger man. It had been how the lanky teenager hadn’t taken any damage.

His eyes widened as the final events transpired on the small screen. He went for his haymaker - and the transfer student simply _ wasn’t there _, slipping to his left, letting Kamoshida’s full-weight punch go by… and then making the older man eat his right-straight counter. The video ended as people rushed to the ring to help the fallen coach.

“...Are you… fucking… kidding me.” Kamoshida snarled. He threw the phone at Mishima, who barely managed to catch it. “DELETE THAT.”

“Y-yes! I will! B-b-but…”

“What.” Kamoshida said, his voice dripping with malice.

Practice screeched to a halt as people turned, fearful.

“I… er… ...it’s already been posted. It’s… it’s already been viewed over a hundred times…”

“For a lucky punch!? TAKE IT DOWN, THEN!”

“I didn’t put it up! I can’t! I can--”

Kamoshida backhanded the boy. Mishima cried out, stumbling away. Someone had to pay. Mishima was an _ ant _, useless in every way. Barely enough to work out even an ounce of frustration. He wanted to break that bitch, Takamaki. Or he wanted to beat the shit out of Amamiya, and his buddy Sakamoto.

His eyes lit on Shiho. Takamaki’s bestie. He smirked. “Suzui. Office, NOW.”

>>>

Ren and Ryuji met up at a small cafe near Aoyama-Itchome station, changed back into their usual school uniforms. It was _ supposed _ to be a cafe, anyway, based on the swill they called coffee. Ren looked down at his cup disdainfully. Already, his short time staying at Cafe Leblanc had spoiled him somewhat.

Ryuji happily drank his mocha. It was probably, to Ren’s estimation, 50% sugar. “Man, I could get used to coffee.”

Ren just nodded politely, with a bit of a grimace. “Uh… yeah. Ever had coffee before?”

“First time! This is awesome, it’s just like hot chocolate.”

Ren suppressed his smile. “Right… Anyway. About today…”

“Yeah…” Ryuji sighed. “Looks like we won’t be able to get anyone to testify.”

Ren shook his head. “It’s incredible, isn’t it? Not a single one…”

“...I kinda get it, though.” Ryuji said, quietly. He glanced down at his bum leg. “If I had gotten a scholarship, it would have changed my world. Ma would’ve been able to relax a lot. I mean, we can judge, but I don’t think you really know what you’d do until that sort of thing was in your grasp, you know?”

Ren thought to his conversation with Ann - he had put two and two together, recognizing Shiho’s name as the girl he had helped to pick up papers. He had seen her at the rally with the starters. Ren wondered - what would he do, if doing something meant someone he cared about got hurt, or lost something. What if it was Kaname that had her future at stake? He shook his head. “Yeah… I think a lot of people have reasons to keep this buried, both with good and bad intentions. I’m just… not sure what we can do, here.”

“Well, looks like you rookies need me after all, then!”

Ren and Ryuji jumped, startled as a small black cat with some white spots sprang up onto the third, unoccupied seat at the table.

“Whoa! R-ren… did you hear…?”

Ren nodded, numbly, staring at the cat. “So this is what it feels like to go insane.”

The cat rolled its eyes, frustratedly grooming itself in a gesture that looked _ impatient _. “Can we quit it with the surprise and cliche reaction jokes? It’s me, Morgana. I found a way to get into your world.”

“...Oh. The monster-cat.” Ryuji said.

“I’m not a monster! Or a cat!”

Ren frowned. “You’re _ obviously _ a cat. You’re even licking yourself, _ right now _.”

“Bleh.” Morgana stopped, mid-lick, pawing at some hair on his tongue. “I can’t help it! This form makes me do things like that. Anyway, I told you, remember! I’m human. Just as human as you guys are. And if I can find the Treasure, I _ might _ just be able to prove it to you. So what did your investigation show you?”

Ren and Ryuji explained.

“See? Like I told you, the students you saw in there are just cognitions. They’re a reflection of what’s happening in the real world, as reflected by the owner of the Palace. And…” The cat put a paw on the table, using the other to point at Ren and Ryuji in a gesture that was unintentionally adorable. “...if you can’t change things out here, you can change things by doing something in the Metaverse!”

“...Right. You mentioned that. If we steal the Treasure, we can change Kamoshida’s cognition - almost like forcibly giving him insight and perspective on his own crimes?”

“Right!” Morgana said. The not a cat paused, sitting back down on the chair. “Er… in theory.”

Ryuji blinked. “Wait, what? You’ve never done this before?!”

“Of course I haven’t! I’m just one person, and you saw how that Palace is!”

“Ren, come on. We can’t just go along with this. He doesn’t even know--”

“It’s a damn sight more than you know, you ape.”

“Who’s the ape?! If you’re a human, you’re the same species as I am, you monster cat!”

Ren frowned, thoughtfully. “...What would happen, Morgana? In theory?”

The not-a-cat sighed, letting his retort go. “In theory…” He paused, to glare at Ryuji. “Once we stole the Treasure, the Palace would collapse, and Kamoshida’s greater consciousness would understand the gravity of his crimes. The guilt would overcome him, and he’d confess to everything.”

Ren paused, thinking of Ann’s words.

_ ‘...just remember, that your actions don’t just affect you, Amamiya-kun.’ _

“Would he know it was us?” Ren asked. “Would anyone know we were involved?”

Morgana shook his head. “Not a chance. You can’t be aware of what happens in your own Palace unless you’ve somehow entered it, or someone tells you.”

“...Ryuji, I think we should do it.” Ren said.

Ryuji frowned. “I… I dunno, man. It seems really weird. And there has to be a catch.”

Morgana tilted his head. “...Not so bright, but pretty street smart, huh?”

Ryuji rolled his eyes at the complisult. “Just get to the point.”

“There’s… a chance… he becomes a vegetable. If he doesn’t die, outright.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “Ren… I know he’s a bad guy, but…”

When Ren said nothing, the blonde looked over at his friend. Ren was holding his chin thoughtfully, thinking. To Ryuji’s horror, the dark haired transfer student seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.

“_ Ren _!”

“Ah. Sorry. I was just… thinking.” Ren said. “You’re right. I don’t think we can take that risk. Not until we know a little more - both about Kamoshida, and the Metaverse. We still might uncover something that lets us do something here. Takamaki told me a little more about what was going on with the volleyball team. Nothing substantial, but if she’s opening up to me, I might be able to get access to Suzui, one of the starters.”

Morgana sighed. “...Fine. Whatever. I’ll give you a couple days to decide. Either way, I’m going to go for it - or die trying.”

The cat hopped down, leaving the cafe.

The boys watched him go, before settling up the bill and leaving.

Ren glanced at Ryuji. “Hey, Ryuji. Where did you get your airsoft gun from?”

“Hm? Why?”

“Well, I was thinking - if airsoft guns work in the Metaverse based on how they _ look _, if we get better ones, wouldn’t they be more effective…?”

Ryuji slowly grinned. “...Worth a shot. If anything, it’ll be a damn sight cooler to burst in there with a tricked out SPAS-12 than what I started with.”

“..Spaz… what?” Ren asked, blinking.

“Oh man. Just wait. I know a place…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The volleyball rally, I find, is hard to work with. It's hard for me to imagine a school that's so screwed up that for some reason, they line up students for him to spike volleyballs at like fish in a barrel. The whole thing is absurd beyond absurdity. The only way it could make sense for me was making Kamoshida's 'rule' over the school near absolute. Basically, he can hold himself (and the school) hostage - if he was ever discovered, Shujin loses everything.
> 
> But the rally works, as a plot device. The rally works well as means to escalate Kamoshida - to make him even more reckless/angry.
> 
> Definition - peek a boo stance in boxing, basically holding the gloves up so that the opponent can just see your eyes. Lets you be pretty defensive, protecting your jaw/chin. Elbows can be moved to guard your body also.
> 
> Last note - my writing pace will slow down. In my 'source material' (stuff I've written already) there's a large gap after Kamoshida, with a few scattered slice of life things. Majority of my stuff is actually epilogue category.
> 
> 2020-07-19 Edits - More sentence restructuring, etc. Sorry commas :(


	5. Bait Combo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A bait combination, or bait combo, is when a fighter uses a pattern in order to produce a predictable response from their opponent. This may take several uses, or even several rounds, as the fighter conditions his opponent to respond. Then, in a critical moment, the fighter will ‘counter the counter’, launching an unexpected attack when their opponent least expects it. The physical damage and mental shock from this can end a match suddenly._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning, for this chapter - without getting into spoilers, more Shiho and interactions with Kamoshida.

April 14, 20xx 

Shiho stared at herself in the mirror in her family’s apartment in Akasaka. It was empty, dark, and quiet. No one but Shiho was present to use the expensive furniture and spacious quarters. She, like her best friend, was used to her parents being absent. Both of her parents worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was one of the reasons they had moved to Akasaka in the first place - it was in close proximity not only to the embassies, but also to Shujin Academy. Shiho still remembered her excitement before her first year of high school - she was going to go to school with Ann, and the Olympic hero, Suguru Kamoshida, was going to be her coach.

It was unreal - a dream come true. A recommendation letter to an elite college and varsity volleyball program would be within her reach, and from there, maybe even her own shot at the Olympics.

Now, as the girl gingerly touched the bruise over her eye, she wished she had given up volleyball in middle school.

Kamoshida had been enraged. He had challenged Amamiya to a fight, thinking to humiliate the transfer student by beating him down in his own sport. But Ren had baited him perfectly, with Ann’s help - and within minutes of it happening, the video was all over the internet. The egomaniac coach had wanted to _ kill _ Ren, and do… _ something… _to Ann. Shiho shuddered, trying not to imagine just what Kamoshida wanted with her best friend. He had called her into his office and demanded that Shiho call Ann to coerce her into joining them.

Shiho had refused, and the bruise was her reward. Along with the pain in her ribs and her knee. In a weird way, she was grateful that was all it had been left at.

And that was what truly crushed her - she was _ grateful _ to _ just _ be beaten up.

Shiho’s fist thudded against the mirror, as she leaned her forehead against the glass. Tears splashed against the clean porcelain as she sobbed helplessly.

_ ‘This is going to happen again. EVERY DAY. Until that _ ** _whore_ ** _ presents herself to me, right here!’ _

_ ‘I’ll never help you! You’ll never touch her--’ _

_ ‘Shut your mouth. One more word, I’ll hit you again, and I won’t have to take you off the starting line up. You won’t be able to walk onto the fucking court.’ _

Her hand shaking, she started applying makeup to cover up her bruises. Sadly, this was something that the girl had entirely too much practice in doing..

>>>

Ann walked past the co-op, where as usual, students fought to death over the curry and melon bread. She watched as one student triumphantly burst from the crowd, holding one each - until he was comically dragged back into the mob, like that one guy from _ Shaun of the Dead _. She wasn’t looking for bread, though - she was looking for her friend.

Instead, she saw a different familiar figure - Ren stood on the fringes of the crowd, arms crossed. He looked thoughtful as usual, but not spaced out. Instead, he was observing the crowd, as if considering how he’d go and get some bread himself. She nearly approached him to ask if he had seen Shiho, until she saw his expression change. First, a resigned sigh. Then, an amused flicker of a smile. And then…

“Hey!” Ann jumped at his voice, uncharacteristically loud. And on top of the volume, he spoke with a hilariously bad Kansai accent, meant to seem like a stereotypical loudmouth delinquent out of an anime. “What’re ya all standin’ ‘round for?! Can’t ya see I’m friggin’ HUNGRY?!”

The crowd parted like the Red Sea before Moses.

Ann’s eyes widened; she ducked around a corner to hide, nearly collapsing from peals of involuntary laughter. She wasn’t sure what was funnier - the accent, or the fact that it was _ working _.

She watched, as Ren strutted to the counter, slouching, one hand in a pocket. A scowl on his face. And then, when speaking to the bread lady… standing up straight. A charming smile. He bought his curry and melon bread, and then stalked off, instantly switching back to his fake gangster slouch. Gradually, the crowd returned to its typical noise as he got away from the crowd.

As Ren walked by, Ann couldn’t help it. She stepped into his path, arms crossed. She spoke in the same, terrible accent.

“Oi. There’s a toll if ya wanna walk by ‘ere.” She said, her nose in the air, blue eyes sharp and suspicious.

Ren blinked, surprised - double surprised, actually, at the fact that it was not only Ann, but _ yankii _ Ann. But, his grey eyes twinkling behind his glasses, he played along. He put on the scowl once more as he spoke. He tilted his head to the side and back; he slouched forward at the shoulders, leaned back at the upper body, and put his hips forward, hands holding the bread at his hips.

“Issat so? No one told me.”

“They prob’ly weren’t speakin’ slow ‘nough for ya, dimwit.” Ann shot back.

“Funny. Sure ya wanna start somethin’? Yer takin’ on the _ Kamakura Killer _.”

At that, he raised an eyebrow, holding his pose and expression.

Ann kept her arms crossed, squinting at Ren over her fine cheekbones.

Slowly, like rocks at a seaside cliff, their expressions eroded, and the two started laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh my _ God _, you’re the worst actor I’ve ever seen!” Ann gasped.

“You’re one to talk!” Ren said, accusingly.

“I was great. I was imitating _ you _, not an actual Kansai accent. They don’t even speak with a Kansai accent in Kamakura! I can’t believe that worked!” Ann giggled, holding her sides.

Ren sighed. He straightened, now standing as he usually did. He gave Ann a resigned smile and shrug. “People see what they want to see, Takamaki-san. Right now, I’m the crazed, aggressive boxer who punched out an innocent and beloved Olympic volleyball coach. And yet, I’m also the cowardly delinquent who didn’t throw a punch the entire match until I got a lucky one in while he was distracted. I’m Schroedinger’s Convict. Either way, I’m a crook. I figured if people are going to see me that way, I might as well use it.”

Ann tilted her head, considering Ren. “...Wanna know what I see?”

“What?” Ren asked, as he considered the two breads in his hand. Curry first, then melon? Vice versa?

“...You. Just you.” Ann said. Impulsively, she poked his nose. “Have you seen Shiho?”

Ren startled, his cheeks turning pink at having his nose ‘booped’ by the pretty girl, stammering as he fumbled his bread. That was weird. He didn’t usually stammer. Even when he was going out with Reiko.

_ ‘Sometimes, I worry, Ren-kun.’ _

_ ‘Why, Rei-chan?’ _

_ ‘You’re just too smooth…’ _

“Er.. I… ...roof!” Ren said, snatching the buns out of the air just before they hit the ground.

Ann laughed again. “Nice catch! See you again, Kamakura Killer.”

Ren shook his head, walking away with a small smile on his face. As he rounded the corner, he nearly ran headlong into Kamoshida.

“You’re still getting close to what’s mine, trash.” Kamoshida snarled, quietly. He still managed to show a little smile as he said it. The man had plenty of practice at hiding his venom as friendly chatter from ‘the coach’. Although the school couldn’t do much to him, he at least had to maintain _ some _ appearances. 

_ ‘Don’t make this worse. Walk away.’ _

Ren just ignored him, continuing on.

“I can see why your parents sent you away.”

_ ‘Just. Keep. Moving.’ _

“I saw a photo from your championship. That girl of yours was one tasty piece. Maybe I’ll pay a visit and show her what a _ real _ man looks like.”

_ ‘What was that about having more guts than brains?’ _

Ren was in Kamoshida’s face in the next instant.

“One more word. I _ dare _ you.” Ren snarled. “I have _ nothing _ to lose.”

“Everyone has something to lose.” Kamoshida said with a cruel smile. He finally got a reaction from the boy. “Everyone does. Watch your back, Amamiya. And Sakamoto’s. And Takamaki’s. Oh, and Suzui’s. Wow. It’s going to be hard for you to be in so many places at once…”

Kamoshida, chuckling to himself, turned his back to Ren, walking away. Ren seethed. The man's broad back was the only thing he could focus on - it was inviting, beckoning Ren. A perfect target. He wished he was in the Metaverse. He found his hand aching for his blades, or his Colt 1911, the gun that Ryuji had deemed ‘a classic’ when they bought it from Untouchable. In that moment, he would have even considered a shoelace as a garrote. 

_ ‘I could end this right now. I would just need to…’ _

He shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his mind. But, it persisted. Lately, the violent solutions to his problems had been harder and harder to shake from his mind.

_ ‘...Someone needs to remind me, why would it be such a bad thing if he was dead.’ _

>>>

Ann reached the roof. She smiled, spotting her friend. Her smile faded upon _really_ seeing Shiho. The girl sat quietly at one of the scattered desks, listlessly poking at her bento with her chopsticks. Ann joined her.

“H-hey, Shiho…” Ann began, uncertainly.

Shiho didn’t look up, her bangs hiding her face.

“Shiho… why aren’t you looking at me…?”

“Ann, sorry, I’ve got to go, I…” Shiho said, hurriedly putting away the remains of her lunch and standing up.

Ann caught her wrist, standing as well.

“No! I… don’t look…” Shiho said, her voice small. She had fooled her class, but Ann was a model. Shiho knew that her friend would notice in an instant that she had covered up several bruises with makeup.

Ann shook her head slowly. “He’s… Kamoshida’s beating you, now?”

Shiho looked up at Ann, silent. “...N-no. J-just yesterday, we had a really tough practice and his hand slipped…” The lie faded as Shiho’s lips started to tremble.

Ann put it together in that moment. “...No. His hand didn't slip. And this isn't even the first time. This is just the first time he’s left a bruise that you couldn’t cover up completely. Oh, Shiho…”

“It’s… it’s fine. It’s fine! I mean, it doesn’t happen all the time, and it didn’t go further than a beating, and… oh my God, Ann, what am I saying!? I… I just…” Shiho started to sob. “I just… I don’t know what to do anymore! I wish I had given up volleyball in middle school! I wish we were at another school, and worrying about stupid things like which boys we like, or which crepes to buy, or…”

Ann burst into tears out of sympathy, and out of mutual pain as they embraced each other. The strength in their legs left them, as they slid down to the ground. It was months of pent up frustration and despair. But, unlike most outbursts like this, there was no catharsis - Kamoshida still loomed. Over the school, over their lives.

“What… what do we do?” Shiho asked, after a long moment.

“I… don’t know, Shiho. I don’t know.”

The bell rang. The two looked at each other, and stood up, slowly. Neither of them had the heart to tell the other what Kamoshida had threatened them each with. Despite the tearful outburst, neither of them knew the double jeopardy they were in.

_ ‘...If I don’t help him get Ann alone, he’s going to beat me every day, and destroy my future. I… I won’t do it!’ _

_ ‘...If I don’t go to him, he’s going to beat Shiho, and destroy her future. I… I have to do it. Don’t I…?’ _

>>>

Ren glanced at his phone as he got off the train in Shibuya. He wasn’t heading home directly, today. Somehow, the visit to the airsoft shop had ended up with him getting a part time job from the owner, Munehisa Iwai. He was headed there now for his first shift. He smirked slightly, thinking back to Ryuji’s excitement as the blonde boy had shown him around the shop. It turned out that Ryuji was a ‘gun otaku’, readily explaining the merits of the Colt 1911 versus the Glock 17. Even Iwai had been impressed, offering Ryuji a job… and somehow, Ryuji had roped Ren into it, too.

He looked up, spotting familiar blonde twintails. Automatically he smiled, recalling their earlier faux-Kansai exchange. He started to approach - it was nice to want to talk to someone without an ulterior motive. Lately, it felt like everything he did was either for furthering the investigation or preparing for the Metaverse. He paused, stopping just short of entering her field of view. Her familiar voice carried a note of desperation he certainly _ hadn’t _ heard from her before. As he listened, his eyes widened. He quickly sent a text to Iwai, apologizing for being unable to show up today. He suspected he’d have something else to attend to.

“You’re disgusting! What kind of teacher are you?! I’m telling you, I can’t do it today! I just need more time, I… ...What?! No! I won’t. He has nothing to do with this. _ Shiho _ has nothing to do with this, either. Wait. ...Wait! Hello?”

She took her phone away from her ear.

She was in too much of a daze; she didn’t realize she was being watched. Slowly, she turned, to head back to the train, the one to Aoyama… She was heading back to Shujin.

Ren stepped in front of her. He smiled at her, careful not to get to close; like approaching a frightened rabbit.

“Takamaki-san. Fancy meeting you here. You know, I was just thinking. I need to pay you back for returning my glasses and jacket. There’s a diner just up the street. Join me for a coffee?”

“I can’t, I…” Ann started, surprised by Ren’s sudden appearance.

“I insist.” Ren said, firmly between her and the turnstile for the subway.

Ann realized that Ren had been listening - and he had probably figured out who she was going to see. “Amamiya-kun, you don’t understand. I have to go back. I have to! I just have to… I don’t have a choice!”

“Ann.”

Somehow, the sudden use of her given name made her pause. From him, in that deep, gentle voice, so unlike what she expected from a boxer, it was like a spell. It calmed her, cleared her vision. Broke the daze she was in.

“You always have a choice.”

>>>

Shiho sighed as she left the gym. Kamoshida had left the starters to their own devices. She hoped that meant she’d get out of Shujin unscathed today. She rounded the corner, seeing the entrance to the school. Just metres away. Her heart lightened at this temporary reprieve, willing herself to not think about the fact that she’d have to repeat this again, tomorrow. The waiting. The fear.

As she reached the entrance, her hopes were dashed.

Mishima quietly walked over to her. Shiho’s blood turned to ice. The boy was a third-stringer, barely on the team. And somehow, he had turned into Kamoshida’s personal messenger. It wasn’t that he liked it - and it wasn’t that Shiho blamed him. Kamoshida was the one who had forced the role on him. At first, Kamoshida's abuse of Mishima had largely been physical - but apparently, Mishima's reactions weren't entertaining enough for Kamoshida to leave it at that. So on top of the usual physical abuse, the coach turned Mishima into the hook with which to pull other members of the team in. He seemed to enjoy the psychological torture of forcing the quiet, gentle boy into becoming an accessory to his depredations. Even the slightest hint of protest or hesitation on Mishima's part meant a beating. Sometimes, no matter what Mishima did, it still meant a beating. But like the rest of the team, all Mishima could hope for was that if he obeyed, it wouldn't be _as _bad.

And so the entire team, from starters to third stringers, knew: When Yuuki Mishima approached with that expression of shame and hopelessness, pray that he wasn’t coming for you.

“Suzui-san, Kamoshida wants to see you in his office.”

Shiho shivered.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Mishima mumbled, eyes downcast.

Shiho glanced at the time. It was unusual for Kamoshida to invite a member of the team up for an ‘extra practice’ this late. It happened occasionally, once in a blue moon - and always to a female member of the team. Almost never a starter, though. And if it was a starter, they usually weren’t a starter for much longer. It raised her hackles; there was something wrong. Very wrong. But, she had already decided. This was going to be her cross to bear. She wasn’t going to let him get to Ann.

Slowly, she turned around, heading back towards the gymnasium and office.

Mishima watched her go, feeling pangs of guilt as he did… nothing. He turned to leave the school, to get out of this hell. To anesthetize himself with video games and social media and pretend that he was someone else. Someone who wouldn’t let this sort of thing happen.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, preventing his escape.

“Where is she going, Mishima? What did you tell her?” Ryuji asked, staring down the broken boy.

>>>

“So… that’s all of it.” Ann said, quietly, sipping at the coffee Ren had ordered them.

“Son of a _ bitch _.” Ren growled. “Seriously? Even this isn’t enough to get him canned?”

Ann shook her head. “I wouldn’t even be the first. And because I can’t go through with it, Shiho’s going to… she’s…”

Ren carefully slid his napkin across to her as silent tears fell.

“I’m… ...I’m sorry, Amamiya-kun. I… I wish I could be stronger.”

“Takamaki-san… You _ are _ strong. You aren’t crying because you’re weak. You’re crying because you care. You care so much that it _ hurts _. Do you know how rare that is? How hard it is to find someone with that kind of compassion? That’s strength.” Ren said, matter of fact. “Maybe one of the best strengths a person can have. You… you _ see _ people. You see who they really are, what they’re really worth. It’s why you value Shiho so much as a friend.”

He paused, as if unsure he should continue.

“...It’s why you aren’t afraid of me, or treat me like a pariah.”

Ann stared at Ren, silent. She knew he was smart, or at least, knew how to study. Cocky, a bit of a goofball with the stunt at the bread co-op. But, there was more, there. These little hints of vulnerability, that would appear, and disappear. She thought, quietly, how it was sad that he fit right in, at Shujin. The academy had become a gathering ground for the broken, the hurt. Not a place to heal, but a place to be forgotten.

“...Thanks, Amamiya-kun. I…”

Both Ann and Ren blinked, as their phones simultaneously went off. A group text.

**RS: I need help! It’s Suzui!**

>>>

A short time earlier, Ryuji had confronted Mishima. He had trudged out of detention for some imagined slight against Ushimaru, a full two hours after the end of the school day. The former track star had been on his way out of the school when he sighted Mishima approaching his classmate, Shiho Suzui. What had struck him was the way that Shiho flinched at whatever Mishima said. It was like she was imagining physical blows. And Mishima’s expression, as he spoke…

Ryuji wasn’t academically great, but as Morgana had pointed out, he was cagey enough to recognize danger, suspicious circumstances, and in this case - a very real terror on Suzui’s face. It wasn’t like people were ever _ happy _ to be called to Kamoshida’s office… But this was different. When she turned around, it looked like she had been walking towards her own execution.

He watched for a moment, considering what to do.

_ ‘...What _ ** _can_ ** _ I do? The last time I got involved…’ _His leg throbbed, as it often did when he thought back to the injury. But then, he thought of his only friend in the world, and how Ren had thrown himself in harm’s way for him not only in the Metaverse, but in the real world. Yesterday at the rally, Ryuji wondered how he could pay him back.

He knew his friend well enough now to know that Ren would want him to pay it _ forward_.

Ryuji stepped forward. He was too late to catch Shiho, but certainly in time to intercept Mishima. His hand came down on the boy’s shoulder, making him jump in surprise.

“Where is she going, Mishima? What did you tell her?” Ryuji asked, staring down the timid boy.

“I… uh… I can’t!” Mishima pried off Ryuji’s hand, turning to run.

Ryuji grabbed his shoulder again, turning him. His grip tightened, this time on both shoulders. “This wasn’t a normal message, was it?! I’ve never seen any of you react this way! What’s he going to do to her?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t know! Idon’tknowIdon’tknowIdon’tknow!…” Mishima said, as if repeating a mantra, alternating between speaking and hyperventilating. He was having an anxiety attack.

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “...You… You know _ exactly _ what he’s going to do. It’s just so awful, that you can only deal with it by shutting it out… It’s…”

Ryuji’s mind went to the worst possible answer.

“...It’s only the girls he asks to his office at this hour, isn’t it…?”

Mishima somehow turned even more pale. Ryuji was right, of course. Mishima had unwillingly been complicit in sexual assault. And Shiho wasn’t going to be the first. Not by a long shot.

“Son of a _ bitch! _”

Ryuji took off at a run - as fast as his leg would allow him. He heard Mishima following. Ryuji wasn’t sure if it was to help or hinder, and right now, he didn't care. He reached the PE faculty office. He heard the sound of a slap; of clothes being torn. Hopeless crying. Pleas to stop that were falling on uninterested ears.

“SUZUI!”

He banged on the locked door. “Kamoshida, open the door!”

“Beat it, Sakamoto! This doesn’t concern you!” Kamoshida snarled.

“It does now! Open up! I’ll.. I’ll pull the fire alarm! I’ll smash the window in! Let her _ go! _”

“You little fucker. Looks like you need a reminder of what happens when you get in my way..."

Ryuji looked around for options. He stood no chance against Kamoshida, and he knew it. He had to move quickly.

The door slammed open; the sounds of Shiho sobbing were no longer muffled. Kamoshida stepped out, brandishing a heavy fire extinguisher. He saw only Mishima, cowering in the corner of the hall.

“Mishima. Where. Is. He.”

Mishima’s eyes flitted to the other end of the hallway, where it intersected with another hall. Kamoshida smirked as he saw the tip of a Converse shoe just poking out from behind the wall.

_ ‘Piece of shit… trying to ambush _ ** _me_ ** _ this time for some poetic justice, eh? I’ll break his leg again, and then tell everyone I caught him trying to rape Suzui…’ _

He moved quietly, for a big man. Just before the corner, he swung the fire extinguisher savagely. He grinned cruelly, aiming just above the shoe where Ryuji's knee would be. The metal clanged against the wall. Kamoshida blinked in surprise, looking down at the empty shoe. The owner was nowhere to be seen.

Kamoshida looked up at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, only to see a kneecap clad in tartan checkered pants. A split second before it slammed into his face.

Ryuji didn’t bother to check if Kamoshida was down for the count. He ran past wearing only one shoe, charging into the PE Faculty office. Shiho was sitting on the floor - her skirt and sweater were torn, but still on her. Ryuji had barely been in time.

“Suzui! Can you walk!?”

“Saka...sakamoto-kun. I… is he..” She murmured, fearfully.

“Down for now. I don’t know for how long. We need to go, _ now _!”

Slowly, she staggered to her feet. She had been beaten badly. Ryuji swore - he couldn’t get them out fast enough, not with his leg, not on his own. He’d die trying, though. He got her to the door.

“I… I’ll help.” Mishima said, timidly.

Ryuji shook his head. “If you think that this makes everything square…”

Mishima’s eyes were downcast. He said nothing. Ryuji glanced at Kamoshida’s fallen form, already starting to stir. He had no other options.

“Fuck it. Fine. Let’s go - if you stab us in the back, I swear to _ God _, if it’s the last thing I do...” As he and Mishima supported Shiho, they made their way past a groaning Kamoshida, and out of the school. Ryuji took out his phone, to send a text to Ren - and, as an afterthought, he asked Shiho for Ann’s number, adding her to the group text.

_ ‘Whoever replies first, I don’t care… this is so fucked…’ _

>>>

And, that was how the unlikely group ended up at Ann’s family’s apartment in Hiroo. Like Shiho’s apartment, no one was home.

Ren, Ryuji, and Mishima sat out in the living room of the posh apartment - the three had been so keyed up that they hadn’t been able to appreciate how spacious the place was for a flat in the middle of Tokyo. Ann clearly came from a well-to-do family. Ryuji was sitting on the large sectional, shaking his head and staring at his hands. Every once in awhile, he mumbled a curse.

Mishima just sat a seat away, hands folded on his lap as his eyes flitted back and forth.

As for Ren, he quietly paced the floor behind the sofa. If he had been a guard dog, he would have been bristling. After hearing the options on where they could go - Leblanc, Shiho’s home, Ryuji’s place, Ann’s place - he had insisted on the expensive, modern place in Hiroo. It was the most secure.

Ren had helped Coach Takeda teach a self-defense class, once. After Ann had taken Shiho to her room to tend to her, he had outlined something he recalled to Ryuji and Mishima. Partly to fill the silence, and partly because Ryuji had wondered why Ren insisted on Ann's place.

“There’s stages to an assault like this. Motivation, victim selection, opportunity, the attack itself, and completion. Completion means _ hiding the crime _. Right now, Kamoshida’s probably desperate. I don’t think he’s ever been stopped from doing this before. He’s going to try to find us. In particular, he's going to look for you and Shiho, and he’s going to try to silence you. But eventually, he’s going to realize he can’t just make you two disappear; he’s also going to realize that reporting him is going to run into all the barriers we’ve already run into… No one’s going to believe us. He’s near untouchable. We have to hide out until he realizes we’re at an impasse.”

Ryuji shook his head. “This is so fucked…” He repeated. His hands still shook.

Ren nodded. “...It is. Ryuji.”

“Yeah…?”

“You did the right thing.”

Ryuji sat up a little straighter. “...Thanks, Ren.”

Ren sighed. “Anyway…”

He looked up, as Ann walked back into the room. “How is she?”

“...Asleep.” Ann shook her head. “I… this is my fault. If I had just…”

“No! No, that’s not true, Takamaki-san!” Mishima said, surprising them all. His first words since offering Ryuji help. “He… he was beating her long before he set his eyes on you. He… it always started with just beatings. If it was a guy, it would stop there. But with the girls, once he picked one, he would…”

“That’s enough.” Ren said.

“And Amamiya-san! I… I was the one who posted that information on the forum. He made me! I swear, he made me!” Mishima said, desperately.

“I said that’s enough. You’ll deal with your guilt properly later on. Not by spilling everything to us here. We… we should sleep and figure out what to do tomorrow. I’ll walk you guys out.” Ren said, surprisingly calm. “Takamaki-san, I’ll come back in a bit, if that’s okay. I want to talk to you about something.”

She nodded.

Ren, Ryuji, and Mishima exited the apartment and headed to the elevator. Ren looked up, as if trying to find something.

Ryuji followed Ren’s line of sight. “Oh. Cameras. Good call, Ren. This place really is secure. Can’t even get up the elevators without-- Jesus!”

As soon as they had rounded a corner into a blind spot of the cameras, Ren grabbed Mishima by the collar. He slammed him into the wall, pinning him there. The boy cried out, eyes wide with panic.

“You son of a _ bitch _ . You _ knew! You fucking _ ** _knew!_ **” Ren snarled.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t want everyone to talk about you--”

“You think I give a flying _ fuck _ about that?! You knew girls were getting beaten and raped and you did _ nothing _! Why? Because you were afraid you’d miss your shot at going from third to second string?!”

Ren raised his fist. Once again, he wished it was the Metaverse. He wished he was armed. He wanted to hurt, to cut, to _ kill _.

But that moment was gone in a flash. He realized, as he prepared to strike the broken boy in front of him, that he was lashing out at his own weakness, his own lack of resolve. He and Ryuji had hesitated out of fear of taking that _ scum’s _ life. Disgusted at himself, he let go of Mishima, letting him slide to the floor. He looked at Ryuji.

“...If you see him, tell him we’re doing it. If you don’t see him, we’re still going tomorrow.”

“...right. Right.” Ryuji said, understanding that Ren meant Morgana. He helped Mishima up, shaken by what he had seen from Ren.

Ren turned, stalking back to Ann’s door. He paused, taking a few deep breaths. Forcing himself to be calm, he knocked out of habit before coming back in.

Ann motioned at the kitchen island and bar stools. Ren sat down at it, on one side of a corner; Ann took her spot on the other side. She stared at the marble counter top, wordlessly pushing around a coaster.

“This isn’t your fault, Takamaki-san.” Ren said, looking at her almost sternly. “No matter what Kamoshida said. Do you really think sleeping with him would have stopped him from doing whatever he wanted to Suzui?”

Ann looked up at Ren. “...You… you’re right. Especially if this has been going on for awhile. He probably wouldn’t have stopped until he had his way with both of us…”

Ren nodded and glanced at the door to Ann’s room. “Takamaki-san… You should keep Suzui away from school, tomorrow. She’s… she might try to go. After that kind of trauma, some people want to do anything they can to make things go back to normal. If you have to stay with her, I’ll cover for you.”

Ann nodded, tiredly. “I… I’ll let you know.”

Ren nodded. “Let me know tomorrow morning. I’ll be out here, on the couch.”

“Oh, okay. ...Wait, what?!”

Ren sighed wearily. “How good is your concierge?”

“...I’m not sure. It’s a new one.”

Ren stood up, heading to the couch. As he looked for a place to settle down for the night, he started speaking the lines to a scenario that he had thought of in his exhausted paranoia. “ ‘Oh, hi there. I’m Suguru Kamoshida, one of Takamaki-san’s teachers. Here’s my ID. I have an assignment for her right here. She accidentally left it at school. Can you let me up?’”

Ann’s eyes widened. “You think he’d…”

“I think it's pretty unlikely. It would mean he'd have to give his name and leave evidence that he was looking for Shiho. But I can't speak to what his state of mind is right now.” Ren said. “And I don’t feel like taking chances. This… ...This is kind of my responsibility.”

“What? How is this--”

“‘Just remember that your actions don’t just affect _ you’ _, right? I… completely pissed him off. He might have come to this without me being here, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s escalated this quickly because I bruised his ego.”

“Ren...” Ann said, his given name coming easily to her, now. “This is _ not _ on you.”

“Just… ...just indulge me, Ann. I don’t want more on my conscience than I already have, okay?”

She stood, frowning. She then nodded her assent. “...I’ll get you a blanket.”

The three students settled into their places, for the night - Ren, on the couch. Shiho and Ann in her room.

Ann and Ren eventually found sleep through exhaustion. Shiho woke to the sound of her phone buzzing with a message.

**SK: listen, you stupid bitch. this is what you’re gonna do…**

>>>

April 15, 20xx

The next morning, Ann stumbled out of her bedroom, wearing her Choco-cat pyjamas. She hadn’t forgotten the events of yesterday - after all, Shiho was asleep beside her, like when they used to have sleepovers. Still, as she groggily made her way toward the kitchen, she nearly had an aneurysm as she caught sight of Ren Amamiya, asleep on the sofa.

Her eyes widened; she ducked behind a lampshade to hide her bed-head, her sleepy face. Her pyjamas.

Slowly, she peeked around it. He was still sound asleep; it made sense. It was still pretty early. She wasn’t normally a morning person, but the unfamiliar presence sleeping beside her had woken her up.

Curious, Ann crept forward, like a cat. She peered over the back of the sofa at Ren.

Ren mumbled something in his sleep. He still wore his uniform, _ sans _ blazer. Ann smiled a little giddily.

_ ‘He’s so adorable, like this…’ _

He really was. His face didn’t have any of the usual tension. Even when he was seemingly relaxed, when Ren was awake, he seemed to have this baseline alertness, this quiet undertone of being on edge. Now, he seemed… natural. At peace.

She tentatively reached out and brushed aside one of the dark curls in his face.

“Mm…” Ren mumbled. He smiled.

Ann’s heart skipped a beat.

“...Reiko…”

And then again, for an entirely different reason.

Ann nearly hissed - or maybe she did, as Ren stirred more. Ann shot back into her bedroom as Ren started to sit up.

Yawning, Ren blinked away the momentary conclusion before hearing Ann’s voice.

“Are you awake?”

“Mostly… How’s Shiho?” Ren stretched his shoulders.

“She’s still asleep. I’ll make sure she stays here, today.” Ann said, not showing her face.

“...Sure. I’ll head out, then. Let me know if you need anything.”

_ ‘I need you to tell me who Reiko is!’ _She thought, as she heard the door open then close behind her classmate.

“...Ann?” Shiho mumbled.

“Shiho…” Ann turned, walking over to the bed. She dropped down to her knees, hugging her friend.

“Ann… I’m fine. Really, I am. Sakamoto-kun got there just in time.”

Ann smiled, through tears. “He can be reliable when he wants to be.”

Shiho hugged back. “He can. I think Amamiya-kun’s a good influence.”

Ann nodded. “...Shiho, I want you to stay here, for today, okay? Until we figure out what Kamoshida’s doing.”

Shiho shook her head. “Ann, I’m fine. Really. I think I can just go--”

“No!” Ann said, fiercely. “If you don’t promise to stay, I’ll… I’ll… I’ll just wrap you up in this duvet and tie you up, if I have to!”

Shiho blinked in surprise… and then giggled. “...Hehe. The ‘big angry caterpillar’ move that we used to do to each other…”

Ann smiled. “Yeah…”

Shiho nodded. “Alright, Ann. I’ll stay, then…”

“Good. I’ll head to school and let your homeroom teacher know. For now, I’ll tell them you’re sick…”

Shiho helped Ann make breakfast, smiling, seemingly back to normal. She and Ann laughed, having time for an impromptu pancake-mix fight. It really did feel like one of their past sleepovers.

After Ann left, Shiho looked at her phone. She read the messages that Kamoshida sent her again, her face impassive. Rather than fear or anger, she read them over with a sort of bland curiosity. He had told her to go to school today and to go to the main faculty office. He wanted her to claim that Ryuji and Ren had abducted her and sexually assaulted her. And then he wanted her to present herself at his office so Kamoshida could finish the job. If she didn’t do it, he would get Ann alone, one way or another, so he said.

But, Shiho didn’t react to this as she might have in the past. She hadn’t been asleep for the entirety of last night - she had heard Ann talking with Ren.

She knew, now - Kamoshida was using her relationship with Ann both ways. Not only was he threatening Ann's well-being to get what he wanted out of Shiho, the coach had been trying to coerce Ann by using Shiho.

Shiho smiled, feeling a sense of peace wash over her as the solution became obvious.

>>>

Ushimaru droned on about politics. For once, Ann wasn’t worried about chalk to the forehead. She was anxiously looking at her phone.

**AT: has anyone heard what Kamoshida’s doing?**

**RA: I've heard nothing.**

**RS: I saw him just acting his usual self, only with that black eye**

**RA: That’s… a relief.**

**RS: I guess? I’ll ask Shiho if she’s seen anything**

**AT: wait - Shiho promised me she’d stay at home - is she in class with you?**

**RS: yeah. came in late tho. seemed back to her normal self. maybe even a bit cheerful? I guess she really needed to feel safe, for once**

**AT: ...she was kinda like that this morning, too**

**RA: where is she right now**

**RS: she just got up to go to the bathroom?**

Ann frowned, feeling a cold pit start to form in her stomach. She'd remember much later that the thing that tipped her off that something was wrong was the text itself. No capitalization, no punctuation. Usually Ren was a stickler for that sort of thing. She started to ask why Ren was asking this - she jumped at the sound of a chair hitting the floor.

Ren bolted for the door to the classroom, eyes wide and full of panic. He bowled over an empty desk, startling their classmates, cries of indignation and shock following him.

“Holy…!”

“See! I knew it! He’s finally lost it!”

“Amamiya! Get back here! Sit down--? Takamaki! You too!”

Ann chased after Ren. Something terrible was going to happen.

>>>

Shiho stood on the roof, silently looking down at the courtyard. The roof was technically off-limits; not that anyone cared. The door didn’t even lock anymore, and parts of the fence lining it had long-since collapsed. The roof, as Ren had learned before, had become something of a graveyard for the school, a collection of relics from dead and forgotten clubs.

Shiho didn't even have to climb a fence to be able to stand on the edge.

As she stood there, she realized something odd - she had felt relief when she saw that the fence was gone.

She stifled a little giggle. She had felt _ relief _that the fence that was preventing her from falling was gone. What an odd thought.

The door behind her opened.

She didn’t turn around; she thought if she did, she might lose her nerve.

“SHIHO!” Ann screamed, running for her friend.

Ren held her back, his arms around her waist. “No! Ann, don’t!”

“I… let go! Let go of me!” She pried at his arms in vain.

“If you run at her, she’ll jump! Just… just talk to her.” Ren pleaded. He let go of the blonde when she nodded frantically.

“Shiho! Shiho, don’t… please! You don’t have to do this!”

Shiho still didn’t turn. “...I have to, Ann. I have to, because… because if I’m gone, he can’t use me anymore. He can’t use me to hurt you. And then… ...and then _ I _ won’t hurt anymore, either…”

“Shiho…” Ann mumbled. “...You heard us?”

“I’m… ...I’m sorry, Ann. You know I love you, right? I hope… I hope you find a way out from all of this--”

“Suzui-san… Why are you doing this? Why do you want to kill yourself?” Ren asked, gently.

“I… It’s not like I want to die! I have to! I told you. I have to do it, so he can’t use me…”

Ren took a slow step forward. “I’m stepping forward, just one step, so I don’t have to speak so loudly, okay? I did hear you. You don’t want Kamoshida to use you. But, that just tells us what end you’re trying to accomplish. Why… why do you feel that this is the only way to do it?”

Shiho paused. She tensed; Ann’s eyes widened, thinking it was a precursor to a leap.

Instead, her friend spoke.

“I… I just feel trapped. I feel like I don’t have any other option. I feel like this is the only thing I have control over!”

“I get that. I really do.” Ren said. “I get what it’s like, to be powerless. To not know where to go, what to do… To have every choice in front of me just lead to more pain. I know. I know what it’s like, to have the only thing in my control be whether or not I take another breath.”

Ann turned, hearing footsteps. Ryuji, and Ushimaru - she threw an arm out, stopping them from coming on the roof.

Ushimaru’s eyes widened. “Is that… Suzui! What’s that criminal doing to her--”

“Just shut up! Shut up…” Ann said, tears in her eyes. “He’s trying his best…”

Shiho turned her head slightly, catching Ren in the corner of her eye. “...And how do you get past it? How do you learn to make a choice that doesn’t hurt?”

Ren took a step, so that he was more in Shiho’s view. His hands raised up, to show he wasn’t planning to dive at her, wasn’t planning to haul her down. “Shiho… I don’t know.”

Shiho bit her lip, she looked back at the courtyard.

“But every day I’m alive, I get another chance to try to figure it out. There’s people who love me, and until _ everything _ I do hurts them, I think it’s selfish of me to just end it.”

“Then… then I should do it! Because everything…”

“No. Not everything.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Ann told me that because of you, she feels like it’s okay to be _ her _, you know?”

Ann nodded, stepping forward, beside Ren. “Shiho… it’s true. You… you’re everything I have, here. If you were gone…” She smiled, weakly, through the tears. “This morning...! This morning, with the pancakes. That was the most fun I’ve had in forever, did you know? Because of you.”

Shiho smiled, tears streaming down her face as well. “I… ...Me too, Ann.”

Ren took a deep breath.

“Shiho… do you think you could step down, so you and Ann can talk about this? Please? No one’s going to be angry with you. No one who matters. I’m not going to make you promise anything, I’m not going to restrain you. I just hope you’ll step down, so you can talk to your friend. Please…”

A long pause - three hearts, near the precipice. Everything that would follow would hinge on this moment.

In the silence, the sound of Shiho’s sneakers stepping back onto the rooftop away from the edge was deafening.

Ann pulled her, hard, away from the edge. The two fell in a tangle of limbs, crying in relief.

“Ann! I’m so… I’m sorry…”

“Ssh… Shiho, it’s fine. It’s fine…”

Ren sighed, closing his eyes. He turned, facing the door. Ushimaru, Ryuji, and Kawakami were there, with a few curious students crammed in the stairwell behind them.

“...Kawakami-sensei. Can you please call an ambulance? Suzui-san should be checked out. Takamaki-san should go with her.”

“R..right…”

Ren walked past Ushimaru and Kawakami, without another word.

Ryuji fell into step beside him. “Dude… ...dude, you’re totally a freaking _ hero! _ How did you know!?”

“...Just something I read.” Ren said. “...Hey, do you mind going back to your class, and getting Suzui’s things for her? They’ll be headed to the school’s entrance.”

“Oh! Sure!” Ryuji headed off, shaking his head in amazement at what had happened.

Ren watched his friend go, his face neutral. He looked over his shoulder and stepped into a nearby restroom.

He walked into the closest stall and promptly retched, emptying his stomach. He dragged himself to the sink. He stared at himself in the mirror. His face was pale, drenched in sweat. The taste of bile in his mouth was a perfect complement to what he felt - a bitter mix of relief, shame, and guilt.

“...I’m a god damned liar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiho - I wanted to give her suicide attempt some further characterization. She truly and completely loves Ann, and was willing to throw her life away for her. Also, I think this makes it more reasonable to keep her around. Ann needs someone to girltalk with about our boy
> 
> Ryuji - More guts than brains, street smart, bad at books. What's surprising me is that he's turning out to be more mellow than Ren. Will get into this a bit more, too. It's not so much that I'm trying to calm Ryuji down - it's more that Ren's out of control enough that it's making even the 'vulgar boy' think 'damn, son!'
> 
> Kamoshida - God, I love any excuse to hit this guy in the face.
> 
> 2020-07-20 - More edits for flow/clarity, removing commas where they weren't needed
> 
> Finally, as a public service announcement: if you're interested in what Ren was doing (or a dramatized version thereof) https://qprinstitute.com/about-qpr  
At the risk of sounding incredibly corny, we can all save a life.
> 
> And yes, there is a reason why Ren seems to be well-versed in this stuff.


	6. Check Hook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A check hook is a technique in boxing where the fighter utilizes a hook (horizontal punch, elbow close to 90 degrees, using a twisting motion with the back/core muscles) combined with a pivot off the lead foot in order to hit, and then dodge around charging opponent. Floyd Mayweather Jr. used this to devastating effect on Ricky Hatton, punching the man and sending him barreling headfirst into the ring post. Generally speaking, this technique requires a large disparity in skill to accomplish, and is rarely seen in professional boxing. However, an overly aggressive, overconfident fighter, no matter how skilled, may fall victim to this - and quickly find himself on the defensive, or knocked out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of nerding out to boxing in this one. If you need help with the terminology, go to the end notes (I hate having massive chapter notes at the beginning).

April 15, 20xx

Ren and Ryuji stood in the courtyard, watching the ambulance drive off with Shiho and Ann within. Ryuji shook his head, still unable to believe what had really transpired in the past hour. He put his hand on Ren’s shoulder, squeezing it.

“Man… I still can’t believe you talked her down like that. That was… Just, dude!” Ryuji said excitedly. And he had reason for excitement - even though it was an awful thing that Shiho had been pushed to this, it seemed like her choosing to _ not _ jump had been the only good thing that had happened at Shujin in a long, long time.

Ren nodded absently.

“...Ren?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’m glad they’re okay. Both of them.” Ren said. “Anyway… looks like they’ve cancelled classes for the day.” He glanced around himself; the crowd was starting to disperse.

“So, are we in agreement? We head in today?” Ren asked, his face seemingly stoic, except for the dangerous glint in his grey eyes. He left his language vague, as there were still people around. “We should wait until more people leave, though. We can’t use the rooftop anymore as a place to disappear; there’s teachers watching it.”

Ryuji hesitated. Although Ren had saved the day, after seeing his treatment of Mishima in Ann’s apartment building he had concerns for his friend’s state of mind. “...Hey, Ren. I’m thinking, why don’t we see how this plays out, first? There’s no way that he gets away with this. I mean, a girl tried to commit suicide, right? And also, we haven’t seen Morgana in awhile…”

Ren paused, hearing two passing students gossiping.

“...Wow, talk about an over-reaction.”

“Yeah, just because Kamoshida-sensei took her off as a starter. I mean, everyone saw she was slowing down.”

“It was nice that Kamoshida-sensei even gave her that much of a chance…”

Underclassmen, by their uniforms. The girls were chatting as they walked, and about to pass Ren and Ryuji.

Ren turned, politely flagging them down with his hand. He flashed his most charming smile at the chatting girls, hoping they didn’t recognize him. They didn’t - they blushed, smiling back at the cute boy as they came to a stop.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. What was that? Something about taking someone off as a starter for the volleyball team? I’m a _ huge _ fan of the team…”

“Oh! Senpai! It’s just that girl who almost committed suicide. I heard she was taken off as a starter, so she just _ threatened _ to jump... I also heard that she got into a huge fight with Kamoshida-sensei about it yesterday. Really, she’s just trying to make him look bad-- Oh? Where are you going? Can I get your name? Your number?”

Ren had turned, making a beeline for classroom 2-D. Ryuji followed, getting a _ bad _ feeling about this - there was something about the set of his shoulders, the way he wasn’t _ quite _running. He walked, with a quick, purposeful step. Like he was on a mission.

Ren threw the door to the classroom open. Grey eyes swept the room, landing on the figure sitting in the center, wearing the regulation white turtleneck sweater. Yuuki Mishima sat there, staring down at his phone, his face blank. He didn’t even look up when Ren walked into the room.

“What did he make you do.” Ren said. A statement, not a question. He spoke as if he was daring the boy to lie to him. He approached Mishima and stopped in front of his desk. Ryuji started to breathe a sigh of relief - Ren wasn’t grabbing Mishima’s collar or overtly threatening him. But, as he watched his friend, he felt that the relief was transient. Somehow the cold, controlled fury in Ren’s voice was even more unsettling than an explosive outburst.

Mishima trembled as he looked up at Ren. The excuses and denials vanished. He started to cry, his face sinking into his hands.

“He… ...he made me spread rumors that he took Suzui off the starting line up two days ago. He made me put it up on the internet. And he made me say that was the reason why she was on the roof. He made me… he made me make it look like she was just trying to get back at him, that she was faking it..." Mishima mumbled.

Ryuji shook his head slowly. “There’s… there’s no way anyone would believe that.”

But even to Ryuji, that sounded hollow. Because, everyone _ would _ believe it. To any student not on the volleyball team Kamoshida was still somehow the friendly Olympic hero. The man who propped up the school’s reputation on his broad shoulders.

Ren looked down at Mishima. The broken sobs, the way his shoulders caved and trembled, struck a chord with the boxer. When he had first been detained, there were times his despair had made him feel just like Mishima. He struggled with his anger, though, his fists still clenched. He felt torn - this was the student who _ knew _ what was happening to the volleyball team. The messenger. The reason why his ‘fresh start’ in Shujin was broken from the start. His anger _ demanded _vengeance at the same time that his heart hurt for the boy crying in front of him.

He wanted to take off someone’s head, and there was one right in front of him. 

But he _ knew _ that was wrong. He knew that he had changed since Awakening to Arsene.

The dissonance roared in Ren’s soul.

The memory of her voice saved them both.

_ ‘You. Just you.’ _

He took a deep breath. Ann didn’t think he was a violent criminal. Neither did Ryuji. His friends had faith in him, and he wasn’t so far gone that he was willing to prove them wrong. Hitting him wasn’t going to change anything. Mishima needed compassion, not violence. Taking a breath, and shaking out his clenched fists, Ren pulled up a chair. Ryuji sat on the other side.

“Mishima… I know he did. I know that you didn’t want to do any of those things. I’m… I’m sorry for what I did, last night.” Ren said.

“..Yeah. Yeah, man. Kamoshida’s awful. You’re just tryin’ to survive.” Ryuji added.

Mishima looked up, slowly. The gentle reassurance was far more painful than when Ren had pinned him to the wall. Finally being treated like a human being was like drinking water after days in a desert: Desperately needed, desperately wanted, but almost painful from the shock.

“Am..Amamiya-san… Sakamoto-san. That’s… that’s not all.” Mishima said, still fighting back sobs.

“What do you mean?” Ren asked.

“He said… he said he’s going to the hospital. To finish Suzui and to shut Takamaki up.”

Ren’s eyes widened. His body was moving before he had a chance to realize what he was doing as he charged out of the classroom. Ryuji and Mishima were hot on his heels.

He bolted through the hallways toward the PE faculty office. He had to get there before Kamoshida left. He had to stop him by any means necessary. It was now past time for any internal torment about the need for violence. He would put his body on the line; he would throw away his future. What did it really amount to, anyway? If Kamoshida was in that office, only one of them would be walking out.

Ren kicked the door open. “_ Kamoshida_!”

He was blinded by the flash.

Kamoshida stood there, smirking. With a camera. “Oh. Nice. Got your good side.” He turned the viewfinder around. “See? I think I’ll call it, ‘delinquent boxer kicks open hero teacher’s door’. Or is that too wordy?”

Ren stood there, dumbfounded.

“God, you kids. So stupid. And to think this is a private school! What kind of useless teachers do they have here educating you? Other than me, of course.” Kamoshida sneered. “Did you really think I’d do something as idiotic as trying to go after someone in a hospital?

“...What… what do you want from us?” Ren asked, trying to process this.

“Nothing. Not from _ you _. The school board, on the other hand... You see, I was assaulted in the hall the other day by the cripple out of petty revenge.” He held up Ryuji’s abandoned shoe, labelled with ‘Sakamoto’ on the tongue. “And you Mishima, why, you were so upset about your lack of playing time that you convinced Amamiya to kick down my door to attack me, leading him right to my office. Filthy traitor...”

Ren shook his head. “That’s insane. That’s totally insane. No one would believe that--”

“Oh, but they will. They’ll have to. What’s the other alternative? Accept that the only program that makes this school attractive to new students and rich parents is driving kids to suicide? Admitting publicly that the coach they happily hired and lauded is abusing his players? You ingrates have no idea how the real world works.” Kamoshida continued, laughing. “I’m going to get all three of you expelled at the next board meeting. And then, I’ll be able to do whatever I want to that blonde slut _ and _her little friend. Now get the hell out of my office.”

Ryuji stepped forward, his fists clenched. “There’s three of us, and only one of--”

“Ryuji. Don’t.” Ren said, holding his arm out.

Kamoshida smirked. “Too bad. I could have used the exercise.”

Ren pushed Mishima and Ryuji out the door. A hand on each boy’s shoulder, he walked them down the hallway.

Mishima shook his head, slowly. “I… I was completely fooled…”

“It’s fine, Mishima. Ryuji, let’s go. We’ve got places to be.”

“...! Right!” Ryuji said, suddenly brightening.

Mishima watched, surprised at the expressions that Ryuji and Ren had. Hope and determination, respectively, despite the news. What did they know? What could possibly help them now?

>>>

Ren and Ryuji hung around the courtyard’s vending machines, waiting for more students to clear out. It had been an hour since Kamoshida had tricked them and news had already spread amongst the student body. And so, it was taking longer for the students to clear out. People wanted to catch a glimpse of the show. Already, the drama on the rooftop was taking a backseat to the drama of the ‘troublemakers’ being expelled.

Ryuji sat on the edge of a concrete planter box, shooting a glare at a gawking student, before grumbling to Ren, who was seated at a nearby bench. “This place is freaking terrible. People just want to gossip about bad shit that happens like it’s a fucking side show…”

“Schadenfreude.” Ren said, simply.

“...What?” Ryuji blinked.

“It’s a German word. It means taking pleasure from someone else’s pain.”

“Oh! Like the thing where a woman wears leather and whips a guy for fun?”

“No, not quite. You’re thinking of sadism, where you _ inflict _ pain for your own pleasure.” Ren paused, thoughtfully. “And technically, what you’re describing isn’t always for the fun of the person doing the whipping. Sometimes, the guy getting whipped _ asks _ for a dominatrix to... ...Ah, nevermind. Anyway, schadenfreude is more about _ observing _ someone’s misfortune, and taking pleasure from it.”

Ryuji frowned. “I don’t really get it…”

“You ever watch someone accidentally fumble a huge stack of papers or something? Weren’t you at least a little bit amused, or glad it didn’t happen to you?”

“...Oh.” Ryuji looked momentarily ashamed. “Ah, yeah. When I was a kid, I laughed when this waitress dropped some glasses. Ma smacked me for that.”

Ren nodded. “It’s more common in kids. And in people with low self-esteem, or in bad circumstances. IE, most of the people in this shithole. This school is _ sick_, Ryuji. As in unwell.”

“...Yeah. ...Hey, Ren. How do you know about all that stuff, anyway?”

“Hm? Ah, I read a lot, I guess?” Ren said. _ ‘Especially when I was stuck in juvie with nothing but a desk lamp, books, and a laptop restricted to educational websites…’ _

“Ah, no. I mean, about that dominatrix and whipping stuff.”

“...Oh.” Ren looked at Ryuji, straight faced. “Same answer. I read a lot. _ All kinds _ of books.”

Ryuji stared at Ren.

Ren stared at Ryuji, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

The two burst out laughing. It wasn’t all that funny. Not really. But their situation was so tenuous, that even a bit of levity felt that much better. With a sigh, Ren settled back into his seat. Ryuji slouched back onto the edge of the planter. The two returned to waiting in silence. It simply wouldn’t do to vanish into the Metaverse in front of prying eyes; even worse, what if someone followed them into the twisted den of lust that was Kamoshida’s Palace?

As the courtyard finally became empty, Ren let out a quiet sigh. “May 2nd…That’s the next board meeting.”

“So… so we just have to steal Kamoshida’s Treasure before then.”

Ren nodded. “...We’re going to do it, Ryuji. We have to. I don’t care if that son of a bitch dies. He’s not going to stop. I don’t care about my expulsion, or what comes after. I just want to do this.”

“...Yeah.” Ryuji said. “Yeah, I know.”

The two friends were resolved, but the silence between them was stifling. The air was heavy with grief; with the loss of innocence. With being forced to make a choice that could end a human being’s life, no matter how twisted, in order to save another.

“It’s nearly time. We’ll get as far as we can, but remember. We still have time to stop Kamoshida. We’ll--”

“So you _ are _ planning something.”

Ren looked up in alarm.

Ann stepped out from around the corner, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her blazer. She looked at Ren, not with accusation in her eyes - but with worry, and determination that equalled his own.

“Count me in.”

>>>

Earlier, en route to Sanno Hospital in Minato City, Tokyo.

Ann rode in the ambulance, holding Shiho’s hand. The volleyball player - or perhaps now, ex-volleyball player - was physically fine. At least, as far as they could tell. The physical beatings she had taken over the past days had taken their toll. But she hadn’t jumped. Shiho’s eyes were closed as the girl tried to rest in the ride to the hospital.

Ann sighed, thinking back to the rooftop. Her free hand played with a twintail if only to keep her fingers from trembling. They had literally been on the edge of disaster.

Until Ren had stepped forward. Speaking in that voice that she found so strangely soothing. Seeming to know just the right things to say.

_ ‘I get that. I really do. I get what it’s like, to be powerless. To not know where to go, what to do… To have every choice in front of me just lead to more pain. I know. I know what it’s like, to have the only thing in my control be whether or not I take another breath.’ _

The profound truth in that statement had struck Ann. It had made her cry for not only Shiho, but for Ren, for Ryuji, for herself. For everyone stuck in Shujin, to be forgotten and buried for the ambition and convenience of the adults that were supposed to look after them.

But then, why did the _ other _thing he said keep repeating itself in her mind?

_ ‘But every day I’m alive, I get another chance to try to figure it out. There’s people who love me, and until everything I do hurts them, I think it’s selfish of me to just end it.’ _

It wasn’t like what he said was _ bad _. After all, it had saved Shiho’s life and convinced her to not take the permanent solution to a (hopefully) temporary problem. Still, something about it bothered her, kept tugging at her mind. The blonde girl looked down at her friend again; her eyes were still shut. She was dozing now. Ann closed her eyes as well, not to sleep, but to start visualizing what had happened - a trick of acting and modeling that she had been taught by one of her senpai at the agency.

She set the scene in her mind. The worn down rooftop, the ‘relics’, the collapsed fence. She recalled the feel of the wind, the quiet creaking of the door on its rusted hinges. The tears on her face, the feeling of despair. The hope, when Ren raised his voice. Ren had been standing, facing Shiho. Respectfully far enough away so that Shiho would feel _ safe._ Ironic, given that she was standing on the edge. But close enough so that he could speak in that gentle voice. He said the first thing.

_ ‘I get that, I really do…’ _

He had his hands out, showing them to Shiho as a means of proving he wasn’t trying anything, a way of showing he was respecting her decision to stand there. He still gestured emphatically, sincerely. His grey eyes were worried; empathetic - no. _ Sympathetic _. He spoke as if he had been in Shiho’s shoes, before.

Then, as he spoke the second thing, there was a subtle pull at the corner of his lips, a flicker of his grey eyes to the left for a split second. His hands weren’t_ quite _ as natural. Something only Ann would have noticed. She had to admit to herself that she had spent a lot of time watching the young man, lately.

_ ‘I think it’s selfish of me to just end it.’ _

Ann’s eyes snapped open. She said it again, the word that really, might have been the start of it all. The start of their relationship with each other. The thing that escalated the rumors that had become a self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing them together.

“...Lies.”

>>>

And so, Ann had accompanied Shiho to the hospital and made sure that her friend was safe. She called Shiho’s parents, who promised to return as soon as possible - and they were sending a trusted aunt and uncle in the city to come and stay with her. Ann wasn’t sure if explaining the situation with Kamoshida at this point would help or hinder, and so she had left it out, only saying that Shiho would be comfortable only with trusted family and friends.

And then Ann had caught a cab, and hurried back to Shujin.

Frequently, people assumed Ann was stupid - an unfair prejudice associated with her hair color, heritage, and eyes. To be fair, her grades were average at best. And usually, English was what pulled them to that acceptable level. But what she had was an uncanny ability to observe _ people. _She could easily discern emotion and intent. Trusting her instincts had been what prevented her from getting close to Kamoshida at the start of the year prior to Ren’s arrival, even when he still seemed to be the friendly Olympic hero. He had just seemed to be interested in getting to know his valued starter’s friend, but there was always something… off. Unsettling.

And now, that same instinct told her to find Ren and Ryuji. In particular, that instinct told her Ren might do something _ stupid _.

She stood in front of the two, now, hands stuffed in her pockets to hide the fact they were trembling. She was relieved that Ren wasn’t up on the roof.

“Well? I said, count me in!” Ann said, fiercely.

“Ann, you have no idea what we’re going to do.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“I don’t care. I have just as much reason to take down that son of a bitch as you do. _ More _ so. I’m fighting for Shiho’s sake, too.”

“Seriously, Ann?” Ryuji said. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, here...”

“So _ tell _ me, then!” Ann shouted. “I’m _ already _ in this! I heard about the expulsion! May 2nd, right?! If we don’t do something before then, it’s only a matter of time before he comes after me and Shiho!”

Ryuji got off the planter. “No! It’s crazy! We’re going to be risking our lives, here. We can’t let some girl who--”

“Some _ girl _?! I’m not some damsel in distress, Ryuji!”

Ren looked at Ryuji and Ann, his sense of alarm growing. They were getting louder, yelling at each other. There were still teachers in the school, students probably, too. Everyone was on edge. Someone would come to investigate the yelling; and then, that would just complicate things even more… he made a decision.

“You’ll have to _ force _ me to not get involved! You--”

The world _ rippled _.

The school faded away, replaced by the Metaverse, the twisted castle that was Kamoshida’s Palace. The three stood there, in front of the entrance.

“...W...what?!” Ann exclaimed, looking around, wide-eyed.

Ryuji, in his thieves’ outfit and mask, snapped his head over to Ren. “Bro! What the hell!?”

Ren stood there, a hand in a pocket of his tailcoat; his other hand held his phone.

“...This is why you can’t help, Ann.” Ren said, catching her attention as he took off his mask.

She turned to him. She looked at him, from head to toe and back. He was dressed like some sort of Victorian-era gentleman thief. It would have been ridiculous, if it didn’t seem to fit him to a tee. “Ren…? What are you wearing…?”

“The outfit of a phantom thief, Ann-dono!” Morgana chirped, standing on top of the castle’s outer wall.

Ann watched wordlessly, as the not-a-cat scampered down, and performed a sweeping bow, tipping his imaginary hat.

“My lady, what an honor it is to--”

“Holy shit, it’s a monster cat!” Ann exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth.

“NOT A CAT. OR MONSTER.” Morgana reflexively shouted, before coughing. “Er… that is, I’m Ren and Ryuji’s ally, in here.”

He looked at the two.

“...Aren’t I?”

Ren and Ryuji exchanged glances. Ren looked at Morgana, nodding. “...We’ve decided. Let’s do this.”

Ann shook her head. “Do what, exactly? I’m not moving from this spot until you tell me _ exactly _ what’s going on.”

And so, Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana explained.

To Ann’s credit, she listened quietly the whole time. She nodded, summarizing.

“And so, right now, we’re _ literally _ in his head, and you’re going to steal a physical representation of his twisted desires, triggering a reset of his cognition so he’ll realize and confess his crimes. Only, none of you have ever done this before. And even if you’re successful, there’s a chance he becomes a vegetable. Or dies.”

Morgana nodded, enthusiastically. “You get it! As intelligent as you are beautiful.”

“...And there’s a cat thingy who acts like one of those guys at a convention.”

“Oh! You mean, a convention of _ true gentlemen? _”

Ren snickered.

Ann nodded, slowly. “...Yep. This is it. This is what it feels like to go insane.”

Morgana frowned. “Why do you people keep saying that when they meet me…”

“So do you get it, then, Ann? Why this is dangerous?” Ren asked.

She nodded.

“Good.” Ren said.

Ann stepped forward, looking up at the castle. “So, where do we start?”

“Well, I’m thinking, we should get in through the vent-- ...wait, what?”

“I’m coming with you.” She said, firmly.

“You aren’t.”

“I am!”

Ren and Ann faced off, glaring at each other. A replay of their Kansai face-off, only now without the accents, without the ridiculous poses. It was Ren, who backed down first. He sighed.

“Ann… you can’t fight in here.” Ren said. “_ We _ can. I’m not saying you don’t have a reason to be here. But this is going to be hard. Ryuji, Morgana and I might not be able to do this, even with our powers. If we have to protect you, it might as well be impossible.”

“Then show me how you got your stupid costumes and powers.”

“It’s not that simple.” Ren said, emphatically. “...It really isn’t. Please. Let us do this. Let us do this for you and Shiho.”

Ann looked at Ren, carefully. Like she was seeing him down to his bones. “Do you swear to me that everything you told me was true? That you’re only not taking me because I don’t have whatever… powers… you three have? And that you’ll stop that bastard?”

“...I swear.”

She studied him. After a moment, she nodded. “I believe you. Show me out? I’ll expect you to text me when you get out of here.”

“That easy?” Ren asked, baffled.

Ann, turning toward where she thought the exit was, spoke as she walked. “You’re telling the truth.”

Ren followed her, thumbing the app on his phone. “...You can tell when I lie?”

“How do you think I knew to come back to school?”

>>>

A few minutes later, Ren returned to Morgana and Ryuji. “It’s settled. She’s safely away.”

“Good. Hey, look. So, Morgana and I were thinking. Y’know how sometimes, it feels like we’re being watched, in here? I think we need code names, or someth…. …”

Ryuji’s voice distorted, and then became silence.

He kept talking and gesturing, though. But Ren heard nothing. Just silence. And something faint, familiar. Something like the fall of rain from a distance. He turned to ask Morgana if he heard the same thing.

When he turned, he saw the corner of a boxing ring, lit brightly by arena lights. The familiar sound grew louder. It was the cheers of the crowd, the sound pouring down on him like rain. Dark figures were in the stands. He couldn’t quite make out their features other than their red eyes. Inexplicably, he stood in the middle of a boxing ring. He was no longer wearing the outfit of a gentleman thief, but instead, stood bare chested in black and red shorts, wearing matching gloves.

He turned again - in his corner, the red corner, were the two Wardens he had met previously. Justine and Caroline. They retained their previous outfits, even though they stood in the position appropriate for his corner team. They stood perched on stools at ringside - they were too short to be able to see over the edge of the boxing ring otherwise. It might have been cute, except for the fact that they were yelling something.

Sound fully returned to him, as if he was breaching the surface of the ocean.

“...urn around! Where do you think your opponent is, Inmate?!” Caroline yelled, slamming her fist on the mat.

Ren blinked, turning to face the opposite corner.

Just in time to take a jab to the face.

Fortunately, despite his lanky build, didn’t have a weak ‘chin’; he absorbed the blow and moved on instinct, taking his usual stance.

Ren turned his body slightly; the right hand, near-orthodox, close to his jaw. The left, at chest level, slightly extended, always moving. It drove the defensive minded Coach Takeda _ crazy, _ but the old man couldn’t deny that the ‘Detroit Hitman Style’ favored by Tommy Hearns brought out Ren’s best attributes: Hand-speed, fast, variable jabs, and the ever-present spectre of a devastating chopping right.

Ren threw jabs with abandon, the rapid punches forcing his opponent back. He focused on them, or tried to. They looked like a shadow; black, wispy at the edges. Lined in red - including the eyes. Their exact shape refused to come into focus. But, boxing was boxing. Ren jabbed, parried, and slipped, falling into a familiar rhythm as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

“The Inmate is adaptable.” Justine mused, writing in her clipboard. “Impressive.”

“The Inmate is a _ wuss. _Throw a right already!” Caroline shouted.

“What the hell _ is _ this?!” Ren snarled, easily slipping a punch and returning a cross-counter that stunned his opponents for a few moments.

A deep voice, colored with amusement, spoke up as the round ended. Ren found his body moving back to his corner, sitting down on the stool placed there by Justine.

Igor stood at a neutral corner, that sinister smile plastered on his face.

“It is the Velvet Room, Trickster.”

“Bullshit! You put me in a prison!” Ren said, automatically sipping the water that was offered to him. He felt unsettled; the boxing ring was really his last sanctuary. The fight against Kamoshida aside, he hadn’t truly set foot in one to train or compete since before his arrest. Ironically, the place where he had exchanged punches countless times in the past was his remaining safe place.

His last connection to who he was before everything changed.

Caroline threw a towel in Ren’s face, disdainfully. “Didn’t you listen, Inmate? This place is a reflection of _ your _ heart. And watch his jab, he’s trying to stiff-arm you to block your vision.”

“_ You _ put yourself in prison. And now you’ve put yourself in the ring.” Justine said, as she adjusted the laces on Ren’s gloves. “Your opponent is coming up short on his right body blows. I suspect he has a rib injury below his arm.”

Ren looked at Igor. “Then who the hell am I fighting?”

Igor’s smile didn’t change. “Surely, you know the answer? They say that cliches are cliche for a reason.”

Ren stared across at the shadowy figure. As he watched, the outline came into focus, for a moment. Messy hair. Lanky frame. That little smirk, engineered to be perfectly infuriating.

_ ‘Of course.’ _ Ren thought. _ ‘Who else?’ _

The fight started anew. Ren continued boxing for a standoff rather than a win, listening as Igor spoke.

“You have done well so far, Trickster. But the Road to Rehabilitation will require more sacrifice, yet.”

“What sacrifice? Haven’t you taken enough from me? My future is gone. My old friends are gone. My new friends are in danger. Reiko is--” Ren cursed in surprise, as the shadow’s speed and power seemed to increase. Worse, it started to anticipate his defense, forcing Ren to fight seriously. Fighting for a standoff now would only lead to his own knockout.

He jabbed, delaying the retraction of his lead hand, blocking his opponent’s vision for a split second.

His right smashed down with a chopping right; usually a clean hit on someone who hadn’t dealt with Ren before. But his opponent was, in some part, himself. The doppelgänger moved inside Ren’s range, dodging the blow as it returned a short uppercut to Ren’s chin - knocking him back and down.

In lieu of counting, Igor spoke. “You think _ I _ took from you, Trickster? How disappointing. This has always been a story of _ your _ choices. _ Your _consequences. You were the one that willingly gave up everything for your own justice. What was it, that you said to Arsene?”

_ ‘I’d do it again.’ _

Shaking off the stars in his vision, Ren stood up and took his stance. Just in time, too - the barrage he faced now was sublime. Nearly professional level. His shadow self was growing stronger.

“Do something, Inmate!” Caroline shouted. “Is that all the fight you have in you?!”

“Disappointing…” Justine said, writing a little more.

“What do you _ want _ from me!?” Ren shouted. At Igor. At the twins. At the world.

“If you desire Rehabilitation, if you desire vengeance, then you must become a suitable instrument. You must be merciless; you must be without hesitation. You must _ sacrifice _.” Igor said, now at the opposite corner from Ren. Ren tried to slip a punch and return a counter, only to take a hard body blow, getting driven back into a corner.

“_ God damnit!” _

There was a brief pause in the barrage. Arsene’s voice came through to Ren.

_ ‘Right straight.’ _

Ren slipped the punch, immediately turning and pivoting on his left foot as he delivered a perfect check hook, reversing their positions. Dazed at the sudden turnaround, the doppelgänger stood in the corner, pausing for a critical moment. Ren took full advantage. If his shadow was going to mimic his style, it would also mimic his weaknesses. He buried the doppelgänger with jabs and crosses, sealing its mobility. The _ injustice _ of everything crashed down on Ren as he tapped reserves he never had to use before. His hatred for Kamoshida. For Shido.

And, he knew, the self-hatred he had for himself.

Roaring, his eyes wild, Ren’s punches started getting through the guard. A jab into a chopping right. A left hook to the body that pushed the falling doppelgänger back up with the sheer force of the blow into the ring post. Another right. Someone had to pay. _ Anyone _ had to pay for what had been done to him.

The shadow slumped down to its knees. Ren approached, his right fist pulling back to strike his kneeling opponent. Gloves or not, from this angle and in this situation… this could be a lethal blow. _ Would _ be a lethal blow. He grit his teeth.

He hesitated. For all his violence in the Metaverse, he hadn’t yet made the critical step of killing directly with his fist.

“Finish it, Inmate!” Caroline shouted. “Hurry it up!”

“Sacrifices must be made, Trickster.” Justine said, impassive as usual.

Ren’s fist felt heavy, cruel. It was a bludgeon; this would not be a gentle death. He cursed softly, tensing his arm, shoulder, and back in the way that was so familiar to him. In the way that his second father had shown him, with years of hard practice, care, and really, in Takeda’s gruff way... love. But if this was the sacrifice to be made to protect his friends, to fulfil his promise to Ann, and to sate his own vengeance… he would throw it away.

The sharp blow rang through the now silent arena, accompanied with a sickening crunch. And another. And another.

The doppelganger slumped bonelessly to the mat. Brutalized. Dead. As Ren quietly contemplated the fallen form, burst into wisps of shadow, revealing a Succubus, one of the enemies they had faced in Kamoshida’s Palace. It disappeared into smoke; and then reappeared, behind Ren, draping herself over the boxer’s shoulders as she purred into his ear.

“My, my… I do enjoy a man who plays _ rough…” _

Ren turned, swiping his arm at her in a panic.

Laughing, the shadow jumped back. “Oh, _ you _ … I’ll just make myself at home. I’ll be there, when you want me. And, I _ know _ you want me.”

Wiggling her fingers at him in a goodbye, she blurred; morphing for a brief moment into Ann’s form - still dressed as the Succubus, though. The demon blew him a kiss, laughing, and vanished into the recesses of the Velvet Room.

Or, he supposed, into the recesses of his heart.

“About time.” Caroline scoffed.

Justine nodded. “Well struck.”

Something flashed across Igor’s expression, normally etched into that grotesque grin. Curiosity? Amusement?

“Indeed… Well struck. Continue, then. Show us how you will avoid Ruin, Trickster.”

>>>

“Ren? Reeeen? Hey, Earth to Ren!” Morgana shouted, waving his hands and jumping up to try to reach the teen’s face. “Wake up!”

Ryuji frowned, stepping forward. “I hate to do this… But then again, when else am I going to get to slap a real boxer?”

The skull-masked thief cocked his hand back, and swung with his right hand, palm open.

Ren abruptly swayed back at the last moment, and then shot his right hand forward, flicking Ryuji in between the eyes with his index finger.

“Augh! Ouch!” Ryuji shouted, holding his face. “What the hell!?”

“Ryuji. _ You _ tried to slap _ me _.”

“I just wanted to wake you up!”

“Well, it worked. Let’s move.” Ren said, walking toward the Castle.

Ryuji and Morgana blinked, chasing after Ren.

“H-hey, wait!” Morgana called. “We still need to discuss--”

“Daylight’s burning.” Ren said. “We can talk about code names later. Though, I’m moderately fond of ‘NiceCat’, and ‘Captain Tight Pants’.”

“! Your pants are just as tight!”

“But your Persona’s a pirate, so…”

“Well, your Persona’s some fancy puffball. So you’d be Lord Tight Pantsington the Second.”

“And why are you calling me ‘NiceCat’? I’m not a cat! I mean, it’s kinda obvious that I am a _ nice guy _, given how I treated Ann-dono!”

“Dude, you’re totally a cat.”

“Shut up, ape.”

Successfully deflecting his sudden space-out, Ren kept moving, letting his allies argue over code names as they started their careful infiltration through the castle’s halls. He quietly reflected on what he had just seen in the Velvet Room. Partly, he wondered what it meant for his battle strength in the Metaverse.

Mostly, though - he wondered what it meant for his soul.

>>>

Ann hadn’t _ meant _ to lie to Ren. Not really. She really meant that she’d wait for them on the outside, somewhere safe. She had been standing just in front of the school, looking at her phone for nearby cafes, when the strange red icon had appeared. It glowed, beckoning.

And so she was back. In front of the Castle of Lust.

“H...Hello? Ren?” She called, cautiously. “Ryuji? … ...cat… thing?”

She took a step forward through the gates of the outer wall.

_ ‘...I have to take what Ren and Ryuji said seriously. This could be dangerous! I’ll just take a quick peek inside the gate, and see if they’re still here…’ _

The castle’s main double doors slammed open. A double column of knights stormed out.

“Intruder! Intruder at the gates--!! Princess!”

“...Princess…?”

“What’s the Princess doing out here?! Quick! Your Highness, you must come with us! There are _ thieves _ about!”

“Er… ...yes! I saw them! They went that way!” She pointed out the gates, toward the alley way that Ren had taken her to. The exit. “I’ll go after them! Leave it to me!”

She turned to run.

A gauntleted hand clamped down on her wrist. The knight’s voice, previously concerned and alarmed, was now tinged with suspicion.

“...I think the King will want to see that you are well first, Princess.”

>>>

Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana snuck and fought through the halls of the castle, successfully reaching a safe room in the west wing, first floor. There was just one obstacle remaining.

Ryuji shoved the barrel of his Benelli M3 into the mouth of the last obstacle. The Kelpie, eyes wild with fear, looked up at him.

“Mmmph mmh hmmm!”

“Sorry. I still don’t speak asshole.” Ryuji’s finger tightened on the trigger.

“Wait, Ryuji.” Ren said, stepping forward. He knelt down, exchanging some quiet words with the shadow. He seemed to come to an accord; the shadow vanished, peacefully, changing into something that Ren grasped in his hand, before standing up.

Morgana frowned. “Ren, you still haven’t explained what it is you’re doing, when you…”

“I’m not--”

“You’re not sure yourself.” Ryuji said, mildly irritated. “You keep saying that. Then why d’you keep doing it, bro? You’ve been acting weird since you spaced out. Less violent, maybe, but these creepy negotiations are almost worse.”

Ren shrugged. “We’ll… we’ll see if it comes in handy. For now, let’s use this safe room. We’re all getting tired, on edge.”

They stepped inside, taking the opportunity to rest up. Morgana sighed.

Ren raised his eyebrow, looking at the not-a-cat. “Something wrong?”

“This would be a lot easier if we had some medicine.” Morgana said.

“Where would we find that?” Ren asked, curious.

“...It’s hard to say. Medicine in your world would still be medicine here. We just couldn’t be sure of what exactly it would do until we brought it here.”

“That’s interesting.” Ryuji said. “Hey, d’you think it would be like our guns? After I got my Benelli, I think shadows started fallin’ faster. Its too bad we couldn’t afford the SPAS-12, but I still think this is a better gun than what I started with. If we _ believed _ the medicine would work, maybe--”

A scream interrupted the thought.

“...That’s no shadow.” Morgana said, ears twitching.

“That… that sounds like…”

Ren was already out the door.

>>>

Clearly, when Ann had thought talking to an anthropomorphic cat thingy just outside the manifestation of a 30-something year old pedophile slash serial rapist’s cognitive brain space was what feeling insane felt like, her imagination had been lacking.

She was now _ inside _ the 30-something year old pedophile slash serial rapist’s cognitive brain space, tied to St. Andrew’s Cross, while facing down said pedophile and some slutty, vapid representation of herself in a bikini and cat ears. With equally slutty and vapid representations of female volleyball players lounging topless on the floor, and medieval knights guarding the room impassively.

_ ‘No,’ _ Ann thought, as she struggled against her restraints, _ ‘ _ ** _this _ ** _ is what it feels like to go insane.’ _

“Haha… I can’t believe you thought you could infiltrate my sanctuary. Like you could have fooled me, or my guards… Or, did you _ want _ to be captured?” Shadow Kamoshida said, as he leered at Ann. He stepped forward, a hand touching her cheek in a mockery of a caress. “That would make sense. Why else would you be a model? You just want to flaunt yourself to men, make yourself a little plaything--”

Shadow Kamoshida flinched as Ann spat in his face.

“You _ bitch!” _ He raised his hand to hit her.

The doors to the room blew open with sound like thunder. When the smoke cleared, Ryuji stood there, shotgun smoking and crackling with electricity, flanked by Morgana and Ren. Ren charged forward, with his fist already cocked back, blade extended.

“Not a single step more!” Shadow Kamoshida shouted, gesturing at his guards.

The two knights closest to Ann drew their swords.

Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana halted, halfway across the room. Too far to intervene in time.

“One more step, and I’ll kill her right now. You’re just in time.” Shadow Kamoshida said. He looked at the bikini-clad ‘Ann’. “Tell me, my dear. What do you think would be an appropriate punishment for this bitch’s insolence?”

The girl smiled lazily, speaking in a Valley girl drawl. “You should, like… show her what she _ should _ be using her mouth for. Right in front of her boyfriend, there.”

Ann’s eyes widened. “...N...no!”

“Ann…!” Ren growled, tensing.

The knights took a step closer.

Shadow Kamoshida laughed. “Great idea! Great idea…” He stepped closer to Ann, wiping the spit off his face. “I’ll show you what a _ real man _ is like. Just like I was going to show your little friend, before the cripple got in my way. You know, she was so easy to manipulate.”

“...What…?”

“All I had to do was threaten to make a move on you, and she willingly threw herself into the lion’s den. Pathetic. And then she tried to kill herself to protect you!” The King cackled. “Do you really think your friendship will be the same, now? Wouldn’t it be hard with that _ guilt _?”

Ann’s eyes dropped down. _ ‘...he… he isn’t wrong.’ _ The guilt was there. She loved Shiho, and she knew her friend loved her, too. But things would be different from now on. They would have to be. Too much had happened; there had been too much pain, too much sadness. Some part of her knew that the well may have been poisoned.

“And you. Just as easy to manipulate. If it weren’t for your _ boyfriend _ , you would have done the same! You were going to let me _ fuck _ you just to save her! And you’re here, about to be used by me _ anyway _, because you wanted to avenge her!”

_ ‘...is this it? Raped and murdered? Just like that…?’ _ She started to feel disconnected from her own body, her own senses. It became hard to hear anything. Hard to see anything, beyond the lecherous, glowing eyes in front of her. Beyond the hands that reached for her, ready to tear her clothes from her body, ready to violate her. Shadow Kamoshida’s mouth moved, but Ann couldn’t hear clearly.

“...your weakness.”

Ann blinked.

“...Wh...what?”

Shadow Kamoshida smirked, happy to repeat himself. To maximize the trauma. “I _ said _ , whore, your weakness is what brought you to this end. You care _ so much _ about your friends, that I was able to play you, and now I’m gonna play _ with--” _

Ann’s eyes snapped to Ren, standing beside Ryuji and Morgana. So familiar to her now, even beneath the mask. He returned her gaze. He was tense, waiting. Waiting, she realized - for _ her. _He inclined his head to her, slightly. He said nothing, because the words had already been said.

_ ‘You _ ** _are _ ** _ strong. You aren’t crying because you’re weak. You’re crying because you care. You care so much that it hurts. Do you know how rare that is? How hard it is to find someone with that kind of compassion? That’s strength. Maybe one of the best strengths a person can have.’ _

“--you. I’m going to put you in your place, and…”

“Shut. Up.” Ann growled. “You _ filth _. I’m going to make you pay for every single life you’ve ruined.”

“And just how are you going to…” Shadow Kamoshida’s eyes widened, as the now familiar feeling of a human awakening to a Persona chilled him. “Guards! Kill her!”

Too late. The force of the Awakening blew them back.

Ann writhed in pain, tied to the cross - but she welcomed it. It cut through her dulled senses, the shell of numbness that she had placed herself in to survive the hell that was Shujin. It made her feel _ alive _.

The voice she heard was all smoke and seduction, silk and satin.

_ ‘My, my… I’ve been waiting for awhile, my dear. Though, seeing that pretty little Trickster now, I can understand why. A girl _ ** _does_ ** _ need to have the right audience before she can make an entrance, after all.’ _

Ann, still convulsing against the cross, grinned, before slumping, hanging limply by her arms.

_ ‘Are you ready?’ _

“I hear you… Carmen…”

Carmen’s laughter was like the tinkling of wine glasses on a summer night.

_ ‘I am thou _

_ Thou art I. _

_ All will fall to their knees and worship us! _

_ Call my name and be free, forever!’ _

Ann’s face looked up, clad now in a feline red mask, eyes glowing yellow. “No more holding back!”

She pulled free from the cross, the iron manacles ripping apart like paper.

_ ‘There you go… nothing can be solved by restraining yourself.’ _

Ann gripped the mask, tearing it from her face with a scream.

Ren watched, as blue flame and light briefly obscured the girl before them.

Ann stood defiantly, in a tight, latex cat suit - red, like her mask. She was backed by the manifestation of Carmen, the femme fatale from Prosper Merimee’s novella. The Persona stared down imperiously at Shadow Kamoshida and the knights, daring them to take on her chosen.

As they hesitated, Ann darted forward, disarming a knight with a graceful kick, leaping up to grasp the blade - and cleaving her doppelganger in two with a ringing battle cry.

Ren was entranced. There was the cat suit, of course. And the cleavage cut out.

_ ‘...That’s a lot of zippers. Many zippers. All the zippers.’ _

But there was also the light in her eyes. If unlocking his ‘other self’ meant rage and death, Ann’s ‘other self’ was light and _ life _.

“Ren! Bro!”

“Hm? Wha--” Ren slipped the sword thrust, parrying it with his left, before following through with a right cross-counter that stabbed into the throat of a knight.

“Stop staring at her! Fight’s on!” Ryuji growled, his pipe in one hand smashing a kneecap, before bringing his shotgun to bear one-handed and blasting the crippled knight in the face.

“It’s rude to stare like that at such a lady!” Morgana admonished.

“I wasn’t staring!” A one-two, headslip again, and then hook to the liver.

“You _ totally _were!” A Zio lightning blast, then shotgun blast to the sword-arm.

“...Fine. I was, a little?”

“...Nothing _ little _ about her.”

“This is unbecoming of phantom thieves!”

They finished off the knights blocking them from Ann, joining her.

Ann threw the sword aside, taking a threatening step toward Shadow Kamoshida. The King _ whimpered _, backing up.

“You tried to steal everything from me… from Shiho! It’s your turn, now, you son of a bitch. I will rob you of _ everything! _”

“In...Insolence!” yelled one of the remaining guards. They blew apart, melting together - forming a massive, horned demon. Inexplicably seated on a toilet, Ren noted.

“_ No one _ is going to stop me now! Let’s go, Carmen!”

Ann gestured; Carmen took the cigar from her lips, disdainfully flicking it at the Belphegor. The Agi flame blast flared from the sparks, a far larger and hotter blast of flame than expected from tiny embers. The monster roared, stunned.

“It’s weak to flame! Ann-dono, we’re depending on you!” Morgana cried, as he attacked with his sword.

The demon snapped out of it, roaring as the sword struck true. It raised a hand - the thieves braced for an attack.

Instead, the beast cast Dia. Green light bathed its burns and sword wound, healing them both. Then with a sinister laugh, it gestured again, casting Magaru. A buffeting gale pounded the four thieves, throwing them into the back wall. With the exception of Morgana, thanks to Zorro’s wind resistance, they had also been cut up by the sharp currents of air.

“Ann! Help me out, here!” Ryuji shouted, bringing his shotgun to bear.

Ann nodded, understanding immediately. “Carmen! Agi!”

The fire combined with the shotgun blast, incendiary rounds tearing into the demon’s face. Ren took advantage of the momentary blindness. He darted into range, laying into the beast with a five hit combination, his blades hungrily stabbing and slashing.

Certainly more damage, this time - but the cycle repeated. Belphegor healed itself and attacked.

Morgana shook his head as he healed the party. “This can’t go on like this! Ann, we need consecutive fire attacks!’

Ann - and Carmen - shook their heads. “We can’t do it that fast. Not fast enough, anyway…”

Sound faded from Ren’s awareness again as a voice from within drifted up. 

_ ‘Oh, come now. Aren’t you going to let me out? Don’t you want to see three pretty girls _ ** _playing_ ** _ together?’’ _

Ren smiled, shaking his head. “You can stop with the innuendo. You’re kinda overplaying the sex thing.”

_ ‘I’m a Succubus. You might as well ask a fish to breathe air.’ _

“Some fish _ can _ breathe air.”

_ ‘No one likes a know-it-all, honey. Come on, then. Chop-chop.’ _

“Succubus!”

Ren’s mask disappeared as he cast it off, summoning the Persona.

Morgana and Ryuji, alarmed at the reappearance of a shadow they had seen only as an enemy before. They brandished their weapons.

The Succubus blew them a kiss, and then followed up one of Carmen’s attacks with a fire blast of her own.

“Bro.. you… you have two?!”

“At least.”

Morgana stared, silent. This had significance. Just like Arsene had significance. It hammered on his consciousness, almost making him forget to cast his healing spells.

The battle was over in short order.

Shadow Kamoshida stood there, shocked. “Oh… oh _ shit _.” The Speedo-clad King turned and ran.

“Not so easy, asshole! You’re nex...t…” Ann stumbled, holding her masked face. She dropped to her knees. “Wh… why?”

“Why’d you come back here, Ann?! Seriously! Are you an idiot?! What if he had…”

“Is that any way to talk to a lady?! Ann-dono, are you okay? The Awakening always takes a lot out of humans. Please, allow me to…”

“Just… ...ugh. I told you. I’m not some damsel in distress.”

Ren crouched down in front of her. He smiled that crooked little half-smile, his eyes lively under the mask. “No. You’re not. You’re a thief, like us.” He offered a hand.

Ann looked at him - the flashes of snark, those little smirks she saw in the other world that punctuated the mild-mannered space cadet mannerisms she saw in class… they were here, now, in full force. It felt… right. She took his hand, accepting his help in standing up. As he hauled her up, she stumbled awkwardly on her heeled boots. She braced herself against his chest, her face matching the hue of her catsuit as she realized he still held her hand and had steadied her with an arm around her waist.

“Oh. Uh, sorry. Heels…”

“Right. Heels.” Ren replied. The crooked smile didn’t leave his face, making it seem like he didn’t believe for a single second that it was the heels that made her fall into him. 

Ann started to feel a mix of irritation and something _ else _ at the apparent cockiness, until Carmen’s voice chimed in helpfully, heard only by Ann.

_ ‘Remember, sweetie. I said there’s nothing to be solved by restraining _ ** _yourself_ ** _ . Restraining _ ** _him_ ** _ , on the other hand…’ _

Ann’s eyes widened. She abruptly shoved Ren away, sending the phantom thief onto his ass.

“!! Ren! Sorry…!”

>>>

Outside the castle, the group of four stood, safely away from the notice of any guards.

“...So, uh, welcome.” Ryuji said, awkwardly.

It had been a bit awkward, after the impromptu embrace. And the impromptu shoving. At least, for Ann. It was odd - in the real world, it seemed like Ann had the upper hand on Ren, throwing the boy’s world off kilter with a look, a gesture. Here, at least for now, Ann was faltering - trying to figure out who was the real Ren Amamiya. The boy who nearly dropped his lunch at a ‘boop’ from a pretty girl? Or the gentleman thief who had the confidence of a man who didn’t _ think _ he was God’s gift to women - he had the confidence of a man who _ knew _ he was.

Ren nodded. “It’s good to have you, Ann… If you’ll have us. As I swore to you, the only reason I wasn’t taking you with us was because you couldn’t do what we could do. Now you can. Complete with the ‘stupid costume.’

Ann huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s not like I _ chose _ this. Seriously…”

Morgana, ever eager to impress Ann, spoke up. “Well, your conscious self didn’t. Your _ subconscious _ did. You see, some part of you sees this as the ideal _ you _, the rebellious and free you, who--”

“You’re saying some part of me is a dominatrix?!”

Ryuji snorted. “Well, you _ did _ slap me around in middle schoo--Ow ow ow! Not helping your case!”

Laughing, Ren held up his hands. “Ann… It’s not that bad, really.”

Ann looked up dubiously, her fingers still firmly holding Ryuji’s ear.

“Dominatrix is the feminine form of the Latin word dominator - meaning ruler. Nowadays, there’s _ sometimes _ an association with sex, but not always. The only real consistent thing is that you’re in charge. Powerful. Free.” Ren said.

Ryuji blinked. “Dude. You really do know way more about that than you should.”

“All kinds of books, Ryuji. All kinds…”

“...Oh. Well…” Ann mumbled, letting go of Ryuji’s ear as she recalled the words of Carmen’s contract. “Fine. So… Do we head out, for now?”

Ryuji blinked. “Wait. We need to sort out code names, still.”

“Code names?”

“We were talking about it before we came in, but got sidetracked.” Ryuji explained. “Morgana and I got to thinking, it probably isn’t a good idea to spout off our real names inside Kamoshida’s brain. Even if he isn’t supposed to be aware. I mean, there’s a lot about this place we don’t know.”

“There’s a lot about this place _ you _ don’t know.” Morgana scoffed. “...But, you might be right.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Anyway. I was thinking Skull, for me. For obvious reasons.”

Morgana frowned thoughtfully. “Ren suggested NiceCat, for me, because I’m obviously such a _ gentleman _, but…”

Ann looked at Ren, surprised. She understood the connotation, having been on the receiving end of the ‘I’m a nice guy, give me a chance…’ line more than once.

Ren tapped the side of his nose, winking at Ann.

Ann giggled, catching Morgana’s attention.

“Oh? Ann-dono? Did you have a suggestion?”

“Er… uh… ….Mona? How about Mona?” Ann blurted out, averting her eyes from Ren, who was whistling innocently.

“Oh! Well, if you like it, Ann-dono, I’ll use it!”

Ann frowned. “...What about me?”

Ren looked at her. She had stepped into the shadows beside the wall, away from the castle light. The darkness turned her ruby red catsuit into a blood hue, almost black…

“Panther.” He said, simply.

“...Oh. Nice.” Ann said. “That’s perfect… And you, Ren? What do we call you?”

Ren shrugged.

Mona’s fanged mouth spread in a grin. “That’s easy. Joker. He can use multiple Personas! That makes this guy our trump card in battle.”

Ren blinked. To Ann’s eye, he looked briefly pained. Then, he laughed, oddly enough. “...Hah. Perfect. That’s perfect… Anyway, we should go. Come on, we’ll plan our next move once we’re out of harm’s way completely.”

Ryuji and Mona went ahead, either arguing and exchanging insults, or bantering good-naturedly. It had become hard to tell.

Ann fell into step beside Ren. She glanced up at him. “...Is your code name really fine with you?”

“Ah, yeah. It just reminded me of the ring name someone at my boxing gym gave me.”

“...It reminded you of Kamakura Killer?”

Ren shook his head. “I was just joking about that.”

“Then…?”

“Wildcard. My ring name was Wildcard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitions
> 
> Jab - Punch thrown with the lead hand, with little wind up and ideally little telegraphing. Many uses - setting up combinations, feeling out distance, feeling out your opponent's guard, screwing up an opponent's timing.
> 
> Straight/Cross - Punch thrown from rear hand. Involves more use of the kinetic chain from the ground (foot) through to the torso and shoulders. Much harder than a jab, but slower.
> 
> Chin - Refers to a boxer's ability to take a shot to the jaw/chin without getting KO'd. Having a 'weak chin' or 'glass jaw' means you're not very durable.
> 
> Detroit Hitman Style/Tommy Hearns - Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns was a boxer, one of the greatest of all time. Tall, slender, rangy build. His style emphasized the advantages of his physical build. Basis for Hajime no Ippo character, Ryou Mashiba (sadly, you can't actually use your arm like a whip to cover the entire freaking ring, though)
> 
> Orthodox - Stance in boxing. Left foot and left arm forward, right foot and right hand back. Gloves up near the jaw/chin. Favors right-handed fighters (strong side ready for cross/straight). Southpaw is the opposite.
> 
> Chopping Right - Variation on right straight, more straight/overhand blow. Works better if you're taller.
> 
> Cross-counter - Using the cross/straight as a counter punch, timed to hit as someone is hitting (what Ren did at the rally)
> 
> Stiff-arm - Leaving your left jab hanging to blind/push your opponent, set up for a right.
> 
> Slip/headslip - Moving just enough to let a punch 'slip' by, maintaining good body position to allow for immediate counter-attack.
> 
> One-two - Jab followed immediately by right. Delivered well, the cross should arrive almost immediately after the jab.
> 
> I think that's everything. I'm starting to get a rhythm that makes sense for me in terms of updates - I think general rule is going to be before posting a chapter, the next will be mostly written, and the one after that at least roughly outlined in my head. Easier to keep characters consistent/story flowing.
> 
> Next one will be a bit more light-hearted. Hard to write about the kind of stuff Kamoshida does to people all the time.
> 
> 2020-07-21 - It's interesting to go back and read these initial chapters again. Not just for how my writing style's changed over the 60-odd chapters of GtD and GtD:XR, but also reading about how Ren's changed between the start of GtD to the latest chapter of XR.


	7. Training Montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The training montage is a time-honored tradition of American cinema and has its roots in boxing. It was made famous by the Rocky movie series, beginning with Rocky I. The scene of Rocky Balboa charging up the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art has become part of America’s collective memory - decades later, tourists still delight in running up the very same stairs, which are now fondly referred to as the "Rocky Steps". The training montage generally has three elements: A build up where the protagonist confronts his inadequacies, a serious training regimen where he overcomes his shortcomings, and then a moment of triumph where he is deemed ‘ready’ for the major confrontation of the film. This technique has been criticized as being overused in American cinema, but remains a key device in showing both the passage of time, but also character development. Best of all, it's all wrapped up in two to four minutes with an upbeat song. Lazy writing, or efficient use of time? Only Rotten Tomatoes can tell._

**** April 16, 20xx 

Ren glanced at his obnoxiously pink, pig-shaped analog alarm clock sitting on the overturned milk-crate that served as his nightstand in the attic above Leblanc. The pig helpfully showed the time as 1600. He was, apparently, the last person in the world to use an actual alarm clock rather than his phone. It was also the only real piece of decoration in the attic. Ren had found a card table that he had set up in front of the couch and unpacked his clothes and laptop, but really, the place didn’t seem very lived in.

When his new ‘roommate’ had arrived, Morgana had seemed a bit put-off at the sparse living space.

Ren glanced at the ball of fur, curled up on the foot of the bed. Ren rolled his eyes in mild irritation; Mona had ended up at his place by default. Ryuji’s mom was allergic. Ann, understandably, didn’t want to give a slightly obsessed not-a-cat easy access to her room. And bathroom. And shower.

Ren shook the thought of Ann showering out of his head.

_ ‘...Anyway. That’s about all I can do with this place before they arrive. Not like I have any other furniture hidden away in here.' _ His fellow thieves were due to arrive in an hour or so. That too, had been decided by default. Ann’s live-in caretaker was going to be home; Ryuji’s mother was going to be home as well. And anywhere at school was out of the question as a hideout, now - far too many prying eyes. People were always on the lookout for him and Ryuji, simply out of morbid curiosity.

He sat down on his bed, opening up his laptop. Just enough time for the call he had been dreading. Ren made the call, hoping that he’d miss them.

The call was immediately picked up. The faces of Kenji and Inoue appeared on Ren’s screen.

“Kid!”

“Ren!”

“Oya-ji, Kaa-chan.” Ren said, smiling. He was genuinely happy to see them, of course. But it was a reminder of… everything. The one good thing about the whirlwind of events since he arrived in Tokyo was that the boxer hadn’t had much time to think about home. But now, as he saw his father, smiling at him through a screen, and his mother, sitting close and leaning against her husband…

Ren swallowed the lump in his throat. He put on a smile, preparing himself to lie to his parents about what he was up to, how he was feeling... about everything, really.

“How… how’s things at home?”

“Things are good!” Kenji said, nodding vigorously. Maybe too vigorously. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Inoue smiled warmly at her son. While Ren looked remarkably like his father, he had his mother to thank for his charming smile. “More importantly, Ren, how’s things over in Tokyo? Are you getting along well with Sakura-san?”

“I am.” Ren said. At least that wasn't a lie. As the boy realized that he had no hope of flying under the radar, he had started snarking the boss of Cafe Leblanc with wild abandon - and the old man gave as good as he got, actually _ enjoying _ the repartee. In fact, Ren was now a part-time barista at Cafe Leblanc.

“Good, good…”

They chatted for awhile, until Kenji looked up, off screen. “Ah… That’s Coach Takeda and Kana-chan. I bet you’ll want to talk to them; your mother and I need to attend to the guests.”

Inoue nodded. “We love you, Ren. Just think. It’s already been a week! Time flew by, didn’t it?”

The response to that definitely required a lie.

“Yes, definitely. Oh, and oya-ji? Have you lost weight?”

Kenji grinned, laughing. “You noticed! Now that you’re gone, _ someone _ has to flirt with the lady guests--Ow!”

“Just making sure there’s still something on your gut to pinch, _ dear _.”

Ren chuckled as Takeda took their places. The grizzled old man nodded firmly to Ren.

“Kid. You alright?”

“Yessir. ...Can I ask you a question, though?”

Takeda frowned, recognizing Ren’s tone. He had a boxing related problem. “What’s wrong? You getting into fights? I told you, you need to lay low--”

“No. No sir, nothing like that. I’m not fighting in any actual ring.” That wasn’t _ technically _ a lie. “Something just occurred to me, while training. Staying in shape, you know? Have you ever been… angry?”

Takeda raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been my fighter since you were barely tall enough to bump the bottom of the heavy bag with your forehead. And even then, you pissed me off. And you’re asking me if I’ve ever been _ angry _?”

Ren laughed. “Ah… Sorry, Coach. I mean, have you ever been so angry that it changes how you fight? When you’re boxing, I mean.”

What could he say? Was he really going to ask his second father if he had ever been angry enough to want to kill someone someone in the ring?

Coach Takeda sighed. “...Yeah, kid. Yeah. I’ve been angry enough to want to hurt someone. Really hurt someone… Maybe even kill ‘em.”

“...How do you get over it? How do you stop feeling that way?” Ren asked.

“You don’t.”

“...Oh. Well. Thanks. So, how’s the wife and kid?”

Takeda rolled his eyes. “Kid. Just shut up and listen, for a second. And stuff that massive ego of yours, because I’m going to get complimentary. You’re the best _ technical _ boxer I’ve ever trained. You _ think _ a fight better than anyone I’ve ever had. But you’re incomplete.”

“Well, are you going to leave me in suspense, or…”

“I told you to just shut up.” Takeda gestured vaguely. “You’ve never had to box with your _ will _ , or your _ feeling. _ It’s some combination of emotion and instinct. Martial artists would call it _ ki _. When you get pushed far enough physically, mentally, or emotionally, you have to tap into something else past technical skill. That’s why you’re incomplete. You’ve never had to deal with that side of your boxing.”

“It’s not like you to get philosophical.”

Takeda shrugged. “You’re right. But I can’t deny it. I felt it happen to me, and I’m not surprised it’s happening to you, even if you’re just training. You’ve had a lot on your mind… In your shoes, I’d be angry, too. I’d be more surprised if you weren’t.”

“...So, you can’t stop it?” Ren asked, quietly.

“No. But you can _ use _ it. Only fucking monks think all anger is evil. Or nerds watching that Space Wars crap or whatever you call it. Rage can make you see red, make you want to wipe everything out. It can make you lose your form and make you sloppy. That kind of anger uses _ you_. You know this - you do it to your opponents all the time. But if _ you _use it, focus it, it becomes your weapon. The hard thing is getting there.”

“How do I do that?”

“Do I really need to tell you?” Takeda asked, raising an eyebrow. “By boxing. We’ll work on it when you get back.”

“...Right. When I get back.” Ren murmured.

“_ Otou-san! _ Are you _ done _ yet?”

“Ah. Your cutman wants to talk to you.” Takeda said, referring to Kaname’s role as the gym’s ringside medic. Her fearless demeanor, steady hands, and growing up in the gym made her suited for the role despite her age.

Kaname shoved her father aside. “Renpai!”

“Hey, Kana-chan.”

The petite girl scrutinized him like he was a horse for sale. “You’re looking thin. How’s your diet? Are you lifting, or just roadwork?”

“I missed you too.”

“Do you think I’m joking?!”

“‘Course. That’s why you’re the cutman. You..”

“Keep you in stitches.” Kaname finished, eyebrow twitching. “It wasn’t funny the first time, and it’s not funny now. I swear to God, I’m going to marry whoever figures out how to punch you in the face over the internet.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then started laughing.

Kaname shook her head. She smiled, glancing over Ren’s shoulder at the clock. “I’m glad you can still laugh, Renpai. And I’m glad you kept P-Chan.”

>>>

Ann arrived at Leblanc a little early. She frowned, pausing outside the cafe.

_ ‘Is this really the right place? I know he said he lives above a coffee shop, but…’ _

Shrugging, she pushed open the door. Sojiro looked up, raising an eyebrow at the appearance of someone who was not only not one of his regulars, but far younger than his usual clientele.

Ann smiled at him. “Hi! Is Ren home? I’m Ann Takamaki.”

Sojiro blinked at the pretty girl. _ ‘He said he was having friends over, but… ...damn, kid. You work fast.’ _

“Nice to meet you, Takamaki-san. Call me Boss, everyone else does.”

“Nice to meet you too! Call me Ann, then. Thanks for having us.” She headed for the stairs, walking up.

She paused at the door to the attic, hearing voices. She recognized Ren’s low register easily by now, but there was a second voice she could hear as well. A female voice, she realized with some surprise. And also consternation. She turned to head downstairs and give him some privacy, until she recalled the name he had murmured in his sleep that morning, on her sofa.

_ ‘Reiko… Is he talking to whoever Reiko is? Why would he talk about her in his sleep, unless…’ _

She shook her head. Privacy. Right.

She’d just make sure he didn’t want her to bring anything to drink, or a snack first. Right. But she’d open the door quietly, to make sure she didn’t disturb their conversation. And she’d just poke her head up the stairs, past the rail, to see what his guest might look like - rather, to see what his guest might want for refreshments.

And so Ann, with the purest of intentions, silently pushed the door open and tip-toed up the remaining few steps. She peered over the rail. She felt only brief relief at seeing he was on a video call, his back to the door as he sat on the bed.

“Really? It’s a shame that your school lost its boxing club. Even if you weren’t going to fight, you could have trained. ...Ne, Renpai. Are you sure you’re alright? You seem different.”

Ann bit her lip. _ ‘Ren...pai? A cute nickname? Is Reiko a girlfriend back in Kamakura?’ _

“I’m fine. Why don’t I show you my place?” Ren started to stand up with his laptop.

Ann’s eyes widened; she quickly turned to escape. But, her half-crouched position, leaning around the rail, was ill-suited for the maneuver. With a yelp, she caught her toe - and tumbled into Ren’s attic.

Ren blinked - he was still half-seated on the bed and partially turned around, and just bore witness to Ann falling flat on her face into his room. And, Kaname, on the screen, also saw the girl tumbling onto the floor.

“Oh. Hi, Ann.”

“...Renpai. Why is there a random blonde girl in your bedroom?”

All hell broke loose in Kamakura as the screen was wrenched back by Ren’s parents.

“What?! A girl!? Oh, let me see, let me!” Inoue chimed in, peering through the screen. “Ah! She’s _ pretty! _”

“That’s my boy. Damn, son. You work _ fast _. Hey, little miss! You’re welcome to visit the inn any time, we’ll give you a discount-- Ow!”

“You’ll stay for free! Oh, Ren, I’m so glad you’re over Reiko. Is she American? Did our Ren charm a pretty American girl--”

Ren seemed nonplussed. “Bye Mom, Dad. Catch you next week.”

“Wait! Renpai! Give me her full name and IN--”

“Bye Kana-chan.”

Ren closed the computer. He looked at Ann, just raising an eyebrow as the blonde girl scrambled to her feet.

“Er, I was uh… er… ...Can I get you a coffee?”

“I live in a coffee shop.”

“Uh… ...snack?”

“Not hungry.”

Ann stood there, awkwardly.

Ren didn’t help her out, continuing to stand there - the beginnings of an amused smirk quirking his lip.

“...Do you have to just _ stare _?!” Ann snapped, her face hot.

“I don’t have to, but I want to see what else you’ll come up with.” Ren replied, now grinning.

Ann marched over to him, punching his shoulder. “Jerk. Aren’t you a _little_ embarrassed by all the stuff your parents were saying…?”

Ren smiled. “Not really. I kind of expect it now. And me being a jerk? That’s a generally well-known fact.” He put his laptop down, gesturing at the couch and card table. “You’re early. Come on, let’s sit.”

Moments later, the two (plus Mona) were seated at the table, drinking coffee from downstairs and sharing a bag of chips. Ren was staring off into space again as Mona eagerly explained a few more nuances of the Metaverse to their newest member. Ann, though, wasn’t really listening. She interrupted.

“Hey, Ren?”

“Hm?”

“Who’s Reiko?”

Ren nearly dropped his coffee - he recovered in a split second, though, coughing as he put his mug down. “Glad you didn’t ask when Kana-chan was on the line. She hated Reiko. Oh. Sorry - Kaname was the girl who was asking for your name and IN. She’s the gym’s cutman - medic - and the Coach’s daughter. We grew up together.”

“Oh. So she’s just like a… sister to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. That’s good. I mean, to have a little sister. Right?” Ann said awkwardly, trying to cover up her relief.

“Had a huge crush on me a couple years back, though.” Ren said casually.

“What?!”

“She got over it.”

“Oh.”

“But she’s still overprotective of me and probably trying to figure out who you are, and where you live. And she got her shodan in judo this year. First one in years to pull it off that early.”

“You’re killing me, Ren.” Ann groaned.

“No. _ She _might, though.”

Silence.

Ren started to snicker; Ann laughed.

Ren shook his head, sighing. “It’s funny because it’s true. Kana-chan really is pretty hardcore. Her dad’s a coaching genius, but she’s the real taskmaster when it came to my conditioning.” He stood up, collecting the pig alarm clock - P-Chan, placing it on the card table.

“This is P-Chan.”

Ann picked up the alarm clock. “I was going to ask. This doesn’t really seem like you.”

“It isn’t. That’s why, when I was a third year middle schooler and she was a first, she made me wear it around my neck. Every day for a week.”

Ann snorted. “Seriously?! She looked _ tiny _.”

Ren shuddered at the memory of what Kaname had done to him to get him to wear the clock. “She can be a little ball of hate. That was my punishment for sleeping in and missing roadwork, and also for screwing up a weigh-in. Piggy alarm clock. Reminder to not eat so much around weigh-in, _ and _to wake up on time.”

“...It really sounds like she cares about you. And your parents, too.”

“...yeah.” He looked up, as Ryuji poked his head into the attic. He had successfully dodged the question about Reiko. “Oh, hey man. Have a seat.”

>>>

Ann and Ryuji walked toward the station in Yongen some time later, plans having been made. Ryuji walked a bit awkwardly; his bag had been stuffed with the team’s airsoft guns. Ryuji’s part of preparation was going to be maintaining and modifying their weapons while helping at Iwai’s shop. Ann looked through her phone, identifying some cheaper accessory shops. According to Morgana, certain items might actually have a beneficial effect in the Metaverse.

For Ren’s part, their de facto leader was going to prepare a training regimen for them. He wasn’t sure that real life strength and stamina would have an effect in the Metaverse, but their lives were on the line - he’d take any advantage he could get. In any event, it would hopefully make injuries less likely… And that brought his mind to the glaring hole in their plans. They still hadn’t sourced medicine. A brief experiment had shown that typical over the counter drugs didn’t do much in the Metaverse; probably because the team’s cognition of those was fairly benign. Helpful, but not able to do much. They needed something more _ real _.

“Hey. Ren. You’re over-grinding the beans.”

Ren blinked, looking down at the hand-grinder he held. He unscrewed the canister, cursing. “Damn.” He tapped out grinds that were a little finer than flour. No good for percolator coffee.

Sojiro sighed. “You’ve been spacing out a lot more often, kid. Did something happen at school?”

Ren almost laughed.

“No. Nothing.” Ren replied.

“...Girl trouble, then?” Sojiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh? No!”

“Do you _ want _ it to be girl trouble? _ Blonde _ girl trouble?”

_ ‘Kinda…’ _

“No!” Ren said, defensively.

Sojiro smirked. He looked over Ren’s shoulder at the grinds. “Ah, that’s too bad. Not much good for anything drinkable, now.”

“Nothing _ drinkable _. Hey, Boss - you still have those steaks that Arai-san gave you?” Ren asked, referring to the meat that a regular had brought as a gift.

A short time later, the two were seated at one of the booths, eating grilled steak with a spicy coffee rub. The older man shook his head in amazement. “You used grinds and curry spices to make _ this _? If the steaks weren’t so expensive, I’d add it to the menu…”

“The rub might work with cheaper meat, too.” Ren said. “It’s something I learned to make for an American guest who was missing home, back at my folks’ inn.”

Sojiro nodded. “Thanks, kid.”

“It’s the least I could do. You’ve… ...you’ve done a lot for me.” Ren said.

“Well, don’t say it like you’re leaving tomorrow.” Sojiro replied, raising an eyebrow.

“...Right.” They continued eating, in companionable silence.

“Hey. Ren.”

Ren looked up.

“You know, things will get better. You’re a good kid.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Really? After a week and multiple threats to throw me out, and we’ve already come to this? Are you going to hug me, too?”

“Bring it in.” Sojiro spread his arms out.

“Ha ha. No. Please don’t call my bluff.”

Sojiro shrugged. “You can tell a lot about somebody by what kind of friends they have. Ann sticks out. Really nice girl, but I bet she gets her share of trouble from her looks alone. And your other friend, he walks with a limp and looks like a punk, but he was anxious to get home to his mother - especially after I gave him that banana loaf to bring her.”

“We’re just a little group of misunderstood outcasts, huh?” Ren said.

“You are.” Sojiro replied, simply. “But that’s not a bad thing. You’ll do okay. Just keep your nose clean.”

“Or you’ll throw me out.”

“Haha. Yep.”

>>>

April 17, 20xx 

Early on Sunday morning, Ren walked downstairs into Leblanc, dressed in shorts and a hoody. He carried a backpack; Mona stuck up out of the top of it, his front paws on Ren’s shoulder.

Sojiro looked up, surprised. The man had just walked into the shop himself.

“Isn’t it really early for a non-school day? Or even for a school day?” He asked.

“Not really.” Ren replied. “I’m going to do some training today. Don’t worry about breakfast for me; I already made something and packed it in my bag.”

“Ah, I see.” Sojiro glanced at the kitchen, where the dishes had already been done. “Where are you headed?”

“Close to the Sport Science University’s Setagaya campus.” Ren replied, kneeling down to re-tie his trainers before fishing his headphones out of his pocket.

“Oh. Then you’re going to want to wait a bit, anyway. The train heading that way isn’t running yet.”

“Not taking the train.”

“It’s over an hour walk…”

“Not walking, either.”

Ren headed to the door. His face had an expression that Sojiro hadn’t seen before - the boy looked focused, almost on edge. Not anxious, though. Funnily enough, more like a dog who had heard someone utter the word ‘walk’. The bell on the door jingled as Ren pushed it open. He glanced at Mona.

“You sure you want to ride along like this? Remember, I told you - I don’t want any holes in this sweater from you hanging on.”

“I’ll be fine, Ren! Trust me.”

“Alright, pal. Your funeral.” Ren started jogging.

Mona winced; it was a bit bumpy, to start, but he quickly got used to it. After a few moments, he nodded triumphantly. “See? No problem. A phantom thief has to be able to handle…”

Ren glanced at the cat. “That was the warm up.”

“...What?”

Ren turned on his headphones, the pleasant voice of the the device confirming the Bluetooth connection was good before pumping tunes from his streaming service. A new artist, but apropos. Her voice was deep and powerful for a woman, ringing with vibrato as she sang to a thudding beat. Something in English, about rebellion, change. He picked up the pace quickly, matching the beat.

“Ren!? Ren!” Mona cried, barely hanging on. He fell back into the bag. “Oh, I’m gonna be sick…”

>>>

Ryuji and Ann, dressed in gym clothes, left the train station near the university’s Setagaya campus.

Ryuji yawned sleepily, dressed in a green tank top and blue track pants rolled up to the knee. He eyed Ann critically.

“Seriously? It’s Sunday, and you’re wearing your Shujin gym clothes.”

Ann took a sip of her latte, glaring at Ryuji tiredly over the rim. “It’s not like I have a huge selection of exercise outfits. Besides, it’s not like it matters what I wear to work out.”

The truth was, Ann _ did _ have a collection of fitness outfits. And the reason why she was tired was because she had gotten up early to pick one before settling on the school uniform. It was entirely because all the other ones weren’t quite right, or she wasn’t used to their feel. Nothing to do at all with the fact that she didn’t know what Ren might like. Nope.

“Well, I guess that’s true. You look like a dork right now, though.”

“Well, you _ are _ an expert on looking like a dork.” Ann came to a stop in front of the Sports Science University. “Wow. I can’t believe we’re going to be working out here… This is amazing.”

The campus was state of the art, well-known for the many famous athletes that had graduated from their ranks.

“Yeah. I don’t know how Ren got us in here, but I’ll take it! Probably way better than Protein Lovers.” Ryuji said, enthusiastically. “I bet it’s a boxing related connection.”

“Where is he, anyway? I didn’t see him on the train…” Ann said, peering at the station. Ryuji looked over her shoulder.

“Oh. He’s there… ...holy shit, did he _ run _ here?”

He had. Ren paused at a traffic stop, keeping his heart rate up by shadow boxing. When the signal changed, he ran up, coming to a halt in front of the two. He panted lightly, a sheen of sweat on his face.

“Hey, guys.”

“...hey.” Ryui and Ann mumbled, staring in disbelief. It was nearly an hour’s walk from Leblanc to get here. Probably faster at the pace Ren was going, but still.

Ren put the bag down, looking concerned as he took out his headphones. He peered inside. “Morgana?”

The cat stumbled out of the backpack, looking somewhat like one of those videos of a pet post-anesthetic. He stuck his head in some bushes; the sound of retching followed.

“Oh! Mona!” Ann cried.

“Urgh…” He waved a paw at the three, head still in the bushes. “Just… just go on without me. I’ll catch up.”

Ryuji looked at Ren. “Dude… As funny as this is, even I wouldn’t have gone that far.”

Ren shrugged. “I offered to take the train. He said he didn’t want to disrupt my routine. I took him up on the offer.”

Ryuji eyed Ren’s expression, his nonchalance. “...Ice cold, man. You really take this that seriously?”

Ren returned the look. “As a heart attack. This is kinda my thing.”

Ann recalled yesterday; how Ren had actually worn the alarm clock, how he still had it with him as a reminder. She saw the focused look on his face, a polar opposite to his demeanor in class. It was markedly different from the Metaverse, also. ‘Joker’ was a deadly fighter, but still managed to give off an air of not giving a damn. _ ‘...So many contradictions in one person.’ _

Ren unzipped his hoody to cool down. Ann stared, much in the way that Ren had stared at her after her Awakening. He wore a sleeveless T, showing defined arms and broad shoulders; his shorts were above the knee, but clearly the young fighter never skipped leg day, either. He stretched, the hem of his top riding up just a little…

Ann choked on her coffee, drawing Ren’s attention. He was oblivious to being ogled, though.

“Oh. Good for you, Ann. That’s a good idea.”

“...What?”

“Pre-workout caffeine. It’s something I usually do, but I hate running on a full stomach.”

“Oh. You should have told me, I would have gotten you one. Uhm… you can have some of this? Let me just wipe the lid…”

“It’s fine.” Ren casually took the coffee.

“Hm? Oh! Uh…” Ann watched, numbly, as he drank from the same cup that she had been sipping. Where her lips had been. Ann used to read shoujo manga in middle school and was familiar with the tropes. She had never quite seen the appeal of the famous indirect kiss, though. As she watched him drink, her eyes wide, she started to get it.

Ren sighed, handing the cup back.

“Thanks.” Completely oblivious. He became something of an idiot while working out, fitting to a tee the ‘boxing glove for a brain’ description. “Anyway, we should go in.”

“Er… ..y-yeah!” Ann stammered.

Ryuji brightened, eagerly heading toward the university.

Ren turned the other way, heading across the street toward a building that looked like a repurposed warehouse. He paused, looking back at Ryuji and Ann. “...Where are you guys going?”

Blinking, Ryuji and Ann followed Ren. The door had ‘Shinoda Boxing Gym’ printed on it.

“This is the gym of one of Coach Takeda’s old friends. He gave me the door code, said we could train here so long as we don’t get in the way of his pros. Preferably on days where they won’t be around.” He pushed open the door.

The ‘gym’ _ was _ a repurposed warehouse. It was harshly lit with fluorescent bulbs; the walls were concrete and steel. One side of the gym was equipped with multiple heavy bags, the other with ancient-looking squat racks, deadlift platforms, and benches. In the middle, a boxing ring that also seemed it had seen better days. And finally, at the back, old truck tires and sledgehammers. Everything was in good condition - no rust, nothing that seemed dangerous. But, it was all _ well used _.

“Uh… ...Ren?” Ryuji said, quietly. 

Ren headed for a rack.

“Let’s get started.”

>>>

April 21, 20xx 

Ann dragged herself out of the train station in Yongen-Jaya after school on Thursday, cursing quietly as she fished her phone out of her bag. Even that small combined motion made her wince. She was still in her uniform, on her way to meet Ren; she had a short meeting with her agency so he had left ahead of her. She allowed a little smile as she saw who was messaging her.

**SS: Hey! How’s things? I miss you**

**AT: I miss you too. Are you home now?**

**SS: Finally discharged. They didn’t want to let me out until my parents got back**

Shiho had spent the last few days in hospital. Her injuries were relatively minor, with the exception of a blown anterior cruciate ligament from Kamoshida’s latest beating and attempted rape. The injury would cost her the volleyball season but really, that was the least of her worries. Currently, her parents were exploring legal action but things weren't looking good. There was no proof, other than the physical abuse Shiho had suffered. And entering that as evidence would open up her medical record to the defense as well... something that Shiho and her parents weren't sure they were ready for. It seemed like nothing short of a full confession from Kamoshida coupled with key testimony would do anything.

**SS: What are you up to? Can you come over?**

**AT: Maybe later? I’m going to go help Ren with something**

**SS: Didn’t you guys just hang out yesterday?**

**AT: Unfortunately… …we just worked out. Me and Ryuji are still recovering**

**SS: ? Then why are you going? Does he work you and Ryuji that hard? He doesn’t seem the type**

Ann added a sticker of an exhausted looking rabbit to the conversation; the little bunny looked remarkably like Ann, down to the blue eyes. _ Everything _ hurt, even places she didn’t know _ could _ hurt. It wasn’t so much that Ren was a horrible taskmaster, or ran training like boot camp. In fact, it was the opposite…

**AT: He’s a freaking workout nut! He’s this space cadet in class but a totally different person at the gym! His regimen is insane, and he’s so focused and earnest that all you want to do is keep up with him! And when you ** ** _can’t_ ** **, he acts ** ** _nicer_ ** ** to you but doesn’t give you the option to stop! It makes you want to scream!**

**SS: ...this sounds like a ** ** _you_ ** ** problem. You could just stop**

**AT: You can’t. You can’t say no to him when he’s like that. He’s literally killing me with kindness! And burpees!**

**SS: ** ** _you’re _ ** **doing ** ** _burpees_ ** **? Damn you’ve got it ** ** _bad_ ** ** for this boy**

**AT: what are you talking about?!**

Ann smiled despite herself as she dragged herself up the stairs. The last few days had been exhausting, but strangely good. It felt good to _ do _ something. Whether it was discovering the effects of the different accessories she had purchased in the Metaverse, trying out Ryuji’s weapon modifications, or training with Ren, she felt like they were finally taking control of their lives. It might have been fun, if it weren’t for the deadline hanging over their heads.

She was glad that it was just her and Ren today. It might give her time to actually check in with their leader. Because of that deadline, he was constantly _ doing _ something. A part time job, making equipment, training… It was hard to pin him down. And when they trained together, he kept Ann and Ryuji too busy to ask questions. Really, despite being ‘on the team’ now, she still didn’t know much about him, or his state of mind. Even Ryuji wasn’t sure. They both agreed, though - in the Metaverse, he was getting progressively more reckless and aggressive - as if he was trying to get them to the Treasure by carrying the team on his back, regardless of his own safety.

Ann winced, stretching as she made her way down an alley in Yongen-Jaya. Ren had wanted to meet her around two blocks away from Leblanc, oddly enough. She glanced at the coordinates that Ren had sent to her on her phone. He was supposed to meet her right around here… She looked up. It was just the entrance to an alleyway, across from a small clinic.

_ ‘That’s odd. It should be right here…’ _

“Had enough yet!? Boxer my ass, you ain’t so tough!”

Ann looked down the alley, just in time to watch Ren take a punch to the face by someone wearing a Shujin uniform. The attacker was backed by three other students, all rough looking.

“! Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” She looked down the block, spotting a police officer. “Police! Help! Someone’s getting beaten up!”

The delinquents looked up, startled - they took off running toward the other end of the alley, now chased by the police officer. Ann dashed down the alley to Ren.

Ren groaned, rubbing his cheek. His glasses were askew; his uniform was dirty. Ann hurriedly helped him up.

“Ren?! What happened?!”

“Ah… Had a little run in with some guy from school. Kentaro Nishima, I think? Or Keitaro Yamada… Guy’s been looking for me ever since Kamoshida outed me as a boxer.”

“That’s awful…” She murmured. She touched his bruised cheek, frowning. “We should get you looked at.”

“That’s the idea!” Ren replied, suddenly cheerful. He straightened out his uniform. He then frowned thoughtfully, and _ unstraightened _ it out. “There’s a clinic across from the alley. I need you to ‘help’ me stagger in there.”

Ann stared blankly at Ren. “...Wait. _ This _was why you asked me and Ryuji to come?”

Ren nodded, thoughtfully. “If I had known it was going to be just you, I might have changed the plan. I’m lucky the cop was there, otherwise those guys might have taken a look at you and just kept beating me. No offense, but I'm glad the police officer was there. Heh. Never thought I’d say _ that _\--”

“Are you _ insane _?!” Ann asked, looking like she was ready to hit Ren herself.

“It was the only way, Ann-dono!” Mona said, poking his head into the alley. “I’ve been watching this clinic for a few days. The doctor sees all sorts of people, but she’s pretty sharp. I watched her throw a few students out trying to scam her out of stimulants for exams. She won’t even let them into her examination room.”

“_ You _ . You were _ okay _ with watching Ren get the crap beaten out of him?!”

“Er, no, I…”

Ann looked ready to continue her lecture.

“Ann.”

She looked up; Ren was standing straight, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Really, I’m fine. I know how to take a punch, and I know how to make it look bad without taking too much damage. On top of that, those guys have been trying to get me alone for days. They wanted to ‘prove themselves’ against a boxer. Now that they’ve done it, they should leave me alone.”

Ann shook her head, sighing. “I still can’t believe you.”

Ann relented, supporting Ren as he affected a limp and leaned on her. She still grumbled in mock-irritation to hide the effect that his closeness and _ heat _ had on her as they trudged into the clinic.

The doctor, seated behind a desk in the window, looked up. She was young; appearing almost too young for the job. She wore a white coat over her stylish green dress, and had a bob cut that just accentuated a sort of fashionable _ ennui _ that she radiated. Her eyes widened, though, upon seeing Ren’s bruises and limp. Ren held his ribs gingerly.

“Uh… ...your sign said walk in appointments are over. Are 'stagger ins' still okay?” Ren asked, wincing.

Ann tried hard not to roll her eyes.

The doctor sighed, standing. “I suppose. The door to your right. Your girlfriend can come, too.”

“I’m not…”

The doctor was already gone, entering her exam room through the other door.

“She seems nice.” Ren said.

Ann did roll her eyes this time. They entered, where Ann made a show of helping Ren to the exam table. The blonde looked up at the doctor. “Ah, sensei. This _ idiot _ got into a fight, and…”

_ ‘Legs.’ _

Ann stared at the doctor, who sat cross legged in her chair. Seemingly listening, but still giving off an air of boredom. The stylish green dress was apparently a stylish green _ mini _dress, showing off ripped fishnet stockings, shapely thighs, and platform heels tied on with Roman style leather straps.

“And? I’m Tae Takemi, by the way.”

“Uh, sorry. And I wanted to make sure he was okay. He said he was feeling thigh— I mean _ fine _ , but he’s pretty stubborn _ . _” Ann stammered. Her eyes flicked to Ren. She wondered if he was having a hard time with this also.

To the phantom thief’s credit, he was lying on his back, letting out laboured breaths.

“Oh, really.” Takemi walked over to Ren. “Can you sit up…?”

Ren nodded. “I… I think so, Takemi-sensei.” He sat up slowly, grimacing.

“Good. Then strip.”

Ann’s jaw dropped. “A-are you sure that’s necessary—…”

And then her jaw dropped further as Ren started to disrobe, taking off his blazer. He slowly pulled his Shujin sweater off, peeling it off.

Ann licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry.

Takemi raised an eyebrow, looking at Ann. “Are you well? Feeling thirsty?”

_ ‘Just had to ask like that?’ _Ann thought, averting her eyes. “I’m okay. Just worried.”

Takemi smirked. She started examining Ren, checking his eyes, his bruises. She spent a disproportionate amount of time on his hands before sitting back down at her desk.

“Interesting.”

“Really?” Ren asked, unable to hide his surprise. He just had a few bruises, after all.

“Not your injuries. _ You _. Not many people would let themselves get beat up just to get in my door.” Takemi said, idly spinning a pen in her right hand. “Let alone boxers.”

Ren and Ann’s jaws both dropped, now.

Takemi waved a hand dismissively. “I know, I know. Insert your denial here. Look. Your bruises are superficial; you obviously know how to take a punch without taking a lot of damage. You slipped the punches just enough to leave a mark and to satisfy your attackers. And your back and shoulders say boxer or kempo. Your hands give it away, though. No thickened knuckles from bare handed fighting; your calluses are only from weightlifting and calisthenics.”

The back alley doctor smiled. Both Ann and Ren swallowed nervously at the expression.

“So tell me. What makes high schoolers so desperate for my products that they’d go to such lengths? And it better be good, or you’re going to have another bruise. One not so superficial.”

Ann tried to think of a lie. Any lie.

Ren spoke first, straight faced. “We’re preparing to physically enter the mind of a criminal in order to rewrite his cognition and force him to confess his crimes. We believe that your medications could have profound effects on our recovery and battle readiness on the other side. Through the power of belief."

Silence.

Takemi sighed. “...wow. You must be desperate.”

Ren nodded, gravely. “We are. ‘Exams’ sounded pretty lame as a reason, so…”

Takemi laughed. “They do. Tell you what. If you’re desperate enough to make up insane stories and get beat up, this is just a small step further.”

She reached into a cabinet, taking out a small vial of oddly vibrant blue fluid.

“You don’t have to tell me any more _and _ I’ll sell you my medicine at a discount, if you drink this and agree to help me on a few more experiments.” She handed Ren the vial. “Now, let me tell you…”

Ren unscrewed the cap, throwing back the entire contents of the vial.

Takemi’s eyes widened, no longer looking bored in the slightest. “...that you should only take a small sip.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate. You know, you really should label this thing, then this sort of thing wouldn't… …”

“Ren!” Ann shouted, as he collapsed back onto the examination bed.

>>>

Ren woke up to a familiar ceiling. He sat up slowly, blinking groggily. “Ah… man.”

He was still only wearing pants. _ ‘How did I…’ _

Ren looked over at the sofa. Ann was lying there, curled up on her side. Asleep.

_ ‘Ah.’ _He glanced at the time - 1900. A full two hours later. He stood, walking over to wake her up. He did take note of her sleeping face, though, rating the adorability of it a solid 9/10. Objectively.

She let out a cute little snore.

_ ‘...and she sticks the landing. 10/10.’ _

“Hey, Ann.” Ren said, kneeling beside the couch.

Ann’s eyes fluttered open. Slowly, at first. Upon spotting Ren, she bolted upright.

“Hey, thanks for getting me home—!”

She threw herself onto him, her arms going around his neck as she hugged him. “Oh thank God! You’re finally awake! I can’t believe you drank the whole thing, you idiot!”

“Ann, you…”

“This whole plan was insane! And what were you thinking, gambling by telling her everything…”

“Ann, you really should…”

“But the medicine! We got the medicine! It was brilliant! Insane, but brilliant!” Ann said, excitedly. She leaned back, her hands still on Ren’s shoulders.

“_ Ann.” _

Ann blinked. Ren was… averting his eyes? Looking uncomfortable? Was he hurt, or…

She realized now, that she was on the floor with him. Actually, straddling him. And his shirt was off. She averted her eyes also.

Ren started to move. “I should get you home, it’s…”

Ann’s fingers tightened on his shoulders. “Ren, wait.”

“Ann…?”

“I… That is, Ryuji and I noticed that you’ve been taking a lot of risks lately, in the Palace. And now today, purposely getting beat up and drinking that medicine…”

“It was necessary.”

“I know. I know that.” She said. Ann looked at him, now, their eyes meeting. “But I need you in one piece. We all do. What’s with you lately, Ren?”

“I’m alright, Ann. Really.”

“Are you sure?”

“You might even say I’m _ thigh.” _

Ann blinked, and then glared at Ren. “You jerk.”

He grinned.

Ann rolled her eyes. She leaned in, her sudden proximity silencing him as she hugged him again. “Just… just remember we’re all here for you too, okay? We’ll finish Kamoshida in time.”

Ren took a breath, catching the scent of freesias and pears from her perfume. “...right. I’ll remember.”

She touched the bruise on his cheek gently. “Good.”

Ren’s breath hitched as he _ thought _ he felt the brush of her lips against the bruise. If it was there, it was fleeting. Gone in a moment. She was already on her feet. Staring at her in some confusion, Ren put a hand on his cheek, where that soft feeling had been.

“Anyway. Rest up. We go in tomorrow, right?”

“Right.”

Ann left quickly, drawing her hoody up as she nodded to Sojiro. She was glad the hood was deep enough to hide her burning face.

_ ‘Yeah. Definitely thirsty. _’

_ >>> _

April 22, 20xx 

It had now been a week since the incident on the rooftop. A week since the expulsion threat. And now, finally, they were completely prepared for the last push.

The four thieves sat in Ren’s attic, around the card table. Ren put a satchel on the table - filled with medications from Tae Takemi, along with a note addressed to her ‘little guinea pig’. Ann distributed items that seemed to counter-balance each of their Persona’s weaknesses. In Ren’s case, the adaptable Trickster was given something to enhance his already prodigious speed and precision.

And that left Ryuji. Grinning widely, the bottle blond reached into his large duffel bag. “Wait ‘till you get a load of _ these _.”

The guns were nearly unrecognizable for the amount of work that had been put into them.

“Holy shit… Ryuji, is this even the same gun?” Ren said, picking up the pistol. The 1911 had been _ heavily _ modified.

“Heh heh. Yep. I copied this movie I saw, the Punisher. You’ve got a hair trigger on that thing, now, extended mag, and compensator. Gave you red accents instead of silver, though.”

Ren shook his head, marveling at the work. “Iwai must _ love _ you.”

“Both of us. He’s grateful for the shifts we’ve pulled.” Ryuji said. He passed Ann her MP5, now modified with integrated silencer - now an MP5-SD5, with full stock. “Here, Ann.”

“Ooh. Nice.”

Morgana hopped up onto the table. “You guys ready? I think we’ll be able to reach the Treasure today, with any luck.”

Ren stood up, taking out his phone. “Luck won’t have anything to do with it. We're going to tear this place apart.”

The world rippled and faded, revealing the Castle of Lust. As Ren looked up at it, new weapon and medicine in hand, the place didn’t look nearly as intimidating before. Ann fell in line beside him.

“We’re all ready, Joker.” She smiled at him, her face concealed under the feline mask.

Ren smiled that crooked little smile, holstering his gun.

“It’s showtime.”

>>>

Just over an hour’s drive away at the Amamiya family’s inn, Kenji sat at the desk in the office, sighing as he flipped through some papers.

The truth was, he _ had _ lost weight.

Running a seaside inn required a surprising number of permits. A sale of liquor license, a business license, a hotel license. Even a license to utilize their patch of beach as part of their business property. The Amamiyas were well-known business owners in the community; in the years prior, getting these renewed had never really been an issue.

This year, though, it had all gone to hell.

They had the business license, but not the hotel license - they could run the restaurant and rentals, but couldn’t let anyone stay overnight. But they didn’t have the sale of liquor license, so they couldn’t sell drinks. Those were the worst things among a myriad of small issues.

And at the root of it was Shido - he hadn’t just ruined Ren’s life; he had set up multiple barriers for his parents, also. Despite his public persona, the man was irrationally spiteful to anyone he had deemed as ‘crossing him’.

Kenji rubbed his face with his hands. They could live off their savings for awhile, but it didn’t help with the stress that much.

“Kenji…” Inoue murmured, leaning down and hugging her husband from behind. “We’ll figure something out.”

Kenji nodded. “I… I know. We have to. Do you think the kid knows?”

She sighed. “He… probably has some idea. Just like how we know he’s not telling us everything, either.”

“Do you think we should just tell him…?”

“...I think so, Kenji. I don't like lying to Ren. Maybe at the start of May? We’ll know more, by then.”

“Right. Right…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell by the chapter summary/title, more than a little tongue-in-cheek. I had a lot of fun writing some of the dialogue here. I'm really quite fond of Ren's 'Kamakura family'.
> 
> Ren focuses in _hard_ for training. As in, before his shoes even hit pavement, he's already thinking about what he's going to do, how hard he's going to push, what it's going to feel like. He's not trying to be a jerk to Mona - he simply thinks, 'This is my training, I'm choosing to do it. You're choosing to participate. If you want to ride in the backpack, deal with it.' Much the same for not giving Ann/Ryuji an option to stop - it simply doesn't occur to him as an option, _at all_. Kana-chan beat that out of him years ago :D
> 
> The song he's listening to as he picks up the pace is indeed Lyn's 'Life Will Change'. If you haven't tried working out to this, I highly recommend it.
> 
> IN - Stands for Individual Number, equivalent to a SSN or SIN
> 
> For those curious, the messaging app that the gang uses is some kind of mash up between iMessage and LINE. Use your imagination as appropriate, stickers will be described to the best of my ability. Particularly when the team beats the Palace and relaxes a bit.
> 
> Next chapter will be fall of the Castle of Lust and the aftermath. Thanks for reading!
> 
> 2020-08-14 - Some more edits. Getting more minor in terms of things like sentence structure. Maybe a sign that I improved over time.


	8. Dementia Pugilistica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Dementia pugilistica, also known as ‘punch drunk syndrome’, and now properly known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has become a hot topic in combative and contact sports. Most documented cases of CTE have occurred in athletes with mild repetitive brain trauma over an extended period of time. Symptoms are variable, but often include confusion, headaches, impulsive behavior, and mood changes in the early stages. The late stages include progressive dementia, movement disorders, depression, and suicidality among others. The cause, pathology, and potential treatment for CTE is still undergoing research. Controversy is still ongoing, as well. Multiple lawsuits have been filed relating to CTE in sport._
> 
> _One thing can be safely said, however - the human brain does not tolerate repetitive trauma particularly well, physical or mental, and the consequences can be tragic._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning - More Kamoshida being Kamoshida, and something else, too (hard to say without spoilers)  
Also, graphic violence tag in full effect.
> 
> Also also, hoo boy. Ended up being way longer than I thought. Tightened up.
> 
> EDIT: Edits made. Sentence structure varied a bit more. Woo hoo.

April 22, 2016

When Ryuji’s leg was broken and he lost any hope of getting a scholarship for track and field, he would have given anything to run again, in any situation.

Now, as he was being chased by a pack of naked owl men through a castle hallway decorated by paintings of Kamoshida wearing a Speedo in various poses (including one where the man was literally grabbing a bull by the horns), he started to regret having his wish granted.

“Oh man, oh man, this _ sucks _!” He panted, yelping as one of the owl men got close enough to swipe at his scarf trailing behind him. He gathered it up, stuffing it down his shirt as he kept running.

Ren, running alongside him, glanced over his shoulder. “I _ know _, right!? We could die right here without even knowing what to call these things!”

“Didn’t Mona say ‘Andras’?!”

“Yeah, but he didn’t mention their plural form. Andrases? Andrasi? Is it a _ flock _ of naked owl men that are going to eat us alive, or is it a _ pack _ ? A _ murder _ ? Technically, a group of owls is a _ Parliament _…”

“_ That’s _ what you’re worried about!?”

“Yeah, a little! Oh, duck.”

“You mean owl!”

“No, _ duck! _”

Ren and Ryuji both dropped into baseball slides as they approached an overturned table. From behind the table, Ann and Mona sprang up from their crouches, unleashing a torrent of SMG and slingshot fire into the flock/pack/murder/parliament of owl-men. The monsters fell to the floor, twitching.

Ren and Ryuji got up.

Ryuji grinned, approaching a downed Andras. He pulled out his Benelli to finish the job. “Hey, Mona. You missed--”

The delayed explosive that Mona had launched onto the Shadow with his slingshot went off, finishing it, and covering Ryuji in a mix of gore and feathers. Ryuji stood there, coughing and retching.

“You were saying, Skull? Whatsa matter, cat got your tongue?”

“Ugh. Bleh. Why is it that you’re a cat whenever it’s convenient, but you freak out when one of us says it?”

Ren smiled slightly at the banter. They had pushed far into Kamoshida’s Palace and clearly had the ability to go further. The medicine, training, and other preparations had put them over the edge. The Treasure was in sight; everyone seemed to be more at ease, but perfectly focused and coming into the powers - and personalities - of their Personas.

Ryuji was acting more and more like his Persona, Captain Kidd - bold, brave, and merciless. Mona, a precise, swashbuckling rogue. Ren felt like he was back in the ring prior to the arrest. Powerful, untouchable. Confident. Even the urge for violence and vengeance had taken a back seat. As he checked his gear, he wondered if it their Personas influencing them, or simply the fact that here, where they had torn off the masks that society had forced them to wear, they could be who they were meant to be.

He turned, his tailcoat flourishing as he moved to head back down the hall.

The click of Ann’s boots against the floor behind him gave him pause. She put a hand on his shoulder. “You know, you focus so much on looking dramatic with that coat of yours that you miss details.”

Ren turned to her. And Ann was different, too. Bold. Powerful. Alive. In the real world, she was cute, pretty. Here, she was a bombshell. He eyed her, in that suit with either too many, or just the right amount of zippers. “...Details? What details should I notice?”

She smiled at him, lazily drawing her hand from his shoulder to his chest as she gave him what the originator of the term ‘bedroom eyes’ probably had in mind. Ren’s focus on this was broken by the muffled report of Ann’s suppressed SMG, three rounds ripping through an Andras that had been trying to crawl toward Ren from behind.

“The important ones.” Ann said, her voice teasing, cheerful. She poked his nose playfully before turning away from him and walking down the hall, her machine gun held over her shoulder. “Make sure you pay attention, Wildcard.”

Ren shook his head, making sure he was paying attention as Ann walked away from him down the hallway. With the way her hips swayed, it was hard not to.

Ryuji and Mona passed him, glancing at their leader.

Mona poked Ren’s leg. “Come on, Joker!”

“Hm? Right, right…”

The quartet of thieves made their way down the hallway of the castle. They were definitely on one of the upper floors, now, getting closer. The decor of the place was getting more warped; there were still paintings of Kamoshida, but now also risque statues of players from the girls’ volleyball team.

Ann shook her head. “This is getting more and more gross the further we get on.”

“For real.” Ryuji said, quite sincerely. Although the curves of the statues were _ very _ female, they were stark reminders of the fact that they were traipsing through the mind of a serial rapist and pedophile. “Remember that library, too? If this is the inside of that guy’s head, I’m actually how impressed how _ normal _ he looks on a day to day basis.”

They came upon a large double-door.

Ren inspected it with his Thief’s Eye. “No traps. No locks, either.” He pushed it open, revealing something that looked like a museum hall or art gallery. It was dimly lit; the team wasn’t able to see clearly more than a few metres ahead, but dots of light were visible down the long corridor.

“Candles…? There has to be a light switch somewhere.” Ann said.

Mona looked over his shoulder, spotting a velvet rope pull-cord. “...Ah. Here.” The not-a-cat jumped up, pulling the cord.

The lights came on. In the moments that followed, each of the thieves wished they hadn’t found the switch.

“Oh… no…” Ann murmured, her hand going to cover her mouth.

“Fuck…” Ryuji intoned.

Ren grimly moved down the hall, looking at the dozens of portraits that lined the wall. Each candle was in front of two portraits. The one on the left was a student, always female, always looking bright, happy, and full of life. Often playing volleyball. The second portrait, the one on the right, was the same girl - eyes usually downcast, but always empty. Face stricken with pain, shame, and fear. Thankfully, the paintings were only from the shoulders down; none of the students seemed to be clothed in the second portrait.

“There’s… there’s over a dozen, here. Way more than should have been possible in Shujin.” Ann said, quietly.

“Do… d’you think that before he even got to Shujin, he…” Ryuji said, the question unasked, but hanging in the air.

“It makes sense.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Predators like this don’t just start out of nowhere. He’s been at this for _ years _…”

Ann shook her head mournfully. As they approached the end of the hallway, her eyes widened - she dashed to a particular portrait. “Oh… Oh my God. Ritsu-chan…”

Ren followed her. “Ann…?”

Ann, hands shaking, touched the portrait of the girl. Her ‘happy’ one. She was wearing a middle school uniform, smiling broadly. “Ritsu-chan… Ritsuko was a middle-schooler, the sister of one of the male volleyball players. Shiho introduced me to her one day when I came to watch practice; apparently Ritsu-chan would always come to watch her brother. And then she stopped showing up, one day… And then her brother was taken off the team for smoking. They moved away, after… I… she was so _ young _…”

Ren closed his eyes. “Ann… that’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

Ann shook her head. She kissed her fingers, and then gently touched the portrait. “I’m… I’m fine. But this ends here. We’re finishing this.”

“Right.”

Mona’s voice, from the end of the hall, drew the attention of the other three. “Uh, guys…? You might want to see this. Or you might not.”

Apparently, there was more.

The three students stopped where Mona was pointing. There were two ‘incomplete’ shrines - one each for Ann and Shiho. The first portrait was up for each of them, with a blank spot on the wall for the other one. Both candles were unlit. And, to top it off…

Ren’s looked across from the portraits, meeting his own eyes. Eyes that were full of hopelessness and fear.

It was Kamoshida’s cognition of Ren - the student had been beaten, whipped, and then crucified to St. Andrews’ Cross, across from the shrines. Unlike Ann, his wrists weren’t manacled - his hands had been nailed to the wood.

“Son of a bitch…” Ryuji breathed. “He… he hates you that much?”

The implication was clear. Kamoshida wanted to violate the two that got away, and make Ren fully aware of it when the deed was done.

Ren didn’t respond, silently approaching Kamoshida’s version of himself.

Cognitive Ren spoke in a parched voice. One that had been deprived of food and drink for days. “P… please. No… no more.”

Ren leaned in, saying something quietly to his cognitive self.

Ann strained her ears to hear, not quite catching it. She watched as Joker nodded once, gently placing his hand over the heart of his other self.

She could only watch in quiet shock as Joker formed a fist with his hand, the black blade unsheathing itself and sliding into his cognitive being's heart.

Joker walked away silently to the doors at the end of the hall. Cognitive Ren _ smiled _before expiring, disappearing into wisps of shadow.

>>>

They passed through the halls. Ren was seemingly back to himself, wielding his 1911, sharp blades, and sharper wit with aplomb. He waved off the concerned looks and remarks of his fellow thieves, apparently none the worse for wear after having literally (figuratively? cognitively?) killing himself.

They came to a pause outside of another large hall - briefly, the world waned, showing the door to the Faculty Office.

“We must be close.” Ren said. “Mona?”

Mona consulted the map, nodding. “We are. Once we’re past this hallway, the throne room and treasure are next. We’re nearly there!”

Ryuji frowned; he checked his shotgun, reloading it and cocking it. “If this were a game, this is where I’d expect the sub-boss.”

Ann sighed. “This clearly isn’t a game, Ryuji.” Even so, she checked her gun and whip.

The quartet breeched the door, weapons at the ready.

The room was… empty. There were just ornate looking desks and chairs. Or at least, they thought so.

Mona, with the best view from below, blinked. “Uh… guys. Do you know these people?”

“People? What people--oh.” Ren said, stooping down. Each desk didn’t have _ legs _, per se. Instead, it was just the surface, tied to and suspended on the back of a teacher, on all fours with a ball gag in their mouth. Ren shook his head and stood back up. “He literally sees his colleagues as no better than furniture. Just passive objects to use and move around.”

Ann shook her head with disgust. “I don’t want to see any more. We need to get the hell out of here.”

“Indeed. Let’s move.” Ren said, moving toward the opposite door.

Abruptly, it opened - the team of thieves leapt back, weapons at the ready, brandishing them at… a short, fat man. Almost like a ball on legs. It was Kobayakawa, dressed something like a clown or jester. He waved at the group as he capered about.

“Oh my oh my! Guests! Shall I _ announce _ you? Tell me, have you titles? Your patents of nobility? Or shall I create them for you?!” The Jester crowed, laughing. He bowed in a sweeping, grandiose gesture. “Here ye, here ye! Announcing Sir Sakamoto of the Crutch! Stairs much, you trash?”

Ryuji responded with a shotgun blast.

The Jester… bounced off the pellet spread, hitting a wall and landing triumphantly on a desk/teacher. “Oh, so rude. And we also have the ‘Lady’ Ann. You might not recognize her as she walks in, because she’s usually on her back!”

Ann’s Agi blast went completely wide, striking a wall. She stumbled suddenly, forced to cling to a chair.

The walls of the room shifted, turning translucent, and then black. It turned into a swirling void of stars and comets over a flat earth; a medieval representation of the night sky. The sun, moon, stars, and comets were all drawn in two dimensions. Each heavenly body had a face: Kamoshida, sneering down at them.

“And finally, Lord Amamiya! Former champion and current convict, bereft of a future and probably a dick, too. You look like you _ still _ haven’t hit that sweet thing beside you!”

Ren held onto a desk as well, the world spinning around him. He tried firing at the Jester, his shots going wild.

“What… what is this?!” Ryuji called, trying to fight back the urge to vomit. “Everything’s spinning!”

“I don’t know! I… I can’t get to him, and I can’t aim, either!” Mona called.

“What a shame, what a _ shame _ !” The Jester jeered. “You know, when people get this dizzy, sometimes they feel like the floor’s going to _ fall away _ from them…”

Ren swore as the floor became immaterial. He would have plunged toward the flat earth kilometres below had he not grabbed onto the ankle of Cognitive Kawakami, who formed the base of the desk he had been closest to.

“Ah… sorry, sensei.” Ren said automatically, as he hauled himself up to the desk. It was hard to hang on, though - the world was still spinning, comets and stars streaking around them.

The thieves tried to take down the Jester with their guns and spells, but the fat man was unaffected, simply bouncing off of the bullets or dodging the spells. It was like fighting a beach ball with a foam bat. Melee was out, too - they couldn’t get close. The only foothold were the desks, but the constant vertigo generated by the spinning stars and sky was too much to handle.

“This is crazy! He’s not even attacking us!” Ryuji shouted. “He can just stand there until we can’t hang on anymore!”

Ann used her whip to tie herself to her desk, supported by Inui-sensei. “I… I can get off a spell, if I’m secured like this. But he’ll just dodge it!”

Ren looked at the desks dotting the battlefield. They all seemed to float in the air, steady enough, not changing position. Inspiration hit him.

“Hey, Ann?”

“Yeah?!” Ann called, looking across at Ren.

“Don’t be mad!”

“Why?”

“I’m going to do something _ really _ stupid. Just be ready with a Dormina!”

“What?! Ren, wait--!!”

She stared as Ren leapt to his feet on the desk - and started springing from desk to desk, now somehow unaffected by the vertigo. Arsene appeared, blasting an Eiha at the Jester.

The Jester laughed, dodging to the right. “Haha! Got a bit of _ jump _ in you, eh?! But that attack! Don’t you know, the definition of insanity is--oof!”

Ren had anticipated the dodge beautifully. Springing off the last desk, he slammed into the Jester, plummeting… and striking the floor, where it should have been. Although there wasn’t a desk under them, contact with the Jester seemed to provide some protection against falling to the flat earth far below.

“Panther!”

“Carmen! Dormina!”

The spell struck the Jester, putting him to sleep.

The world instantly returned to normal.

The thieves slowly got to their feet, approaching Ren and the fallen Jester. Ren was crouched beside his fallen opponent.

“Oh… man. That was pretty awesome, dude. What do we do about him now?” Ryuji asked, looking at the Jester. “We can’t leave him, he might…”

-_Shing- _

Ren blinked, looking up. His left fist was extended, and past that, a blade impaled the Jester from chin to crown. “Sorry, what was that?”

“...Nothing.” Ryuji mumbled, shocked at not only the grisly sight, but also the casual manner in which Ren dispatched the Jester.

Ren stood up. “Anyway. Shall we?”

The team pushed on. Ann fell into step beside Ren. Putting aside his execution of the Jester for a moment, she asked, curious. “How did you manage that? Weren’t you dizzy?”

“Well, vertigo is a funny thing.” Ren replied. “In that case, it was a mismatch between our inner ears and what we were seeing… Basically, he was giving us all a bad case of motion sickness.”

“So, how did you stop that?” Ann asked. “We didn’t have any medicine for that, did we?”

“Hm? No, I just stopped the mismatch.”

“..by doing what…?”

“I closed my eyes.”

“You did _ what?!” _

“I said I closed my-- hey! Ow ow ow! Ann, let go of my ear! I told you not to be mad!”

>>>

They were finally there, at the Treasure room. It had only taken one more fight against a guard dog - well, actually, a Shadow that turned out to be a giant, disembodied green penis. It wasn’t that difficult in of itself. The bigger challenge was Ren and Ryuji.

_ ‘Man, this is a _ ** _hard_ ** _ fight!’ _

_ ‘I know, right? My muscles are getting really _ ** _stiff_ ** _ .’ _

_ ‘Well, maybe we’d be doing better if you weren’t so _ ** _cocky_ ** _ .’ _

And those were the better ones. Ann had shut them up, though. Panther had wrapped her whip around its neck, and then summoned Carmen. The blazing whip had cooked, and then cut through the Mara like a laser. As the green thing burned, Ann simply cracked her whip, turned, and walked to the stairs leading to the Treasure room.

Ren eyed Ann sideways as they stood in front of the door. _ ‘...The fact that I found that more intriguing than scary is a problem. Might be developing a complex.’ _

He shelved that issue for later, pushing open the door - revealing a glowing, formless light in the middle of the room. It seemed to fade in and out of existence, teasingly taking form and then vanishing back into the glow.

Ryuji blinked. “...Uh, that’s it? How’re we gonna steal _ that _?”

Mona bounded up to it, poking at it with a paw. “We can’t. Not like this.” He turned, facing the other three. “Now we need to tell the real Kamoshida we’re coming for him.”

“...What? For real? You’re tellin’ me, we’re gonna walk up to Kamoshida and say, ‘Hey, asshole. We’re going to go into your brain and rip out your desires’?”

“Well, that’s one way.” Mona said. “I wouldn’t recommend it, though. A calling card would do.”

Ren laughed. “We’re really taking this gentleman thief thing all the way, aren’t we? A calling card, a direct challenge to ‘catch me if you can’...”

Ryuji perked up. “...Oh! I get it! Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let me take care of it.”

Ann and Ren looked at Ryuji dubiously.

“...Ann, you’ve gone to school with Ryuji longer than I have. How did he do in Japanese? Or art class for that matter?”

“Bro. Why are you askin’ _ her _? I’m tellin’ you, it’ll be fine. I’ve got this!”

Ann shrugged, turning away from Ryuji and pausing beside Ren. She put a hand on his shoulder, whispering. “Double D. And not the good kind.”

Ren snorted. “Right. Anyway, sounds like we should adjourn and rest up. Tomorrow’s the showdown.”

>>>

April 23, 2016

Like most serious private prep schools in Japan, Shujin had a six-day week. The one saving grace was that Saturdays were shorter, getting out at 1300. Usually, the Shujin students would make a beeline for home, club activities, or any number of cafes, arcades, or shopping centers. Everyone wanted to get their weekend started. Usually.

Today, the students milled about; the hallways were in chaos as people gathered around the bulletin board on the first floor. It had been plastered with color photocopies of a cryptic message. Similar copies had been posted throughout the school.

Ren, Ryuji, Ann, and Mona (in Ren’s bag) stood some distance away from the board, looking on.

“Were you seen?” Ren asked, simply.

Ryuji shook his head. “No, man. Here’s a copy, if you want to see what it says.”

Ren nodded, taking the copy - and tearing out the middle centimetre along the top. At his friends’ raised eyebrows, he explained. “Making it look like it was stapled to the wall. Like I ripped it from the wall.”

“...Oh, wow.” Ann said, nudging Ren’s arm as she leaned on him a little to read the calling card as well. “You sure you weren’t a criminal mastermind in Kamakura?”

Ren smiled ruefully, before quoting a movie. “The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.”

Mona frowned. “You aren’t in prison…”

Ann looked over the calling card, frowning. She explained Ren's quote distractedly. “He’s quoting _ The Shawshank Redemption_. Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust… ...Hm? Ren, you’re staring.”

“A girl in Japan who understands a Shawshank reference. I think I might be falling in love with you.” Ren said, the corner of his lip quirked up in that roguish smirk.

Ann blushed faintly. “! Ah… ...er, right. I lived in the US for awhile, remember? Anyway…”

She continued reading. “We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can’t fight back. That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done today, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.”

Ryuji grinned. “Eh? Eh? Pretty good, right?”

Ren looked at the poorly drawn anthropomorphic top hat, and eyed the clippings of hiragana Ryuji used to form the sentences. “...At least, nobody will figure out it was us.”

“Yeah! Yeah, that was the idea!”

“...Because only an elementary school student would speak like this.”

Ryuji looked pained. “Brooo….”

“Did you little _ shits _ put this up?!”

The trio of students looked up; Morgana hid in the bag.

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You know, for such a big guy, you really know how to sneak around. You learn how to disappear like that from the gold medal game? You were invisible on the court, too.”

Ann’s eyes widened.

Ryuji couldn’t help but grin, barely managing to stifle the ‘oh, _ snap _.’

“You… you _ trash! _ ” Kamoshida yelled, his normal facade disappearing. The students still milling around paused to look at the unusual sight of Kamoshida yelling. Volleyball team members, however, cringed. “Did you put this up?! If you’re going to try something, I _ dare _ you.”

“Why would we try anything? I’m just going to be expelled next month, anyway.” Ren said, waving the calling card. “You sound pretty upset about this thing, _ sensei _ . If it’s all lies, why would it matter? Come on, guys. We’re bothering Kamoshida- _ sensei _.”

Somehow, the emphasis on the title made Ren’s contempt even more palpable. The other students pointed and whispered.

“The transfer’s right. Why would Kamoshida-sensei be so upset unless…”

“Oh come on, there’s no way…”

“You know, the starters on the team look…”

As the thieves left the teacher to stew, Ann looked at Ren with some concern. “Are you sure you should have said that…?”

Ren shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. By tonight, either we’ll be dead, or he’ll be finished.”

“You mean we’ll make him confess.” Ann clarified.

“That’s a possibility.” Ren said, coldly.

>>>

“Ugh… Damn, Joker. I’m glad you forced us to keep training with you. This thing is _ heavy _.” Ryuji grunted, hefting his edge of the comically large crown.

“Forced you? I was perfectly pleasant, the whole time.” Ren said. “Mind the step.”

“Well… you didn’t really give us a chance to stop, or quit.” Ann said, adjusting her grip.

“...Quitting? Is that a thing?” Ren asked, puzzled. “Mona, how are we going to get this thing out? Toss it out a window, or--”

“Go~Go! Let’s go! Ka-mo Shi-da!”

Ren looked up at the perky, Valley-girl cheer, just in time to see the volleyball streaking for his head. He dove aside, abandoning the crown as the ball left a crater in the ground.

A streak of pink, red, and white flashed by as King Kamoshida took the crown, now normal sized, and stood above the Phantom Thieves on the dais where the throne had been previously.

“Fell right into my trap.” Kamoshida sneered, as Cognitive Ann fawned over him. “Now to give you what you deserve.”

“What _ we _ deserve?!” Ryuji shouted. “You son of a bitch pervert king. We saw the gallery!”

“Hah. I’m glad you did. Spoils of my victories, my rightful rewards!”

“Those were _ people _!” Ann said, aiming her SMG at the King. “Innocent girls!”

“Please. You naive little shits. They should have been _ grateful _ to have my attention. _ You _ should have been grateful.” Kamoshida sneered. “I’m just taking what I deserve. The only reason this school exists is _ me _ . The only reason Japan has an Olympic medal in volleyball is _ me _ . All these parents, students, and administrators… they cover up what I do, because they _ owe _ me and want to benefit from my greatness! EVERYONE does!”

Ann shook with rage. “And Shiho? She deserved to beaten? She and I deserve to be raped?”

“Like I said, you should be _ grateful _ for my attention.”

Gunfire ripped from her MP5.

Kamoshida grabbed the vapid doll that was his perception of Ann, using her as a human shield. Bullets thudded into her; he dropped her, laughing, as her form first bled and then vanished into shadow.

“What a shame. No matter, though. I go through _ at least _one of those per day…”

He licked his lips, his tongue strangely long. Maybe a trick of the light.

The quartet of thieves watched as Shadow Kamoshida’s form grew and warped; the tongue elongated and lashed against the floor. Definitely not a trick of the light.

“Now, _ die _! Asmodeus takes no prisoners!” The demon roared.

Ren caught a flicker of movement from behind the demon king.

“Oh, shit-- Get behind those columns!” He shouted.

They moved, diving the last few feet as slave-volleyball players appeared, spiking balls at the group like a shotgun blast. Another crater was left behind in the ground. The four-armed demon king laughed, brandishing a knife and riding crop.

“You’ve _ got _ to be kidding me.” Ryuji groaned. He poked his head around the column to draw a bead on Kamoshida, getting off only one shotgun blast before having to duck another volleyball.

“God, I hate volleyball.” Ren muttered. He fired blindly from around the column. “Mona, any ideas?!”

Mona cast wind spells, deflecting volleyballs and cutting into Kamoshida. “Nothing yet! Just hang on!”

Ann moved out from around the column during a reprieve, the fiery form of Carmen behind her. Raising her hands, she started to cast Agi. She stopped midway, noticing that Kamoshida was staring _ directly _ at her.

“Ann-dono! Dodge! He’s going to try something!”

That disgusting tongue lashed out at Ann.

Ren slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground and to safety. The tongue shot by, crashing into the column, wrapping around it, and pulling it into Kamoshida’s mouth. The demon spat out the marble, laughing.

“Shame. I was hoping to eat some pussy.” He cackled, motioning at Ann’s feline mask.

Ann shuddered. Rolling off Joker, she cast Agi before retreating behind cover. Joker followed up with Eiha from Arsene, the cursed flame eating away at Kamoshida.

Kamoshida roared in pain. The sound went up another octave as Ryuji and Morgana _ both _followed up, before all four thieves were struck by volleyballs from the supporting slave-players and pushed back into cover.

“Pissants… Peons! As if you could ever hurt me…”

The demon’s crown glowed; it created a glittering trophy in front of Kamoshida’s lap. It was a golden goblet, filled to the brim with wine - and in it, lounged another incarnation of Cognitive Ann. She was still wearing that bikini, as if she was going for a casual dip in a hot tub. She giggled, her empty eyes looking at the Phantom Thieves, wiggling her fingers at them. She continued doing this, even as Kamoshida drank from the goblet, swallowing her up - and restoring his health completely.

“Well. That’s not ideal.” Ren said, dodging yet another volleyball.

There was another pause and a growing feeling of foreboding. The team watched as one of the slaves served a ball toward Kamoshida’s side. It was bumped, by another slave. Then set, high into the air…

“Oh. That’s _ really _ not ideal.” Ren said, turning to run.

“GOLD… MEDAL… SPIKE!” Kamoshida yelled, his corpulent form somehow leaping into the air and slamming the ball toward the Phantom Thieves.

They were blown back into the end of the hall, the four of them landing heavily.

Ren groaned, sitting up. He looked over at Ryuji and Ann - both were also staggering to their feet. They were all barely hanging on. He looked over at Mona.

“Mona, any ideas _ now _? We can’t keep this up!” Ren said, as he distributed Takemi’s medicine.

“The… the Crown! We need to get it off of him!” The not-a-cat quickly studied the architecture of the throne room, his keen eyes spotting the tall statue beside Kamoshida. “Keep him distracted! And get rid of that trophy!”

Mona scampered off, sneaking down the side.

Ryuji grunted, dodging another volleyball before returning fire. “Oh, is that all. No problem!”

“We need to think of something!” Ann said. She ducked, as Kamoshida’s eyes turned to her, drawn by the sound of her voice.

Ren looked over at Ann, hiding from Kamoshida’s gaze. He then looked over at Ryuji, and the slave-players. There seemed to be eight in total…

“Skull! How many pellets in your shotgun shells?”

“Wha? Eight to twelve?”

“Perfect.” Ren pulled his mask off, and pointed at Ryuji. “Succubus! Rebellion!” 

The demon giggled. She disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing beside Ryuji. She kissed the blonde on the cheek.

“!? Wha.. oh, hey. Awesome!” Ryuji said. “I feel like I can do some real damage, now…”

“Just cover me.” Ren said. “You’ll know when.”

“What should I do, Joker?” Ann asked.

Ren moved beside Ann, behind the cover of one of the columns. He put an arm around her waist, drawing close to her.

Ann blinked, looking up. Her eyes wide, panicked, but not moving away. “?!J-J-Joker? What are you doing!? You want to do this _ now?!” _

“I need you to do something for me.”

“...What?”

“Don’t be mad.”

He pushed her out from behind the column; she tripped with a shriek and landed on the ground.

“Ah! There you are, my dear!”

Kamoshida cackled, his tongue lashing out, right for Ann. She scrambled backward, but not fast enough.

Joker leapt over her, a flash of black and red. He struck down with his right, a black blade punching down through the tongue and pinning it to the floor. The leader of the Phantom Thieves _ willed _ the blade to release from his wrist, leaving it stabbed through the tongue like a pin sticking a bug to a card. He dashed forward, running along the tongue like it was a road, firing his 1911 the entire time.

“Urgh! Grt hrm nrow!” Kamoshida yelled, pulling helplessly at his tongue to try to release it.

The volleyball players leapt up to deliver their unison spikes.

“Skull!” Ren yelled. He holstered his gun, unsheathing his blades again. The mechanism on his wrist had produced another one, to Joker’s surprise.

Ryuji stepped out from behind the column, taking aim and firing as the volleyballs were spiked. Eight balls were launched at Ren - and eight balls popped in mid-air, as Ryuji struck critically and each one of the pellet spread in the shotgun shell struck home.

“Time for you to choke again, Kamoshida!” Ren cried, leaping off the tongue. He kicked the trophy directly into Kamoshida’s mouth, held open by his pinned tongue. The demon immediately gagged and choked on the trophy, unable to dislodge it as his arms tried to fend off Ren’s continuing assault.

With merciless glee, the leader of the Phantom Thieves unleashed a flurry of attacks on the demon, stabbing and slashing, slipping and dodging the wild flailing of the four arms. Of course, the goblet in Kamoshida’s throat was healing him, even if it was uncomfortable, but Ren’s attacks were still providing an effective distraction.

Ann got to her feet, muttering for a moment at being used as bait, but then watched as Ren danced in and out of Kamoshida’s wild attacks, too close to the demon for any of his slave players to use a ranged attack on him. It was as beautiful as it was frightening, the boy’s boxing skill on display as he hit without being hit, demon blood splattering on the ground.

A black and white blur shot down from the statue. Mona cried out triumphantly as he kicked the crown off the King’s head. Kamoshida was stunned, his flailing coming to a halt.

Taking the opening, Ren slammed a blade home into Kamoshida’s gut, eviscerating him.

With a final groan and whimper, the demon King slumped down, his form shrinking and revealing a terrified Shadow Kamoshida, scrambling back. He got to his feet, and ran toward the Treasure room.

“Mona! Get the Treasure.”

Ren started walking after Kamoshida, retracting his blades as Ryuji and Ann followed behind. Again, it was unsettling - Ren wasn’t running. He was _ stalking _.

“Nowhere to run, Kamoshida. That’s a _ dead _ end.”

Kamoshida ran into the tower-like Treasure room. He headed for the balcony.

Ren was on him in a flash, gripping him by the back of his neck. “Not done with you, you son of a bitch.”

He slammed his face through the glass of a nearby window before throwing him back onto the floor. Ren quickly pinned him to the floor with his right knee, his blades crossed over the King’s throat.

“Where are you going? There’s nowhere you can run that’s safe from _ me _.” Ren said, smiling pleasantly. The expression, however, did not reach his eyes.

“D...dude.” Ryuji stammered.

Mona watched, eyes wide. Holding the Crown. “Hey, Joker. We have the Treasure. If you kill him here, he’ll…”

“I know.” Ren said. “Remind me why that’s a bad thing?”

“You… you can’t! You’d be a murderer! A criminal! You’d…” Kamoshida protested.

“Have no future? Like I give a shit. Trash like you already made sure of that.” Ren said. “At least I can remove both versions of you from this planet.”

His need for justice - no, his need for vengeance became all-consuming. His hands _ itched _ to move the last few millimetres. With his Thief’s Eye, he could see the carotid arteries, tantalizingly close to the razor edges of his weapons. He wouldn’t even need to cut them himself - he’d just need to move a little more, put the metal into the skin, and the pulse of this pathetic rapist would push the vessels onto them.

“Joker.”

Her voice broke through to him.

“...Ann?”

“You promised me that you’d stop him. And you have. Isn’t this enough?” She said, gently. Unafraid, she stepped forward, putting a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Let him go.”

“..Right.” Ren said, as if waking up from a dream. His blades vanished into sleeves; he stood up. Kamoshida sat up, looking at Ann gratefully.

“Th..thank you! I’ll--urk.”

Ann coldly wrapped her whip around Kamoshida’s neck, dragging him along to the balcony.

“Huh. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.” Ren mused.

Ryuji stared, wide-eyed. “Dude?! Aren’t you going to stop her?!”

Ren shook his head. “...She was right to stop me. She has more invested in this than I do. What happens is her call.”

“N-no! Please!” Kamoshida choked, eyes wide. Ann gestured; Carmen blew the marble railing of the balcony into ash. Ann promptly gave Kamoshida a shove.

He fell forward, his fall only stopped by his knees on the balcony; his torso hung forward off the edge. The whip around his neck was choking him as his hands pulled at it, giving him millimetres to breathe. But, it was also keeping his upper body from starting the long tumble down.

“This is how it felt, Kamoshida. This is how it felt for Shiho. Alone. On the edge. Feeling like she couldn’t even breathe, because of a piece of shit volleyball coach who never grew up past high school. Who had to live out his harem fantasies with _ children _.”

The whip tightened.

“How is it, _ filth? _ How does it feel to want to scream, but not be able to draw the breath to do it?” Ann hissed.

“Urk.. ur… no! No! I’ll… I’ll confess everything!”

Ann yanked the whip back, throwing the deposed King onto the floor. “You’re damn right you will.”

She watched coldly, as the King disappeared.

Ren sighed. “Well… That’s it, I guess. Mona, do we just head back down the same way? You know, it’s funny. If this were a game or movie, this would usually be when everything blows up… ...wait. Did you hear that?”

A distant rumble.

“Uh…” Mona said, looking sheepish. “I _ may _ have forgotten to mention that the Palace _ might _ collapse after the Treasure’s been stolen.”

The Phantom Thieves exchanged glances.

They ran.

>>>

April 29, 2016

Ren stared up at the ceiling sometime after midnight on Friday. It had been a few days after they narrowly escaped the collapse of Kamoshida’s Palace. School had gone on as if nothing happened; soon people forgot all about the calling card. Kamoshida himself, however, seemed to have taken administrative leave and had shut himself up in his home.

At least, Igor seemed happy with Ren. He had been pleased with the progress of his ‘Rehabilitation’, as he put it. It was hard to say for sure, though. As always, the man spoke in riddles. This time, lecturing Ren as the boxer sat in the locker room of the arena that was meant to be the Velvet Room.

_ ‘What does it all mean? Rehabilitation? Ruin? How is some sexual predator related to the ruination of all mankind?’ _

Ren turned, glancing at Mona. The not-a-cat at least seemed to be getting some sleep, aside from mumbling through some sort of nightmare.

Ren sighed, turning again. The worst part was the waiting. Right now, day or night, he felt like he was back in detainment. Waiting for a decision on the date for his hearing, or waiting for the outcome. There was nothing to do, and it was killing him.

Ren’s phone buzzed. He blinked, picking it up.

**RS: Hey dude. can’t sleep. how’re you?**

Ren sent a sticker of a tired-looking penguin.

**RS: Yeah. hey - want to get some ramen after school? lemme take you to a better place than the one we went to last time**

**RA: Sure. Nothing like a date with a blonde.**

Ryuji sent back a sticker of a porcupine vomiting.

Smirking, Ren tried to get back to sleep.

>>>

In the early evening, Ren and Ryuji sat together in the latter’s favorite ramen joint in Ogikubo.

“So, what’s good?”

“Everything’s pretty solid here, dude. I feel like miso today, but these guys are famous for the tonkatsu broth mixed with chicken. I’d go with that for your first time.”

“Sounds good.”

They ordered. Ryuji sighed, sipping at his soda. “I still believe we made it.”

“Mm.” Ren murmured, absently.

Ryuji frowned, glancing at his friend. Ren always seemed to be a bit of a space cadet, but ever since finishing the Palace, it seemed to be _ worse _. He hadn’t told Ren, but the main reason he had asked him to go get ramen was at the behest of Ann - she had pushed Ryuji to drag Ren out of his shell, since she was focusing on Shiho. Shiho’s parents were still considering what to do from a legal perspective and were actively looking at different schools to place her in once she felt ready to go back. Ann, understandably, wanted to be with her friend as much as possible, especially if they were going to be parted.

Their orders came. Ren, the tonkatsu. Ryuji, the miso with an extra portion of noodles on the side.

“Hey. Ren - what’s eatin’ you lately, man?”

“Nothing.” Ren replied. He broke his chopsticks, using them in his left hand.

Ryuji started eating loudly and talking with his mouth full, knowing what it did to Ren. “_ -smack- -slurp- _ You sure? Worried if the change of harf worfed? Or you got a crush or somefing?”

Ren blinked, looking up at Ryuji. “No. No. Just… thinking, Ryuji.” He winced at another smack from Ryuji as the boy slurped his noodles.

“Bout whaf? _ -SLURP- _”

Ren wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Nothing. Don’t worr--”

“-SMACK SLURP SMACK SMACK SLURRRRRRP-”

Ren stared coldly at Ryuji.

Ryuji grinned around a mouthful of noodles. “You know. I’m -slurp- pretty hungry. -Smack- -Smack- Could go for another bowl. I’d eat it _ just _ like this, too--”

“For God’s sake, Sakamoto! Fine! Holy crap.” Ren laughed in defeat, plugging his ears.

Ryuji grinned, having finally pulled something other than sullen silence out of his friend.

Ren quieted down. “...I was just thinking about everything. Now that the job’s done. I called my folks again on Sunday. They say they’re doing alright, but I can tell that something’s… off. They just won’t tell me, yet.”

The boxer sighed. “You know, after Saturday, when we finished the job. I got back to Leblanc late. I was so tired, I walked in, went to the attic, and said ‘I’m home’, without thinking. I was expecting my parents to say ‘welcome back’...”

Ryuji frowned.

“I miss them, Ryuji. I miss them, I miss home. I’m sad and I’m pissed and I want to break something. All the time. Every time I’m out with Ann, or you, or Morgana, I feel like I’m betraying my folks. I’m the one who stuck my nose where it didn’t belong, and I’m not the only one paying for it. And now that I’m in Tokyo, what am I doing? The same fucking thing. Getting involved. Sticking my nose in. Don’t get me wrong, man. I’m glad I did it. For Shiho, for Ann, and you. I honestly just don’t think I deserve to be happy.”

Ren gestured helplessly, shrugging. “Ever feel like every decision you make just leads you back to the same outcome? You’d think I’d fucking learn. But if I did, then you guys… ...So that’s what I think about, lately. That’s what I think about now that we’re just _ waiting _.”

“Shit, man.”

“Yeah, shit.”

The two were silent for a time. Ryuji suddenly reached over, abruptly dumping his extra side of noodles into Ren’s bowl, followed by more fried garlic and pickled onions.

Ren stared at the rapidly increasing pile. “Wh-what are you doing?! That’s _ way _ too much!”

Ryuji stopped. “Oh. Uh, sorry. It’s something my mom does, ever since I hit that age where I didn’t like to be hugged anymore. She feeds me when I’m upset. Like, a lot.”

Ren stared blankly at Ryuji.

Ryuji returned the look; he was really bad at talking about feelings.

Ren nodded slowly. “Oh…kay.” Carefully composed, he took a bite. “It tastes great. Thanks, Ryuji-okaa-san.”

After another moment of silence, the two boys burst into laughter.

“Haha… oh man…”

“You… you could wear one of those aprons.”

“Oh, of course. Anything for my little Ren-kun…”

Ren dissolved into further helpless laughter. Honest and cleansing. “Oh God. Don’t call me that. Reiko used to call me that… ...You’re turning into this Oedipal-Freudian Chimera of sexual confusion.”

“I have… haha… no idea what any of those words mean…!”

Ren sighed. “Thanks, Ryuji. For inviting me out.”

“Well, technically, it was Ann’s idea.”

“Hm? Oh…” Ren said, his expression changing reflexively at that. A little smile.

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, looking at his friend. Ren and Ann’s flirtation in the Metaverse hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Hey, buddy. What do you think of Ann. You know, as a _ girl _…”

Ren spluttered, choking. Ryuji thumped his back, but still waited expectantly with an irritating smirk.

Ren sighed. He had spilled so much about what was going on in his head already, anyway. “Honestly? I think she’s breathtaking.”

“Oh. Whoa! You came right out and said it! Heh. Yeah, she’s always stuck out like that. Her looks _ almost _ make up for her personality.” Ryuji paused. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“It’s not just her looks.” Ren said, quietly. “I… there’s something else. I’ve met pretty girls before. Reiko, my ex, is a knockout. I can’t explain it. Ann’s just…”

He gestured helplessly.

“Hah. You’ve got it bad, dude. You gonna go for it?”

Ren shook his head. “No. No way. She doesn’t need to be tied up to a guy with a rep like mine. She wants to be a model, right? Besides, don’t you guys have a history…?”

Ryuji shook his head, too. “No. Like I said, I had a crush on her for a bit in middle school. But I learned she’s not my type - and I’m not hers, either.”

“She has a type…?”

“Yeah. Tall, smart, athletic.” Ryuji started.

Ren looked at Ryuji, his expression brightening.

Ryuji continued, seriously. “Nerdy, even. She also likes glasses and messy hair.”

Ren started to glare at his friend.

“She _ especially _ likes guys who dress in lame looking tailcoats and red gloves. Oh, and guys who do weird shit like use their left hand to eat to work on their off-hand dexterity…”

“Stuff it, Sakamoto.” Ren said, laughing.

The two chatted for awhile longer. They left, preparing to part ways at the train station. Ryuji turned, stopping Ren.

“Hey, Ren.”

“Yeah?”

“...You deserve to have friends, you know? You deserve to be happy. If it wasn’t for you, me, Ann, Shiho… we all would have been done for. You’re a good person, and uh… yeah.”

Ryuji trailed off.

Ren had been holding so much in, bearing so much. Having someone tell him such a simple thing, such a good thing, was simply too much. Out of battered but unbroken pride, Ren didn’t turn around. He didn’t want to let his friend see his tears. He waved one hand as he walked away, the other stuffed into a coat pocket.

“Thanks, Ryuji. Let’s do this again soon.”

>>>

May 2nd, 2016

Golden Week started today, on Monday, for most students in Japan. They’d be off school until the sixth. After, of course, today’s extra assembly. It had been called by Kobayakawa to address Shiho’s suicide attempt and the recent controversy around the mysterious calling cards placed at the school. Most Shujin students were simply annoyed - it was a disruption to their rare free time.

For three students, it felt like walking to an execution. Either theirs, or Kamoshida’s.

Ren found a place to stand in the auditorium alongside Ryuji and Ann. They hadn’t bothered putting chairs out; it was meant to be a short presentation. Something about risk management and suicide prevention resources. Essentially, it was a way for Shujin to demonstrate to the parents that they truly did ‘care’ and were ‘doing something’.

Ren rolled his eyes so much that he might have spent more time looking at the back of his skull than at the stage.

“Well… they haven’t called for us to be kicked out, eh? That’s something.”

Ren sighed. “I guess. I was hoping for something a bit more definite, though. The school board meeting should have happened.”

Ann nodded. “I did hear that Kamoshida wasn’t there, though--”

The door slammed open at the back. It was the man himself.

Kamoshida staggered forward, haggard and unshaven.

Kobayakawa gaped. “K...Kamoshida-sensei! You’re on leave!”

Kamoshida shook his head. “I… I have something to say to all of you.” The man seemed much smaller, now, walking with his head low, shoulders hunched. He dragged himself to the stage, climbing up. “I… see things clearly, now.”

“I… I have repeatedly done things unbecoming of a teacher. I have… physically abused members of my team. I tried to have three students expelled, merely because they stood up to me. And… I have sexually assaulted multiple students, not only of Shujin Academy, but of other schools.”

The auditorium was dead silent, except for the sound of Kamoshida falling to his knees.

“I… I thought of this school as my own castle. I treated human lives like they were my playthings. I am… I am a terrible, awful human being. A predator, who took advantage of the trust placed in me as a teacher to… to do things to children. Children who only wanted to follow their dreams…”

He fell into _ dogeza _. “I will take responsibility and end my own life!”

The talking and murmurs started, now. The teachers tried in vain to herd the students out.

“Really? Did he really do…”

“Oh my God… I told my sister to apply for here next year… She wanted to play volleyball...”

Ren and Ryuji watched, unbelieving. It had worked. They were saved. Ren blinked, though, as Ann stepped forward. Her voice rang out, clearly for all to hear.

“No! You don’t get to run from this, you bastard!” Ann shouted, her finger jabbing toward Kamoshida like a sword. “You nearly drove Shiho to her death! Dying’s too good for you!”

“You… you’re right.” Kamoshida sobbed. “I… I’ll turn myself in. I’ll confess and atone for every one of my crimes. I… I did terrible things to Suzui-san and Takamaki-san, also. I assaulted Suzui-san and tried to rape her… Only the interference of one of the students II tried to expel stopped me. And… and I tried to force Takamaki-san into having sex with me, also, by using her friendship with Suzui-san. As of today, I’m resigning as a teacher. Please… please, someone call the police!”

>>>

At the same time in Kamakura, Reiko Takahase stood up, determined to do _ something _ this Golden Week. Something to get her mind off of _ him _.

She had indeed ghosted on Ren, but not willingly - her father was a local magistrate and had pushed her to do it. Even confiscating her phone from her. She had her phone back by now, the SIM card exchanged by her father. Ren couldn’t call her. She remembered his number, of course… But a mix of shame and guilt prevented her from calling him.

She had loved Ren, at least as much was possible for a teenager who was only starting to understand the depths of those feelings. He had been her first boyfriend, her first lover. But there was distance, now. Physical and emotional. And, she simply wasn’t sure if she had the strength to be with him anymore. At school, her friends broached the subject awkwardly; those who had been jealous of her referred to him as her ‘yakuza husband’. People still whispered when she walked by. She felt utterly alone.

Even so, she found herself heading for her father’s office instead of the front door. She wanted to try again to convince him that she should at least give Ren a proper goodbye. That she should make the trip north to see him one last time.

The office was empty. A full ashtray was on the desk. Sighing, Reiko automatically moved to throw away the butts. Her hand paused, hovering as she noticed the file on the magistrate’s desk. It simply read, ‘Amamiya Ryokan’. Glancing over her shoulder, she opened the file. She paled, as she read it. Shido wasn’t done with Ren, not by a long shot.

The politician that Ren had allegedly assaulted was trying to tear down their livelihood. She now understood why her father had insisted on cutting contact with Ren and his family. Shido was going after the people that Ren cared about the most.

She closed the file and left the room, shaken.

_ ‘...What do I do? What _ ** _should_ ** _ I do?’ _

>>>

Ren headed home, alone. Ryuji was going to Untouchable to work a shift and of course, Ann was going to visit Shiho again to tell her what had happened. He smiled a little, at that.

_ ‘Ren… I’m going to tell Shiho the news. We should definitely catch up, though, right? I feel like we haven’t talked in forever.’ _

She smiled at him before heading off with a spring in her step. Before this, multiple students had approached Ann to apologize for the rumors and mistreatment. The blonde had accepted the apologies gracefully, telling them it was all in the past and claiming that none of it really bothered her. She had told Ren and Ryuji that all that mattered to her was clearing up the issues around Shiho.

But still, it was like a visible weight lifted off of her shoulders.

She was bright - almost too bright to look at.

He sighed, smiling a little as he walked in the door at Leblanc. Sojiro looked up, raising an eyebrow.

“_ Someone _ had a good day.”

“Hm? Yeah, you might say that.”

“She smile at you, or something?”

“Ann has nothing to do with this.”

“I didn’t mention Ann.” Sojiro said, grinning.

Ren rolled his eyes, but chuckled in spite of himself. He waved, heading upstairs; Mona took a detour to wander the neighborhood. His phone rang with an unlisted number.

“Hello? It’s Amamiya.”

“... …” That quiet breath. He would have recognized it, even in his dreams.

“...Rei-chan.”

“...Ren-kun.”

“Rei-chan. Why… …” Ren sat down. He had to. A thousand questions rushed to his mind. A thousand things to say.

_ ‘I love you. Leave me alone. Why did you ignore me? Didn’t you believe me? I still love you. I need to see you. I never want to see you again. I want to... ‘ _

He said nothing. He wasn’t able to say a thing.

“Ren-kun. Ren-kun, there’s so much I want to say. But… but I need to tell you about your parents, and the inn.”

>>>

May 5th, 2016

It was Children’s Day, the final day of Golden Week. It was only a short time before Ren was due to meet the other Phantom Thieves at the Wilton Hotel for their buffet and victory celebration. He sat quietly in a chair in the middle of the attic. The attic had been cleaned; he had carefully packed away his belongings back into the box they arrived in. The linens on the bed had been laundered and folded, sitting neatly on a corner of the mattress. Strangely, the boy wore his Shujin Academy uniform even though there had been no classes that day.

In truth, it was because it was the best outfit that Ren had with him.

It seemed right to die in his best, after all.

>>>

Ann grumbled in irritation as she waited for the crowds to get off the train at her stop, near the Wilton Hotel. She normally wasn’t affected by the crowds this much, but the past few days had been oddly vexing. After she had broken the news to Shiho, she was happy to report to the other Phantom Thieves that the girl had insisted her parents allow her to remain at Shujin. In Shiho’s words, she ‘didn’t want to let that son of a bitch affect her life one iota more than he already has.’

It should have been a joyous time for them all. A time to spend time with her friends, in particular, Shiho. And, Ren…

Ann _ knew _ there was something between them. A chemistry, an attraction that was there despite not really knowing _ anything _ about each other. She had thought that Golden Week was going to be that chance to learn more. To see if there was anything for them beyond that initial magnetism.

But he had just blown her off. According to Ryuji, after Kamoshida’s confession Ren had gradually drifted back into the same isolation he had fallen into after they had taken down the Palace. She did manage to see him a few times, catching him at Leblanc or at the gym. He always would be polite, saying he had something to do. He would reassure her that it would all be finished by their victory celebration on the 5th. Yesterday, she had seen him at Shinoda’s gym. He had been outside, using one of those sledgehammers to pound a truck tire, working on his back and arm strength.

_ ‘H-hey, Ren, long time no see.’ _

_ -SLAM- _

_ ‘Hey, Ann.’ _

_ ‘I was thinking, after your workout, maybe we can go out, get something to eat? Crepes, may--’ _

_ -SLAM- _

He had then said something about how a single crepe had some number of calories, and that one couldn’t outrun their fork. And he had heavily implied that she would have trouble in her modelling career if she kept being so careless.

Needless to say, Ann hadn’t taken it well. She left in a huff.

“Stupid jerk… I’ll show him. Eat whatever I want today, and he’ll still be drooling over me tomorrow…” Ann muttered. She headed for the hotel. She spotted Ryuji, with a familiar looking cat poking his head out of Ryuji’s bag. She frowned. That was odd.

“Hey, guys. Mona, why are you with Ryuji? Where’s Ren?”

“Hm? Oh, he said I should go ahead. He said he had a phone call to make to his parents.”

“On a Thursday? That’s strange. He always tries to call on weekends, doesn’t he?”

Mona shrugged, or the closest approximation a cat could make.

Ryuji frowned. “I hope he gets here soon. I mean, it’s kind of because of him we could all do this. Especially Shiho…”

Ann’s blood froze. “...Ryuji. What did you just say?”

“Huh? I mean Shiho. Ren talked her down, and now she’s going to come to this buffet with us! Isn’t that awesom-- Ann? Ann! Where are you going?!”

Everything clicked into place. Ann ran down the street, back toward the station.

_ ‘I know what it’s like, to have the only thing in my control be whether or not I take another breath.’ _That had been the truth.

_ ‘There’s people who love me, and until everything I do hurts them, I think it’s selfish of me to just end it.’ _She had thought that was a lie. That his change in expression, his subtle tells meant that something in what he said bothered him because it wasn’t true. But it wasn’t the fact that it was a lie that bothered him. It was the fact that he was still deciding if everything he did hurt people.

_ ‘You might even say I’m _ ** _thigh_ ** _ .’ _The reckless behavior. The blatant disregard for his own safety. The careful deflection of more questions about his state of mind with this statement.

_ ‘Sorry, Ann. I can’t make it. I promise you, everything I need to do will be done by the 5th. You guys should go on and start without me.’ _He smiled, cheerfully. Peacefully. Like Shiho did that morning.

_ ‘You know, if you keep eating those crepes, you’ll never make any progress…’ _He was trying to get rid of her; trying to send her away. So he wouldn’t lose his nerve.

Ann bolted into the subway station and prayed she wouldn’t be too late.

>>>

Ren hit a button on his phone, turning on an old favorite. He then sighed, standing on the chair. He looked up and took hold of the belt he had nailed to the rafter, using the buckle end as the loop. Ever careful, he had tried hanging off of it by his hands, first, to ensure it would take his weight. He slid it over his neck, sighing.

_ ‘...It wasn’t a bad life, was it? A bit short, but…’ _

He paused, just listening to Frank Sinatra’s voice coming through on his phone.

_ It’s only a paper moon _  
_ Sailing over a cardboard sea _ _  
But it wouldn’t be make believe if you’d believe in me_

He took a deep breath.

>>>

Ann burst out from the station in Yongen-Jaya, eyes wild with fear. She was ruder than she had ever been before in her life, shoving people aside without regard or apology. She reached the door to Leblanc - it was closed for the day, she saw. Sojiro must have taken the day off. Or, more likely, Ren had found some way to manipulate him into it.

She stood on her toes, frantically reaching, feeling, hoping for the spare key Ren had mentioned once. She grabbed it, her hands fumbling as she unlocked the door. She heard a thump from upstairs.

She gasped. In the following silence, she heard soft music.

_ It’s a Barnum and Bailey world _  
_ Just as phoney as it could be _ _  
But it wouldn’t be make believe if you’d believe in me…_

She sprinted up the stairs.

>>>

Ren sat in the chair again, holding the belt in his hands. Beads of sweat on his forehead, he panted as if he had just gone three rounds against a pro. He couldn’t do it.

He looked up, hearing pounding up the stairs, the door to the attic slamming open. He saw the one person he wanted to see. The one person he kept seeing in his mind’s eye as he almost tipped the chair.

“Ann…” He stood up.

She took one look at the spotless attic. The packed box. The Shujin uniform. And finally, at last, the belt he held in his hands.

“Ann, I…”

She marched over to him, grabbed his collar, and slapped him.

His ears rang with the impact as he staggered. She shoved him backward, safely away from the chair. The back of his knees hit the bed; he fell into a seated position.

Ann grabbed his collar again. 

Again, the sound of her hand impacting his cheek rang through the attic. His glasses flew off his face, landing forgotten in the corner.

She reached back, for a third blow.

Ren stopped her, his left grabbing her hand. She struggled before settling for hitting his chest with her left fist, sobbing brokenly.

“You… you stupid _ bastard _. How could you?! How could you…?” She cried, burying her face against his neck. She kept hitting him with her left, the thuds against his chest hurting him far less than the sound of her sobbing.

“Ann… Ann, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

“No. No, you’re not!" Ren could feel her trembling. She stopped hitting him. Ren let go of her right, fairly certain she wasn’t going to slap him again. She put her arms around his neck, clinging to him as she sobbed. “How could you? After what you said to Shiho. After what you said to _ me _. Don’t we mean anything to you? Don’t I mean anything to you? Why… why would you do such an awful thing?”

Ren held her, closing his eyes as his own tears came. He did the only thing he could. He told her the truth. The whole story of how he came to Tokyo. How he had thought that the punishment was limited only to himself; then, how he had learned through his ex-girlfriend that Shido was continuing to go after his parents and their business. That they wouldn’t _ have _ a business if things kept going the way they were. So Ren had written a letter, addressed to the magistrate in Kamakura, Reiko’s father, with his intentions and a request to forward it on to Shido. It was sitting on top of the box. He hoped that killing himself would not only take away the guilt and pain, but serve the practical purpose of ending the trouble his parents were in.

It was all so well organized. So thought out. Because the truth was, he said to Ann, that he had been replaying this scenario in his head since it became clear his conviction was a given. _ Months _ ago. When he had met Ann on that rainy day, he had already planned this out. As Takeda had said, Ren was a technical boxer. A thinker. Everything he did was based on a tactical plan. And that approach had applied even to his own suicide.

In juvie, he had read about suicide prevention, the question/persuade/refer technique, all in an effort to understand the psychology of it all. To understand what people would say to try to talk him out of it - and how he could resist being talked down.

That was how he had known how to help Shiho.

Ann listened, clinging to him. Her face was still buried in his neck and collar, quiet save for the odd sniffle.

As he finished his story, she leaned back, looking at him. Her hands were still on his shoulders as she effectively sat on his lap. “...And why didn’t you do it?”

_ ‘...Because I wanted to see you again.’ _

“I guess I just didn’t have the guts, after all. So it’s fine. I’ll--”

“It’s _ not _ fine.” Ann said, angrily. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “It’s not. What if you _ get _ the guts? You’re an idiot.”

“Ann, I’m..”

“Shut up. I’m not done.” Ann said, glaring at him. “I’m not going to use the same stuff you told Shiho. Especially now that I know you’ve been working up some sort of creepy immunity to it. So I’m going to ask you this. What do you think your parents would want? Their inn, or their _ son _?”

“Well, I…”

“That was _ rhetorical _, you stupid jerk. Are you such a smartass that you think you have to answer everything? And what do you think you killing yourself would do to me and Ryuji? And Shiho? After what you told her?”

“Ann, I’m…”

“_ Still _ rhetorical. Shut up.” Ann said. “You’re going to promise me. You’re going to promise me that you’re never going to do this again, and that you’re going to figure out that your life is worth living. You were right, Ren. You didn’t have the guts. You didn’t have the guts to live. But now, you made a choice to be brave, _ actually _ brave. That means living. And you’re going to follow that through. Quitting is _ not _ a thing, remember?”

Ren smiled, defeated. “Ann? Can I say something, now?”

“Fine. But if it pisses me off, I’m going to slap you again.”

“I’m sorry. I… I promise I’ll try. To figure it out, I mean.”

“...Good.”

She sat there, still holding on to him. That magnetism still hung in the air between them. Their emotions were raw, unfiltered. Ren regarded her, his grey eyes gentle. Even with her eyes red and puffy, she was beautiful. He reached with a hand, brushing aside some of her blonde hair.

Ann’s heart thudded in her chest. All she had to do was lean forward and close her eyes, she knew. But he was vulnerable, right now. Too vulnerable. She didn’t want… _ whatever _ they had, were going to have, starting like this.

But he was so close. So real. He had shown her all of his hurt, and she wanted nothing more but to keep him close, to collect the pieces of his broken heart for him. She wavered.

She leaned forward.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the decision was made for them.

Sojiro’s voice called up. “Hey, Ren. I’m back. Are you home? You left the door unlocked, kid.”

Ann rubbed her eyes one more time, before standing up and calling downstairs. “Hey, Boss. I came by to pick Ren up. He fell asleep. Sorry - I’m the one that unlocked the door.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Say, if you want, I’ve got this new coffee I’ve wanted to try in a mocha. Let me just see where I…”

Ann turned to Ren. “You should get changed. I’ll head down. ...I won’t tell him anything, if you don’t want me to.”

“Thanks.”

Ann nodded, heading toward the stairs. She paused, hearing Ren call her.

“Oh, hey, Ann?”

“Hn?” She turned, watching him rub his cheek and slowly work his jaw open and closed.

“Nice right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, that's it for awhile (probably). My notes have a gap now, so I'll need to do some world building/thinking on other canon changes, character introductions, etc. Roughly will follow the P5 story, but so many nuances. Unless inspiration hits me, will probably take a bit to figure stuff out. Even if I were to just follow the game, it gets complicated quickly. Lots of subplots, lots of additional characters. Have to decide who gets screen time or not.
> 
> Also - thank you all so much for the kind comments and reading this stuff. When I saw the hit counter go over 1000, I was a bit shocked. I should have posted earlier; it keeps me motivated to actually focus on this and not just screw around playing video games for my spare time.
> 
> On battle sequences - Fun to write, what can I say? The Jester vertigo thing was inspired by an old episode of Batman: The Animated Series
> 
> On Ren - It's really gratifying to read the feedback that this was both expected and unexpected, depending on the reader. That wasn't my intent, but thinking on it, that's how it should be. IRL, the signs are often all there, and frequently missed. That doesn't make someone insensitive/empathetic, nor does it make someone a better or worse person. I think it just makes you human. We all see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear. Somewhat like when people ask an acquaintance at school or work, "how's it going?" - most people are at least a little put off when the answer is anything but "fine, thanks".
> 
> Regarding our boy himself - he is indeed a thinker. He rationalizes everything, including his own suicide. The trouble with depression of course, is that it screws with your executive function. What seems like a rational, good decision in the depths of it can seem completely insane on the other side. But you just can't see it - and Ren, with relatively average/low EQ, can't see that he can't see it. If he were watching someone else make the same decision, the first thing he'd say to them is "Why are you doing this? Killing yourself wouldn't stop Shido from going after your parents." But he isn't in touch with himself, so... can't see it. He has the same issue in his boxing, as Takeda stated in an earlier chapter.
> 
> On Ann - On the other hand, Ann, as I've written her, has astoundingly high EQ. She can't _not_ see things from someone else's perspective. She can't help it. That is probably one of the things that captures Ren, about her. She can do what he can't. She _sees_ people, as he's said. So, why didn't she see it sooner? Ren deflects. He denies. He's a stupid teenage male, no matter how precocious. Also, Ann is also human. She didn't want to see it, on some level. Her best friend nearly committed suicide; the last thing she wanted to do was think about her other 'good friend' going down the same path. It's part of the reason she reacted so strongly.
> 
> And finally, the writer decided it was more dramatic this way :P
> 
> Public service announcement 1: Depression sucks. It's a real thing. Please don't suffer in silence.  
PSA 2: Don't slap depressed people.
> 
> 2020-08-21: Going back again and editing/reading things for fun. I failed to reference a gag - picture of Kamoshida grabbing a bull by the horns is a direct shout out to Dodgeball.
> 
> Otherwise, more minor edits. I'm happy how this chapter worked out. Looking back at it, I'm not really sure how I came up with this o.O


	9. Deloading

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Deloading is the intentional reduction in training volume and intensity for the purpose of injury prevention and recovery, both mental and physical. This idea stems from a greater concept known as the law of supercompensation - where after a period of stress (training) and sufficient recovery, the body enters a phase of greater performance._
> 
> _Incorporating this into a training program is known as periodization - where training volume, specificity, and intensity are varied such that performance peaks at the same time as major competitions. Entire textbooks have been written about this, and is a key concept in the training of not only boxers, but nearly every kind of elite athlete._
> 
> _Simply put, one cannot train at peak intensity, indefinitely. It leads to mental and physical fatigue as well as injury._
> 
> _The issue, of course, is trying to tell a high-level athlete who punches people for sport to take a break._

May 7th, 20xx

“Oink-oink! Oink-oink! Oink-oink!”

“Ugh… rude, P-Chan.” Ren mumbled, reaching over to turn off the alarm clock.

“Ren! We’re gonna be late!” Morgana mewled, pawing at him.

“Ugh… rude, Mona.” Ren mumbled. He reached over and pressed on the cat’s head.

“?! I’m not a clock!”

“Time to button mash.”

Morgana jumped off the bed with an indignant yowl. “Fine. This is what you get for not going to bed when I tell you to. I’m going downstairs to get something to eat. Are you sure you’re just going to lie there?”

“Don’t care. I’m sick or something. Not going.” Ren mumbled.

It was _partly_ true that he wasn't feeling well. After Ann found him on Children’s Day, they went to the Wilton with the excuse that Ren had overslept. Ryuji and Mona obviously had their doubts after seeing the way Ann had taken off - but they let it slide, getting the sense it was a matter between Ren and Ann. So, for Ren, the victory celebration wasn’t terrible, despite his mood. If anything, it was… productive. Ren and Ann arrived moments after Ryuji had an unpleasant encounter with a politician at the elevator.

_ ‘Hey, Morgana… There’s probably other people with Palaces, too, right?’ _

_ ‘Probably… why?’ _

_ ‘I’m thinkin’... we should do something about _ ** _them_ ** _ , too. I mean, that asshole I ran into before you guys got here. And the people we’ve been listening to all night. Did you hear them? This city’s rotten, and we have a way to help people who are as desperate as we were!’ _

Ren smiled into the pillow. So they were going to continue. That felt good, to be in motion again. To have a goal. But as the buffet time ran out, and just as Ren was about to start making suggestions to lay down some plans…

_ ‘So, I’m thinking if we’re serious about this, we should--’ _

_ ‘You know, I think we could use a break. I mean… we have exams coming up anyway, right? Let’s just focus on being students for now. Meanwhile, we can keep an eye out for anybody that might need our help?’ _

Ann had cut in. She was sitting beside him, had put a hand on his forearm as she spoke. He got the hint. He would need to actually recover, not just keep himself so busy that he wouldn’t have time to think.

And so yesterday, on the sixth, he tried to be a normal student. At the Wilton, adrenaline was still going through him; the feeling of Ann’s arms around him still fresh on his mind. The scent of freesias and pears. On the sixth… Well, it was a day he had no intention of even being alive for. It was exhausting. Things that he ignored before just wore away at him, even if he managed to hide it.

_ ‘Wow, he’s pretty smart for a convict…’ _

_ ‘I should ask to borrow his notes.’ _

_ ‘Don’t, he’ll get mad!’ _

And this morning, despite having slept like a rock, Ren was_still _ tired. His body felt heavy, without any energy.

And so, he drifted off again.

>>>

“...ou’re right, he does have a cute sleeping face.”

“I know, right?”

Ren’s eyes snapped open; the world came into focus. He looked up at the faces of Ann and Shiho, staring down at him like he was a puppy at a pet shop. Shiho had her phone out, clearly in the process of taking pictures.

“?!”

“Ah. Morning!” Shiho took one last shot of Ren's groggy/bewildered face, complete with cowlick.

Ann beamed at him. “Morning, Wildcard.”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Picking you up for school.” Ann said, as if it was perfectly natural for her and Shiho to be in his room. In the morning. With him wearing his pyjamas. “Did you know you talk in your sleep? This time, you said something like ‘I can’t eat any more…’. Can you _ get _ more cliche than that?”

Shiho started tugging at the blankets, pulling them off. “Come on, Champ. Up and at ‘em!”

“Jesus-- Out! Get out! I’ll get changed!” Ren batted at Shiho's hands like an irritated cat.

Laughing, Shiho relented, heading downstairs.

Ren sighed. _ ‘...It’s not like they can force me, though. Even if I can’t come up with an excuse they’d accept, I can just refuse to move. Or I can…’ _

“...I know it’s hard, Ren. But I’ll be right there with you.” Ann smiled, before gently poking his nose in a way that had become her go-to move to knock him off his game. “And you promised me you’d try, didn’t you?”

With that, the internal monologue was silenced. He got dressed to go.

>>>

Some students didn’t get such a pleasant start to the morning. At Shujin, Makoto Niijima was already ensconced in the student council room as she quietly worked through a stack of papers. It was a pile of permission forms and travel documents for the second year students going on the school trip in the fall. For those students, it was a breeze - they turned in permission forms, did a little fundraising, paid a fee, and an ‘educational’ trip to Hawaii would materialize.

The brunette’s eyebrow twitched slightly over her red eyes.

And it materialized because of the student council. Or in this case, because of the president of the student council, because the council members she had delegated this task to had completely screwed up the forms.

“Are you serious…” She murmured, as she came across a particularly egregious error. One that would have led to the student’s parents losing their deposit _ and _ the student not going on the trip.

But, she fixed it, and kept working. It was _ her _student council. She was expected to get this done. All she had to do was what was expected of her.

That had been Makoto’s mantra the entire year. Keep her head down. Do what was expected. Nothing else mattered. High school would be over, and then…

And then what? University. Somehow, the entire purpose of her life had shifted to that goal. Get into a prestigious university. And then after that… _ something _. Somehow, getting into higher education had become the goal in of itself, even though the majority of her life would still follow after that.

She shook her head. Not a problem for right now.

She looked up, hearing the familiar chime of the PA system. _ ‘That’s odd… This early?’ _

“Student council president Makoto Niijima, please report to Principal Kobayakawa’s office.”

She glanced down at the forms in front of her. Still more than half to go. With an irritated sigh, she put her pen down, and headed to the office.

_ ‘It’s not like he’s going to ask for something unreasonable. I’m still just a student.’ _

>>>

“Principal Kobayakawa, that’s completely unreasonable! I’m just a student!” Makoto protested. It was rare for her to react like this to _ any _ teacher, let alone Kobayakawa. But the principal had just asked her to investigate the circumstances around Kamoshida’s arrest, of all things.

“That’s precisely why I’m asking you. Niijima-san. After what happened with Kamoshida-sensei, the students aren’t talking to the teachers. The trust is gone. We need someone closer to them to investigate, and find out if there’s any truth to this ‘Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ garbage. If there’s a Shujin student who did something to Kamoshida-sensei, we need to know. There must be consequences. And I’d rather handle this internally than let the police or news find out first.”

_ ‘So that’s what this is about _ . _ ’ _ Makoto thought, bitterly. Kobayakawa was a _ toad _ of a man, but ambitious. He saw his position as just a stepping stone to a higher office, probably. Makoto sighed. “But--”

“I’m disappointed, Niijima-san. I would have thought that the younger sister of a public prosecutor would have a stronger sense of justice.” Kobayakawa said. He leaned forward on his elbows, the expression on his puffy face neutral.

“...What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, it would be a shame if she found out that you were so unwilling to help. So unwilling to do what was expected of you in order for you to get that recommendation you’ve been hoping for.”

“You _ wouldn’t _.” Makoto growled.

“Try me.”

Makoto sat there, hands clenching the seat of the chair she was sitting in. She closed her eyes, imagining for a moment what her father would have done to this man for threatening his daughters. After that brief indulgence, her shoulders slumped. She sighed.

“...where should I start?”

Kobayakawa smiled pleasantly. “That’s the spirit. I’d start with that transfer student. Amamiya. The one that fought Kamoshida-sensei.”

Makoto’s eyes widened. “You want me to investigate a student who assaulted a grown man before knocking out an Olympian?!”

“I’m not asking you to fight him. Just get to the bottom of this. Find out what happened to Kamoshida-sensei. I don’t care how you do it.”

He turned his chair, looking out the window. His dismissal was clear, even without the words. “Go on, then. You have work to do.”

He waited until the door closed before allowing his expression of arrogant authority crumble into anxiety. Principal Kobayakawa was not a brave man. Calculating, ambitious, and greedy, but certainly not brave. The words that he had told Makoto just before dismissing him weren’t even his own words. They had been spoken to _ him _, only a day before calling the student council president into the room.

_ ‘Listen, you sniveling idiot. I don’t care how you do it. Find out what happened to him. You’re lucky he didn’t know what we were doing to keep his… habits… quiet. The arrogant bastard actually thought that students were keeping their mouths shut of their own accord. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be exposed. Don’t forget that it was _ ** _your_ ** _ idea to hire him. Figure out what happened.’ _

He had pushed for Kamoshida because of what it would do for the school’s reputation and his own influence. He had heard rumors about the volleyball coach at his previous position as a teacher at another school, but thought that his contacts would be able to help keep knowledge of Kamoshida's 'hobbies' under wraps. And he had been correct, until these supposed Phantom Thieves. His benefactors had _ not _ been pleased.

The bald man shivered. He knew he was right about one thing he had said to the girl. One way or another, there would be consequences.

>>>

At lunch, the trio of Shiho, Ann, and Ren sat on a patch of grass in the courtyard, enjoying their meal and entertainment.

The entertainment being one Ryuji Sakamoto. Word had gotten out about how he had not only stopped Kamoshida’s assault of Shiho, but also how he had been wrongfully labeled after the man broke his leg. And now, he had been named a hero - he was thoroughly enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. Currently, by playing the ‘aw shucks’ card with three first year girls.

“You know, he really did save the day and everything, but does he have to look like...” Ann paused, looking at Shiho. She didn’t want to insult her friend’s savior.

“Like a pig in shit?” Shiho finished, smirking.

Ann snickered. Shiho had returned to school and was well on her way back to the painfully blunt, happy girl that had started their friendship by telling Ann that her painting sucked.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’ll owe Ryuji for the rest of my life. But he really is enjoying the spotlight… I think he probably deserves it, though. That scum made him a pariah for so long.”

“As long as you’re okay with it, Shiho. He is talking about that day, after all…”

Shiho shook her head. “He actually doesn’t say much about it. I heard him with the last group. He just says generic cliche hero things, like ‘I’m just glad she’s okay’, etcetera.”

Ann blinked. “That’s shockingly thoughtful of him. Right, Ren? ...Ren?”

Ren was quietly working on something in his hands. A small eraser, and a black marker. He was carefully coloring two sides of it with several coats of ink.

“Hm? Oh, right. Shockingly thoughtful.” Ren said. He gingerly held the eraser, careful to not get the ink on his fingers.

“What are you…”

“One sec, Ann.” Ren took a rubber band out of his pocket. He formed a slingshot between his index and thumb, carefully taking aim, and letting the makeshift ink stamp fly.

It turned out the Thief’s Eye worked outside the Metaverse, too.

Ryuji yelped as the eraser struck him in the chin. “Ow! Son of a… ...why are you laughing? What? _ What’s _ on my chin?!”

Ryuji turned from the laughing girls and looked in the direction of his friends. Ren looked off into space innocently. Ann and Shiho looked at Ryuji, who now had an ink soul-patch to go with his dyed blonde hair. They immediately burst out laughing.

Ann shook her head. “That was… an amazing shot.”

“Really? I was actually aiming for his forehead. Still, the soul patch gives him a real beatnik look-- Oops, gotta run.”

Ren got up, taking off with Ryuji in hot pursuit.

Ann, giggling, watched him lead Ryuji in a wild chase around the courtyard. He was graceful, as always - he slipped the rolled up school newspaper that Ryuji wielded like a baseball bat, dodging around students and courtyard fixtures alike. She smiled. She knew in some part, he was faking this. But as promised, he was trying.

“Jiiiiiiii…” Shiho said, smirking at the blonde girl.

“...What?”

“You’re staring again, so I thought I’d give you the appropriate sound effect.”

“I’m _ not!_” Ann said, defensively. “And what do you mean _ again _?”

“You know what I mean. And you’re the one who insisted we double back to pick him up from Yongen. That’s the wrong direction for _ both _ of us. Did something happen between you two?” Shiho asked.

_ ‘We flirted like crazy in the brain of a serial rapist, then he tried to kill himself, then I slapped him twice, then I almost kissed him.’ _

“N...No. Nothing.” Ann said.

“If nothing happened, then only one thing’s possible.” Shiho said, gravely. “You _ like _ him. Or something happened, and you also _ like _ him. Either way, you _ like _ him.”

“Can you stop putting the extra emphasis on _ like _, like that?”

“I’m using it as a euphemism! If you want, I can say things like, ‘You wanted to crawl into bed with him instead of waking him up’--”

“Shiho!” Ann said, a scandalized look crossing her face.

“Am I wrong?” Shiho raised an eyebrow.

Ann paused, and sighed. “...I… can’t leave him alone. For various reasons. But he… he’s got a lot on his plate. I don’t want to throw my feelings at him, too.”

Shiho watched as Ryuji finally caught up to Ren, putting him in a headlock. She smiled. “He always looks like he has a lot on his mind, doesn’t he? ...Like I did?”

It was a loaded question. Shiho looked at Ann meaningfully.

Ann just nodded, once.

Shiho sighed, at the confirmation. “...Yeah. I get it. I got the sense of that from when he talked me down. He’s been there. Maybe not on a roof, but something similar.”

Ann rested her chin on her hand as she watched Ren take hold with one arm around Ryuji’s waist, the other just behind his knee from the headlocked position.

“H-hey, Ren, what are you--!! Dude! You’re a boxer, not a wrestler! You can’t do a suplex here--Shit!”

Ren casually performed a suplex escape from the side-headlock, leaving the former track star’s legs sticking out of the bushes he had been dumped into.

Ann just smiled, with a soft giggle.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Regardless, you’ve got it _ bad_, Blondie. He literally just painted a soul patch onto Ryuji and then suplexed him into some bushes. They’re playing around like they’re stupid kids in elementary school, and you’re _ still _ making lovey-dovey eyes at him.”

“I’m just happy he’s trying, Shiho.” Ann said, as Ren approached. “Like I said. I think he has enough to worry about.”

Ren sat back down, returning to his lunch as if nothing had happened. “So? I miss anything?”

“Yeah.” Shiho said. “Ann and I were talking about you.”

“Shiho!” Ann hissed.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed, Ann. Just because you want Ren...” Ann’s eyes widened. She may have squeaked. Shiho took a sip of her coffee. She then continued her sentence. “...To help you study. We were thinking, exams are coming up on the 11th, right? We should study together! Ann tells me you’re pretty good in most subjects. And she can help us both with our English.”

Ren nodded, thoughtfully.

“Sounds good. Should we start today, then? We can meet at that diner close to the station in Shibuya. Jonathan’s. I can’t until the evening, though. I have to call home, and the I’ve got something for the rest of the afternoon.” Technically, all the Phantom Thieves did - Mona wanted to show them something, after school.

Ryuji, covered in leaves and twigs and sneaking up on Ren, froze at the word ‘exams’. “Oh. Oh, shit. Those are coming up, aren’t they?”

Ren nodded again. “Yeah. Study group. You want in?” 

“Yes! Please! You gotta help me!” Ryuji said, eyes widening. He didn’t notice Shiho’s irritated look, her wingman opportunity failing before it started. “Where we meetin’?”

Ren turned to face him. He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I’d tell you, Ryuji. But how ever will you find it without your vintage circle glasses? And I’ll have to make sure the restaurant will let you wear your beret… I wonder if they’ll have an open mic for your beat poetry…”

Ann and Shiho started snickering again.

“This better not be permanent marker, asshole!”

>>>

The school day ended at 1300, like most Saturdays. Ann looked at him, her bag already packed.

“Shall we? Mona, you wanted us to head to Shibuya, right?”

“Right! There’s something I wanted to--mmf!”

Ren gently shoved Mona’s head back into his bag as they were approached by one Yuuki Mishima. Although the two had apologized to each other - Mishima for his role in making Ren’s life miserable, and Ren for threatening to punch his face in, they hadn’t really spoken after Kamoshida’s confession.

“Mishima.” Ren said, nodding curtly. “Come on, Ann.”

“W-wait. Amamiya… You… you guys are the Phantom Thieves, aren’t you?!”

“Mishima, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ren said, no reaction visible on his face. “Ann, let’s go find Ryuji.”

Ren moved around him.

“W-wait!” Mishima stammered. “I… Have you seen my website?! The Phantom Aficionados. I just wanted to say, whoever the Phantom Thieves might be, I wanted to help. In any way I could. M-maybe there’s people like me, who can’t say something publicly, but want help. I wanted to give them a place where they could ask for help from the Phantom Thieves. Do you… do you think they’d like that?”

Ren didn’t turn around, choosing his words carefully. “...I don’t know anything about that. I’d assume that if you wanted to help, fine. But I’d also assume that if you did anything to expose them, it’d be the last thing you’ll do on this Earth.”

“...Oh.. ...Right. Of course! You… I mean, they can count on me!” Mishima said, eagerly. Almost too eagerly.

“Sure. See you, Mishima.”

“Y-yeah. See you, Re--... Amamiya.” Mishima corrected, on seeing Ren’s shoulders tighten up at his use of his given name.

Ann sighed, as they left. “You know… Aren’t you a being a bit hard on him?”

“Probably.” Ren said. “Call it an overly-developed sense of justice slash vengeance. I get that Kamoshida used him, I do. But he still had to make the choice. Both when he put my name all over the internet, and every time he told a member of the team to go to Kamoshida’s office. I can forgive him, but I can’t forget.”

“What can’t you forget?”

“That when the chips are down, I don’t know if Yuuki Mishima will throw someone else to the wolves to save his own skin. I care more about you than I do his feelings." Ren paused. "Ah... You, Ryuji, and Mona, I mean.”

“Of course. _ We _ all really care about you, too.” Ann said, in such a way that implied she understood exactly what - and who - he meant.

>>>

The Phantom Thieves left Shibuya station after their first incursion into Mementos.

“Well, that went well!” Ryuji said. “Looks like we changed the heart of that Nakanohara guy.”

Ren frowned. “I wonder who he meant by Madarame…”

“Well. There’s a famous artist by that name. But I can’t see someone like him doing the things Nakanohara-san said. In all his interviews, he’s pretty humble.” Ann said. “Then again, Kamoshida looked pretty normal to most people, too.”

Ren shook his head. “Anyway. Not much we can do about it now… we should go meet Shiho.”

The group of them headed to Jonathan’s. Ann glanced at Ren. “Hey, Ren. Did you call your parents?”

“I did.” Ren said. “They told me what was happening. They can’t get the licenses needed to run the inn right now. So they’re going to try to run it as a family restaurant, since they can’t get the liquor license either…”

“Oh… Are they going to be alright?”

Ren nodded, firmly. “The old man’s going to take some shifts on a friend’s fishing boat, just in case. And my mom’s going to go and help out at the Coach’s gym.”

“Are _ you _ alright?” Ann asked, carefully. She hadn’t told Ryuji or Mona about what had happened, either. All she had told them was that Ren’s family was going through some difficulties in Kamakura, and that it was weighing heavily on their leader’s mind.

“I’m… not.” Ren said, thoughtfully. He gave Ann a reassuring smile. “But I will be. I’m going to send money back as well from my part time work.”

Ryuji sighed. “Man. You’re handling this really well. If it were my Ma, I’d _ lose _ it…”

“That’s our Ren!” Mona chirped, his paws on Ren’s shoulder. “Perfectly reliable!”

Ren just gave the cat a little half-smile. “...Not sure I’d say that.”

They came to a stop outside the diner. Mona hid himself and they walked in, joining Shiho at a large table. The girl had managed to get home first to change into a casual outfit - black leggings, a dark blue denim skirt, and a grey sweater. A dark green duffel coat was slung over the coat hook nearby. She looked up, smiling as the group arrived.

“Hey, guys! Wow. Do you guys ever _ not _ travel as a pack?” She said, raising an eyebrow. “It’s enough to make a girl feel left out.”

“Oh. Uh, sorry-- Hey!” Ryuji said, batting aside the crumpled straw wrapper.

“_ Joking _, Ryuji. I had things I needed to do, too. Did you think everything revolves around you guys?”

Ren tried not to smile at the statement as he slid into the booth. _ ‘If only you knew.’ _

Shiho started to come up with some excuse for Ann to sit beside him, but blinked as Ryuji sat down in the spot beside Shiho.

“I’m tired of sitting beside this guy. Did you know he eats with his left hand? It’s really annoying to bump elbows with him all the time.” Ryuji said.

Shiho raised an eyebrow, watching Ren shoot Ryuji an irritated glance that Ann missed.

_ ‘...Oh? Is Ryuji doing what I think he’s doing…?’ _

The group got down to studying. At least, for an hour or so.

“Oh man. This _ sucks _.” Ryuji moaned.

Ann sighed. “I _ know _, right.”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “It’s only been an _ hour _, guys.”

Ann whined. “But it’s so _ annoying _…”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay, Blondie. At least you’re pretty. You’ll just be pretty, and dumb, and marry some rich old guy… It’ll be _ great _!” Shiho smiled, speaking with just enough sarcastic cheer to provoke Ann back to work. Definitely, the black haired girl was returning to form.

Ann pouted, getting back to work.

Ryuji still sighed loudly. “Just a short break. Come _ on. _”

“And _ you _, Ryuji. You don’t have an excuse. Look at Ren!”

The boxer was focused, his right hand writing away, his left casually spinning another pen. He really did do a lot with his left; even when the snacks had arrived, he did indeed bump elbows with Ann. Not that either of them seemed to mind.

Ryuji groaned again. “That’s totally not a fair comparison. He’s a boxer, but he’s a total bookworm. You can’t expect--”

“Actually, I was an average student in Kamakura. At best.” Ren said, without looking up.

“...For real?”

Ren paused, looking up. “I just never really tried. School wasn’t that important to me, and people assumed I wouldn’t do well anyway. Boxers are supposed to be dumb.”

Ryuji brightened. “So you’re saying there’s hope for me!”

Ren looked up. “Oh, hey. Don’t put that on me.”

“Brooo…”

Ann laughed. Trying to avoid getting back to work, she glanced at Ren’s left. “Why do you do that, anyway?”

“Hm? Oh.” Ren said, following where her eyes were looking. “'He who rules with his left, rules the world.'”

Ren smiled, his expression a mix of fond nostalgia and regret. “Something Coach Takeda always said. The most important punch in boxing is the jab. For most fighters, that’s the left. I wasn’t born ambidextrous, but I try to use my left for anything I can. Training when I’m not training, you know?”

Ann nudged his elbow with hers again. “In that case, I don’t mind the odd elbow bump if it’s for a good cause. But why the left? Isn’t your right side the stronger punch?”

“For an orthodox fighter, the left lets you figure out timing, pace, and range. Lets you feel out your opponent. And it’s also a good distraction. For example, using it as a subject of conversation to avoid working on math.” Ren said, his left hand reaching over to point at a problem on Ann’s notebook. “You need to solve that by simultaneous equations. That’s why it isn’t working.”

“Wha? How…” Ann mumbled. She had thought Ren was focused on his own work. “Did you figure it out just by looking at it?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ve just been watching you this entire time.” Ren said, casually. The corner of his lip quirked just slightly, though.

“Oh. Well, thanks.” Ann said. Happy, but fighting back the heat rising up her neck.

Shiho and Ryuji exchanged glances. They understood each other perfectly.

Shiho stretched, standing up. “Hey, actually, I’ve gotta run. I have to meet my therapist to go over some exercises I should be doing before I get my ACL surgery.”

“Oh. Want me to come with?” Ann asked.

“No. You’ve got something to do here.” Shiho said, fiddling with her phone.

Ann glanced at her screen as it lit up. Eyes widening, she grabbed it before anyone else could see.

**SS: More like someONE to do, amirite?**

Ann, face carmine, glared balefully at her friend. “Fine.”

Shiho waved her fingers, smirking as she headed off.

Ryuji sighed, looking at his phone. It also buzzed, mysteriously. “Oh. Hey, that’s Mishima… He says he has another possible client. I should go check it out…”

“_ Really _.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep. And I better take Mona with me. You know, can’t trust me to do these sneaky scouting things all on my own! Better take our infiltration expert.”

“I’d really like to stay here with Ann-dono, but you’re right, Ryuji! I’m glad you’re seeing your shortcomings. Maybe we’ll actually be able to turn you into a respectable Phantom Th-- Hey, what’s the rush? Why are you zipping the bag up?! Ren, help--mmph!” Ryuji took off, waving.

Ren glanced at his phone.

**RS: thank me later. or consider this revenge for the ink soul patch, jackass**

Ren shook his head, with a resigned little smile. He looked up as Ann started to move to the other side of the table.

“Ann?”

Ann paused. “...Well, since they’re gone, I thought I’d just move across?”

“...Isn’t it easier to share textbooks this way, though?”

“Oh… Alright.” Ann said, settling back down. She found it hard to concentrate on math before; it was far worse now that she was alone with him. “Want to switch to English?”

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Ren said. He became increasingly cognizant of her warmth beside him. She had only embraced him twice before, really - once after his first experiment with Takemi, and the second only two days ago. But, he already felt like he was missing something. His left arm, the one closest to Ann, felt restless.

_ ‘The left lets you figure out timing, pace, and range. Lets you feel out your opponent…’ _ He thought, amused with himself and his own inconsistency. He really meant it, when he had told Ryuji that he didn’t want to hurt Ann’s career chances by being associated with him. But every time he spoke with her; every time he caught the scent of her perfume, any argument he had to _ not _ give in fell before a single rejoinder delivered by another part of his mind:

_ ‘But it’s Ann.’ _

He stretched, putting his arm back and resting it along the top of the seat behind her.

Ann didn’t react visibly; instead, she leaned a little closer to him, pushing her book closer to Ren. “You should pay attention to this section the most. Chouno-sensei’s known to be a bit lazy with writing exams, and she tends to just re-use the practice problems…”

“Right.” Ren said. Not paying attention _ at all _. His arm started sliding off the seat, to her shoulders.

She shifted a little closer, trying not to react as her thigh started to press against his.

A dignified, authoritative voice cut in. The two startled as if caught doing something inappropriate, looking up.

“Impressive, to be studying on a Saturday night.” Makoto Niijima looked down at Ann and Ren, her arms crossed.

Ren was confused, his mind drawing a blank as he looked at the girl in front of him. He was careful to keep his face neutral, though. By now, the young man knew when someone was going to try rattling him or interrogating him. He had enough practice in Kamakura with various lawyers and police officers before his hearing.

“Have we met…?

“That’s Makoto Niijima, the student council president.” Ann said, warily.

“That’s right. We’ve never met, Amamiya-kun. But I know _ you. _You’re that infamous transfer student. The boxer with a record, who’s somehow tough enough to knock out Kamoshida-sensei, yet clever enough to talk down a mentally unstable girl. And here you are, hanging out with an interesting combination of friends.”

“_ Mentally unstable _? Great way to start a conversation.” Ann said, voice hardening. “And were you just standing somewhere, watching us and thinking of how to insult my best friend?”

Makoto ignored Ann, instead observing Ren. The boxer was still maintaining a carefully blank expression as he stared back at her.That was consistent with what she had observed and heard about the boy. Despite the people gossiping about him and alienating him, he had slipped by it like water. Smooth - too smooth, even. And somehow, despite being targeted by Kamoshida the boy had come out of it with a solid group of friends.

From her perusal of the file that Kobayakawa had given her access to, he had even been doing well in class - better than he had in Kamakura. He had an annoying habit of seeming entirely uninterested, but always seemed to have the answer - while toeing the line _ just _ enough to irritate the teacher without giving them cause to punish him.

He hadn’t left much for her to investigate, at the end of the day. He was a good student with a problem with authority. That was all, and hardly unusual in their age group. From watching him during the school day, she could hardly believe he was the one who had knocked out Kamoshida.

So she had come in after Ryuji and Shiho had left, to rattle his cage. To see what she could find - Kobayakawa had demanded answers.

“It seems you got to know Kamoshida-sensei pretty well, Amamiya-kun.”

Ren adjusted his glasses, the picture of complete nonchalance. He even had the faintest smirk on his face. “...Who?”

Makoto glared at Ren. “Everyone knows you hated each other. Are you playing dumb with me?”

“Better to play dumb than _ be _ dumb, senpai.” He looked meaningfully at Makoto.

“Just answer the question.” Makoto said, clenching her fists.

“Fine. Yes, I’m playing dumb with you.” He said, deadpan.

“No! The _ other _ question.”

“You said, ‘It seems you got to know Kamoshida-sensei pretty well.’” Ren imitated, even matching Makoto’s inflection to irritating perfection. “That’s a statement, not a question. Are you sure you shouldn’t be studying, too? Seems like you need to pay attention to more grammar and less attention to handsome boxers. I’m flattered, really. But you’re not my type.”

Makoto made a sound that could only be described a squawk of indignant rage. She was used to being treated with at least a modicum of respect by other students. She wanted to _ hit _ him. She hadn’t wanted to hit _ anyone _ in years. Oddly enough, it felt… liberating. As she struggled with this, Ren started packing his bag. Ann did the same.

“Anyway, senpai, if that’s all - we’re going to head out. You’re making it hard to concentrate here.”

The two left. Makoto followed along behind as the two walked down the street towards the subway station.

“Look, Amamiya! At least understand my position! I have to find out the truth in this and get things back to normal. If you want to screw around and waste time with some troublemaker and a girl with a suspect reputation, that’s fine, but I need to stop all of this horseplay--”

Ren came to a screeching halt.

“Horseplay.” Ren said, quietly.

Ann didn’t like the change in tone. It reminded her vaguely of what he had sounded like when he was considering cutting Kamoshida’s throat.

“Ren…”

“No, Ann. It’s fine.” He turned, approaching Makoto. The girl fought the urge to shrink back - the change in his posture and look in his eye was a very different Ren Amamiya, now. Now, she could believe that this person had fought and won against Kamoshida. “Niijima-senpai, could you please explain to this boxer with a record what you meant by that?”

“...I… I was just…”

“No. Tell me what you meant by troublemaker, first. Did you mean the trouble Ryuji caused by having his legbroken by Kamoshida? The man you _ still _call sensei?”

“No, I meant--”

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t mean anything by it at all. You just wanted to remind me that even after nearly having his life ruined, he’s still labelled as a problem by a student council that couldn’t be bothered to help him. Let’s move on. What did you mean by the next thing? A girl with a _ suspect _ reputation, right?”

Makoto remained silent. She wasn’t so oblivious as not to recognize that she had crossed a line with Ren, and that anything she said would only serve to add fuel to the fire.

“Right. You’re just like every other jealous, gossiping bitch in that school. When you’re confronted with your bullshit, you won’t own up to it.”

Apparently, anything she _ didn’t _ say would also add fuel to the fire.

Ren stabbed a finger at her. “By girl with suspect reputation, you mean, ‘girl who Kamoshida tried to blackmail into fucking him’. So what are you implying? What’s the ‘suspect’ part to you? That Ann _ asked _ for it?”

Makoto’s eyes widened. “N..no! No, that’s terrible! I wouldn’t--”

“But you _did_. That’s _exactly_ what you implied. That horseplay you mentioned, by the way, included a serial rapist who preyed on underage girls. Didn’t you hear his confession on the news? His youngest victim was in middle school, you _insensitive bitch._ So let me tell you. I understand your ‘position’ completely. You don’t want _‘normal’_. You want _‘silence’_. You want all of us just to shut the fuck up and _take _whatever shit gets done to us, because you just want your recommendation letter. You can say whatever the hell you want about me, but you’re in _no_ position to judge my friends.”

Makoto clenched her jaw. Even though his words were dripping with venom, they were _ true _. She had numbed herself to the actual events of what had transpired, focusing only on what was expected of her. She would have had to have been a blind idiot to not see there was something wrong happening at Shujin. But she had shut it out. She did what she had to do to get through the year. She had just wanted everything to go away, so she could focus on getting into university, and then… ...whatever happened in university. Makoto had forced herself to not care what was happening in the school.

Having it pointed out by this second year transfer student slash criminal was mortifying.

She _ really _ wanted to hit him. Somehow, facing him down reminded her of happier times, learning _taiho-jutsu_ from her father. Automatically, her posture straightened…

Ren recognized the subtle threat. He took a step back with his right, his left foot sliding forward. “Anytime, anywhere, Niijima.”

“Ren!” Ann said, insistently. She started dragging him away by his hand.

Ren looked up. His rant had drawn a crowd.

“Is there going to be a fight…?”

“Really? That tall guy’s going to beat up that girl?”

“No, the girl looks _ way _ scarier…”

Ann pulled Ren into the station, where they disappeared into the crowd.

“Seriously. I thought you guys were going to fight it out.”

“...So did I, at the end. Her stance changed, like she became a different person.” Ren said, shaking his head. “...Sorry. I couldn’t think straight. I was pissed. It’s annoying. I go from feeling utterly exhausted to wanting to punch someone’s head off in seconds.”

Ann squeezed Ren’s hand. “Wanna work out a code? Utterly exhausted, blink once. Punch someone’s head off, blink twice?”

“And you’ll bring me a pillow, either way? To sleep on or to punch.”

Ann grinned. “Sure. But, seriously. I guess this just means we really need to lay low, huh?”

“Yeah. Just study for exams, maybe do some training.”

“Really?” Ann asked, raising an eyebrow. “The way _ you _ train?”

Ren shrugged. “It’s how I relax.”

Ann frowned. “You’re not going to overdo it?”

“Who, me?” Ren asked, innocently.

“...Ugh. Are you actually going to overdo it, or are you trying to force me to come with you?”

“Yes.”

>>>

May 14, 20xx 

The phrase ‘blank canvas’ to most is figurative - a way of describing something with no content where one can easily impose their point of view. Generally speaking, a neutral or even mildly positive connotation.

For the tall, slender student walking through Shibuya, the term was literal. And the connotation had become both routine and terrifying.

Yusuke Kitagawa was embroiled in the worst artist’s block of his young life. Every day of his life had become routine. On weekdays, he would wake up hours before school. He would then sit in front of the blank canvas in his studio - or more correctly, the studio Madarame had generously given him - and stare. On weekends, he would do the same without the eight hour interruption. He had thought earlier in his young career that his goal was to produce something that approached the perfection of _ Sayuri _, the painting that had captivated him. The color in his otherwise monotone world.

But now, even putting brush to canvas had become his white whale.

The worst part was the unending patience that Madarame had shown him. Always, the man would check in on him with the same kindly smile.

_ ‘Yusuke. Don’t worry. Your mother, when I looked after the two of you, had moments just like this. I gave her all the time she needed, and I will do the same for you. As my disciple, it is the least I can do for you.’ _

Yusuke shook his head. He had to produce. He owed it to the teacher who had invested so much time and money into him. He knew that whatever he painted would be displayed under sensei’s name, but that was fine.

_ ‘If we unveil this under my name, people will pay attention immediately - your genius and effect on the world of art will be immediate, not swept under the rug due to your status as a newcomer. In due time, we will unveil _ ** _you_ ** _ too, Yusuke.’ _

All he cared about was approaching _ Sayuri, _anyway.

Disgusted, Yusuke glanced at the time, standing up. _ ‘What an arrogant thought. Approaching Sayuri... I cannot even make a single mark…’ _

He dropped the brush on the nearby table, glancing at the time. Time for the next part of his routine. Go for a walk, try to find something - anything - that would inspire him. He paused, collecting the tube-shaped container that Madarame-sensei had left for him and slinging it over his shoulder by the strap. This too, had become routine.

_ ‘Yusuke. I suggest you go out for a walk each day to try to find some kind of inspiration. It can only help you.’ _ The old man had said, with a kindly smile. _ ‘And you can help me, while you’re out. Occasionally I’ll have a buyer for some artwork, or I’ll need you to purchase supplies. If it’s not too much trouble, Yusuke…’ _

Yusuke left the humble shack, heading down the familiar road to the art dealer that Madarame worked with. The man was always nervous, looking over Yusuke’s shoulder. Yusuke wasn’t concerned with it - he assumed it was because of the high value of the work Madarame was selling to him. Yusuke took out his phone, opening the app that Madarame had instructed him to install. He accepted the transaction, ensuring the receipt was accurate. The large sum of the e-transfer no longer surprised him after so many deliveries. He then walked on his familiar route, still seeing nothing interesting. Nothing that broke through the feeling that the world was painted over in grey scale. Uninspiring.

He took the train to Aoyama-Itchome, walking past an unfamiliar high school. They were still in session on a Saturday. A prep school, then. His own arts-oriented school had free time on Saturdays and Sundays.

_ ‘To allow for creative endeavors…’ _Yusuke thought bitterly, as he made his next stop. An art supply dealer. He opened his app again, transferring almost all the funds Madarame had earned from the art-dealer transaction to the supply dealer. Yet more evidence of Madarame’s generosity - only the best for his students.

_ ‘Student, now.’ _ Yusuke, corrected. _ ‘Nakanohara-senpai… how ungrateful of him to leave the way he did.’ _

The man nodded to Yusuke. This one was less anxious, but a much larger, rough looking man.

It didn’t matter, though. The receipt was always accurate. Madarame always insisted on a correct receipt. The man gruffly said the delivery would occur tomorrow, as usual. Yusuke sighed, leaving.

_ ‘This is all I’m good for, now. A courier for a genius…’ _

He saw a flash of something in the distance. Something that caused his grey world to briefly flash in color.

A pair of golden twintails, bouncing along behind an energetic girl.

Intrigued, Yusuke followed.

>>>

“Hey guys! Let’s do something _ fun!” _ Ann shouted, running up from behind and linking arms with Ren and Ryuji.

“Oof! Damn, you’re always so hyperactive after exams. Just like in middle school. Can’t you go bother Shiho or something?”

Ann grinned at Ryuji. “She had to go and give another statement to the prosecutor for Kamoshida’s case. So that means _ you _ guys have to entertain me!”

Ren looked thoughtful. “Coach Shinoda said he’s running a special bootcamp, now that the weather’s warming up. The back lane behind the gym is open and he’s set up a bunch of those large truck tires that we can flip--oof!”

Ann smiled up at him, her elbow firmly against his ribs. She said in a sing-song voice. “_ Normal _ fun, not ‘flipping tires’ fun.”

“I don’t know…” Ren said, uncertainly, as they boarded the train.

“Pleeeease.” She said. With the spectre of exams over, Ann felt her energy returning. Energy enough to unleash the power of blue Disney-eyes on Ren.

“...What did you have in mind?”

“Weeeeak.” Ryuji said, grinning.

“Let’s go to Harajuku! The weather’s good, and after we walk around a bit we can get crepes.”

“You know, the calorie count-- …” Ren wisely shut his mouth at Ann’s change in expression. “Sounds like it fits right into my diet.” He finished, lamely.

“Really, Ren? The Boss said he’s getting sushi tonight!” Mona whined.

Ryuji sighed. “There’s not even a good arcade there. I’ll pass. Ma’s expecting me home. Ren’ll be your pack mule.”

“Pack mule?” Ren asked.

“She’s going to buy entire stores out and make you carry _ everything _. Shiho and I got the worst of it middle school, dude.”

Ann pouted. “Well, he won’t if you go and _ tell _ him--”

“I’ll go.” Ren said, smiling.

Mona pouted at the lost opportunity for _ o-toro _ \- or at least as close to it as a cat could get.

Ann smiled triumphantly, until she felt it again. Eyes on her. It was something that she was unfortunately used to - her looks tended to draw attention. It was a sad truth that by now, she had learned to discern between different levels of ‘creeped out’. There was the quick glance; the head to toe and back again; and full on stalker-creeping. This feeling she had… it was the last one.

She looked around. She saw him - a young man in a different school’s uniform, unusual on this train. He seemed to be looking up in Ann’s direction, and then looking back down again at his phone.

_ ‘...Is he taking pictures? Or am I imagining things? This is our stop, so I’ll find out here…’ _

The four of them stepped off the train. Ren glanced at Ann. It wasn’t like her to go from happy to silent, and she was clearly worried about something. Ann glanced back over her shoulder.

“He… ...that guy got off, too!”

Ryuji yawned.

“At least _ act _ like you care, Ryuji!”

“Alright, alright. Sheesh. Hey, Ren, come with me…”

>>>

Moments later, they had confronted Yusuke. Ren and Ryuji between him and Ann. He was good looking and tall. Classically handsome in a way that made him stand out from the crowd instantaneously. And, he was utterly, completely fixated on Ann.

Ren disliked him immediately.

The boy tried to move around Ren and Ryuji. Ren stepped into his pathway. “Not another step, I think.”

“This is important! You need to get out of my way. What are trying to do to me?” Yusuke said, looking at Ren disdainfully.

“That’s _ my _ line! What do you want from _ me _?!” Ann shouted, snapping out of her momentary shock at what her stalker looked like. She jabbed a finger at Yusuke. “You’ve been stalking me since the train!”

“_ Stalking _? Don’t be ridiculous. I simply noticed you in front of your school. You… captivated me. So I had to follow you!” He said, trying again to move around Ren.

“That’s _ literally _ stalking.” Ren said, matching Yusuke’s step and growing more than a little irritated. _ ‘...I’m annoyed because he’s being a dick. Not because I’m jealous.’ _

He ignored the part of his mind that informed him that he wouldn’t have had that thought unless he actually _ was _ jealous.

Yusuke kept addressing Ann. “You’re the woman I’ve been searching for my entire life! Your beauty… your energy! The way you make the world seem as if it’s finally in color! Won’t you be the model for my next painting?!”

Ren shook his head, glancing at Ryuji.

“Man… I’m pretty sure they say this sort of thing at the start of some AVs I’ve… ...uh, heard of.” Ryuji finished, awkwardly.

“Please! Won’t you come with me?!” Yusuke put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, tensing as if to push him aside.

Ren felt his irritation spike at this. Before he could move, though, he felt a light touch on his elbow.

“You just blinked twice.” Ann said. Although he hadn’t _ literally _ done so, the meaning of her statement was not lost on him. “Let me handle this, Ren.”

Ren bit his lip, and stood aside.

Ann stood there, eyeing Yusuke. “You’re asking me to come with you, but I have no idea who you are.”

Yusuke looked surprised. “..! Ah. I’m sorry. Of course. Where are my manners? I’m a second-year at Kosei’s fine-arts stream. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. I apologize. I was so taken with you, that all sense of propriety left me… I assure you, I am a legitimate artist. I am not involved in that… filth that your acquaintance partakes in.”

“H-Hey! I said I _ heard _ that--”

Yusuke continued. “I am the disciple of Ichiryusai Madarame. My request is legitimate. My only goal in life is to leave a mark on the world of art, to paint something worthy. Please. You are unlike anyone I have ever seen before. You _ are _ the key to unlocking my potential.”

“Oh…” Ann said, her expression changing from skepticism to interest. “Madarame…? That’s that famous artist, the one who was on Good Morning, Japan!”

“The very same. Would you like to meet him? His show starts tomorrow at the art gallery. I can have a ticket ready for you at the box office. If you give me your name…?”

“Ah… Ann. Ann Takamaki.”

“Very well.” Yusuke looked haughtily at Ren and Ryuji. “...I suppose I could have tickets ready for you, too. Though I would hardly expect either of _ you _to be interested.”

Ryuji sneered. “What’s that supposed to mean? Listen, you…”

Ren stared flatly at Yusuke. “No, Ryuji. Let him answer your first question. Tell us, Kitagawa, _ exactly _ what you meant.”

The unspoken statement was clear.

_ ‘I dare you.’ _

Yusuke looked at Ren, another snide remark coming to his lips. He was familiar with dealing with bullies and jealous students at Kosei. This was no different.

“I’m saying, you’re a…”

The words fell from Yusuke’s lips. His keen eye caught the lines of Ren’s shoulders, the relaxed way in which he stood that wasn’t natural, but _ trained _ for untelegraphed and decisive motion. The cold look in his grey eyes. This was nothing like a jealous student at Kosei. The boy in front of him was legitimately dangerous. While Ann had captured him because she brought his world into color, this young man in front of him was a perfect counterpoint.

He might have wanted to paint _ him _, too, if it weren’t for the fact that he was in the way of accessing the girl.

“You… you wouldn’t understand.” Yusuke said, in a much smaller voice. “...Anyway, Takamaki-san. Please. I hope I will see you. Perhaps after meeting sensei and seeing some of his work, you’ll feel willing to cooperate.”

Ann looked thoughtful, before smiling. “...You might be right. See you tomorrow, Kitagawa-kun.”

Yusuke nodded, giving Ren a wide berth as he left. He tried to shake the feeling that he had seen black wings curling around the boy…

Ryuji sighed. “Wow. Ann, I can’t believe you’re actually thinking of going.”

Ann shrugged. “Madarame is the name we heard in Mementos, isn’t it? It’s unlikely, but I think we could at least check it out. We’re taking a break, but we said we’d keep an eye out… ...And even if he isn’t a target, this could be a break for me. Modelling for an upcoming artist could be good. I’ll just make sure my agent knows…”

She took out her phone, stepping away to make a call.

Ryuji turned to Ren.

“...Hey? Dude, where are you goin’?”

“Shinoda’s.” Ren said. “See you.”

Ryuji caught his tone; he didn’t follow.

Ren shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders more tense now than when he had been considering knocking Yusuke onto his ass.

Morgana poked his head up. “Ren? You alright? I know that guy was pretty creepy…”

“...He wasn’t. Not really. And that’s the problem.” Ren muttered, shaking his head. He knew he was being irrational.

_ ‘It’s not like I have a claim to her. It’s not like I’ve told her anything, and we haven’t made any promises. Didn’t I say to Ryuji that I didn’t want to screw up her career by getting involved with me, anyway? The last thing she needs is to be known as the model that’s dating a criminal. And this is good for her. Maybe a big break, if Madarame isn’t a target.’ _

And again, that little rebuttal, from another part of his own mind.

_ ‘...But it’s Ann.’ _

He almost snarled. Definitely Shinoda’s. Time to hit some tires or break something.

“Where do you think _ you’re _ going?” Chimed her voice. Bright and musical. Ann walked up, casually linking her elbow with his. “Just because we figured out who was stalking me, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Let’s go to Harajuku!”

Ren turned to her, ready to blow her off.

She smiled at him.

“...Sure.” He cringed at how malleable he had become. Without realizing it, Ann Takamaki had gotten firmly past his defenses.

Mona was torn. Ann, or sushi? _ ‘...Well. I’m not human _ ** _ yet_ ** _ , so the priority is clear.’ _

The cat hopped out from the bag, eagerly heading home to Leblanc.

For the rest of the afternoon and early evening, Ren was led around the trendy district by Ann. He alternated between being lost in his own pessimistic thoughts and enjoying his time with the girl. It was a combination like dark roasted coffee and fine chocolate. The coffee accentuating and pulling out the depths of the chocolate’s flavor, preventing it from overpowering and coating the taste buds. The chocolate adding something for the sharp bitterness of the coffee to cut through, leaving the tongue wanting more of the addictive sweetness.

He found himself both wanting to go home and wanting to stay out in Harajuku with her indefinitely.

At the end of it, Ren stuck it out. He had to now, anyway, as he hefted the bags that he held in both hands. Ryuji hadn’t been kidding. There was no way the girl was going to get this all back on her own.

Ann almost skipped away from the crepe stand toward Ren, holding two. “Here you go!” She chirped, holding one out to the boy.

Ren raised an eyebrow, looking at the bags currently occupying both his hands.

Ann laughed. “Put those down. Here…”

They arranged themselves on a nearby bench. “Now, don’t just narf it all down. The point is we’re supposed to switch halfway.”

“You’re telling _ me _ to not narf it all down?” Ren asked. He eyed the crepe in Ann’s hands; it was almost already a third gone.

“Pretty girls don’t narf. We _ nibble _.” Ann said, pointedly eating more of her crepe with exaggerated delicacy.

“Right.” Ren said. He started eating his Nutella crepe. True to Ann’s word, they did indeed switch halfway as he took the apple and cinnamon one off her hands.

“Hey, Ren?” Ann asked, already finished.

“Mm?” Ren replied, still working on his. He tried not to think about the fact that the hint of strawberries he had picked up on his first bite was probably her lip gloss.

“...What did you think of Yusuke?”

Ren chose his words carefully. “...Weird guy. Probably harmless, I guess.”

“That’s probably true. He was oddly fixated on me, wasn’t he?”

_ ‘Can’t really hold that against him.’ _ “Yes, he was.”

“Do you think I should go ahead and model for him? I mean, we should go to the exhibit tomorrow to at least check out Madarame, but I don’t have to take him up on his offer.” Ann asked, watching Ren carefully.

By now, Ren knew that Ann had figured out his tells for when he was lying. So again, he chose his words carefully. “That’s really your decision, Ann. Hey, it’s getting late. We should be getting home.”

He picked up the bags, starting to walk toward the station. Ann caught up.

“Ne, Ren, my place is on a different line, remember? You don’t need to--”

“Ann, you’ve purchased an entire store’s worth of clothes, here.”

Ann grinned sheepishly. She really had. It was in part retail therapy, but the other part was that she had bought anything that looked like it had caught Ren’s attention. Anything that made his grey eyes light up a little. She ended up going overboard, even buying a few things that he probably wouldn’t see. At least, not _ normally _.

_ ‘...Yet.’ _A small part of Ann’s mind chimed in.

The train ride to Hiroo was over quickly. As they left, Ann glanced again at Ren. _ ‘He’s really quiet. Well. This isn’t really a blink once _ ** _or_ ** _ blink twice moment. I wonder--’ _

Her thoughts were interrupted as she tripped over some uneven concrete on the sidewalk, sprawling to the ground.

“Ann! You alright?” Ren kneeled beside her, putting the bags down.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Ann said, embarrassed. “Just let me get up…”

Gingerly, she put her left foot onto the ground. That was okay. She started to stand, putting her right down, wincing. She definitely wasn’t fine. It would take her weight, but…

“See? I can get home. Just give me the bags, and…”

She trailed off, as Ren shook his head. “Sit down, Ann.”

He motioned at the curb, helping her down. Without another word, he removed her boot, stuffing it into one of the bags. He gently felt around it, not catching the hitch in Ann’s breath as she felt his fingers start to poke and prod her shin, and then her ankle. Her heart fluttered - first for the contact, then for the pain as he found the sore spot, just in front of the bone on the outside of her ankle.

“Yeah,” Ren said. “I think it’s probably just a sprain. It’s sore in the right spot, and you were able to put weight on it. Walking home is going to be trouble, though… Still a good ten minutes away at a brisk pace.”

He pulled out his phone, checking Uber. “...And no cars around.”

The boxer frowned, and then started arranging the bags, combining some of them, putting his forearms through the handles. He then knelt in front of Ann, facing away. “Well. Nothing for it. Climb on.”

“Wh-what?! It’s too far! There’s no way!”

“Do you see a cab? And all the cars are occupied for some political rally, it looks like. Climb on.”

Uncertainly, Ann put her hands on his shoulders. Ren caught her legs, standing.

Even though she knew he was an athlete, she was always a little surprised at the strength he had in his lanky form. He started to walk toward her home. At first, she kept her head up, back straight - trying not to rest against him. At first. But, as he walked along, she noticed how his body tensed under the strain of her leaning back, how it was awkward for him to balance the center of gravity.

_ ‘...I’ll… I’ll just lean against him.’ _

She relaxed, her body up against his back. She caught the scent of espresso and old wood; the smell of Leblanc. It worked, for him. It was pleasant. Warm.

Ann tried moving her ankle a little, wincing again. “Ren? How do you know it’s a sprain?”

“Kana-chan showed me on a few of our boxers.” Ren said. “She wasn’t always around, and if I was helping Coach teach classes, I had to know some basic first aid.”

“So you were like the senior student? Kamoshida said you were the inter-high champ, but I didn’t know how if he was just trying to increase the pressure on you…” She winced again, this time at her own insensitivity as she felt him tense under her. Not a subject he liked to get into, apparently.

“...I was. To both the senior student thing, among the high school boxers, and to the inter-high champion. It was the thing I loved to do the most. The thing I was the best at.” Ren said.

“Sorry, Ren…”

“It’s fine, Ann. I don’t mind telling you these things.”

They walked along in silence for awhile longer, under the quiet hum of the streetlights.

Ren spoke; she almost felt him more than heard him. “Hey, Ann?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t trust Yusuke. You can model for him if you want, but I don’t want you going alone. I’ll come with you.”

“Oh. Okay, Ren…” Ann said. She settled against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled. It wasn’t _ ‘bring Ryuji’ _ , or ‘ _ bring someone _ ’. It was, _ ‘I’ll come with you _’.

Ann looked up. “Ah. We’re nearly there.”

Ren shifted his weight slightly. “Oh. Good.”

Ann frowned. “If you say I’m heavy, I’ll smack you.”

The two shared a quiet laugh as they arrived, pausing at the curb. Both of them waited, unsure if they should part ways here, or…

Ann took the initiative, playfully kicking her heels. “What’s the hold up? Giddyup!”

“Feeling better, I see.”

“Yep!”

“In that case…” Ren took off at a gallop. Ann shrieked, laughing, clinging to Ren as they burst into the building and the elevator. They paused to nod solemnly at another resident of the building, who stared wide-eyed at the sight of the blonde girl riding piggyback on the tall youth, carrying a plethora of brightly colored shopping bags. They arrived at Ann’s place - Ren’s second time there, the first time under circumstances where he could actually afford to look around.

“I didn’t notice the last time, but you have a really nice place.” Ren said, looking around at the large open plan apartment as he helped Ann to the sofa.

“Thanks! It gets a bit lonely, though. My parents aren’t home much, and my nanny stopped living here with us when I hit high school. She comes around every other day, though.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “So you’re telling me you’re here, alone, with a sprained ankle.”

Ann waved her hands placatingly. “It’s fine! Yui-bachan will be here tomorrow. There’s probably food in the fridge, and…”

“And so tonight, you’re going to eat whatever’s on hand, limp to bed, and wait for the morning.” Ren said, flatly. He took off his blazer, putting it over the back of a bar stool. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Wha…?”

“I’m helping you to your room. You’re going to get changed and I’m going to fix you something to eat.” Ren said, as he helped Ann to the wall. He let her go, as she was able to use the wall for support.

“Really! Really, you don’t have to. Like I said, I have help coming tomorrow and…”

“Stop being an idiot. It’s the least I can do.” Ren said. “...You’ve taken care of me. A lot. So, indulge me.”

Ann nodded, slowly. She hopped into her bedroom, trying not to think of the obvious implications of him in her home, making her dinner. It made her irrationally happy, but also terribly embarrassed.

Ren rummaged through the pantry and refrigerator, taking inventory. _ ‘Tofu… ground pork. Really well-stocked spice cabinet.’ _

He found a cutting board, stopping briefly to admire the quality of the chef’s knife. He started working away. His ear caught the sound of the shower. It was only then he clued into the domestic situation he had stumbled into, so distracted he had been by fussing over Ann.

_ ‘I’m in her house. I’m cooking her dinner. She’s literally in her bathroom, naked.’ _Ren nearly sliced his finger off as his teenage mind helpfully provided a picture of what that might look like. He refocused, working efficiently like he did in Kamakura when his parents needed him to help out. Soon, the smell of five-spice, cumin, and chili filled the kitchen.

“Wow. Smells great. But, that’s a lot of food. Does Boss feed you enough?” Ann said, teasingly.

Ren started to retort - she had no leg to stand on when it came to eating habits - but stopped, staring instead. She was standing there, holding onto the wall. She wore pink satin pyjamas, decorated with Choco-Cat in various poses. Her cheeks were rosy from the shower as she limped to the kitchen island, sitting on one of the bar stools.

“...Do I have something on my face?”

“No. Your pyjamas are adorable, though.” Ren said, pausing. Coming on a little strong, maybe. He quickly covered for his careless statement. “...for a middle schooler.”

Ann rolled her eyes, but smiled in gratitude as Ren pushed a plate to her.

“Here, eat up. Oh, and wait…” He walked around to her chair, kneeling down. He gently took hold of Ann’s ankle, producing an elastic bandage he had found in the kitchen’s first aid kit. “This won’t help support your weight or anything, but it might help keep the swelling down. When you’re done eating, you should elevate it and put some ice on it.”

Ann smiled down at him. The whole scene was sweet - even romantic. “Oh. He’s caring, he’s tall, smart… and he cooks, too.”

She paused. Coming on a little strong, maybe. She spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “But did you hear? He’s got an assault record.”

Ren rolled his eyes, starting to wash the dishes he had used. He stopped at Ann’s hand on his forearm.

“Ren, don’t clean up, too. Eat, seriously.”

He relented, sitting down.

Ann’s eyes lit up as she started. “Holy… Ren, this is _ really _ good. What is it?”

“Mapo tofu.” Ren said. “A Chinese dish. The inn usually gets a mix of Chinese, American, and Japanese tourists, so I learned to cook a bit from all three.”

“Ah… That’s pretty cool. The only one in my family who cooks regularly is Yui-bachan. Mom’s not bad, but Daddy’s a complete disaster in the kitchen.”

They chatted, mostly about Ann’s circumstances. She really was alone at home, most of the time. That was why it had been such a relief to her that Shiho was going to stick around.

“...And so, they’re probably only going to be home for three months in total, this year.” Ann finished, a little sadly.

“That’s… not much.” Ren said, looking concerned. “With everything that’s happened, you’re going to be alright?”

Ann nodded. “Between you, Ryuji, Shiho, and Mona, I think I’m going to be fine. And Bachan, too. Thanks for the concern, though. And for all of this.” She said, gesturing at the meal.

“I take care of my friends.” Ren said, simply.

That word, _ friends _ . It rang into silence between them. Full of more meaning than it typically held. At that moment, they both had the same thought - what _ were _ they, exactly? More than friends? Less than…

“Ren? Why don’t you trust Yusuke?” Ann asked.

“...I just don’t.” Ren said, non-committal. _ ‘Because he’s interested in you, and I’m not convinced it’s just for modeling. Because I don’t like the way he looks at you. Because I want to be the only one you smile at. Because…’ _

“But he seemed sincere?” Ann continued, looking at Ren. He was deflecting, certainly. She hated herself a little for her lack of resolve. She had told Shiho that she wanted to give him time to heal. It was selfish of her to throw her feelings at him. She wanted to give him space to figure himself out.

But she also wanted _ him. _

“I mean, it’s not like he said anything that awf--”

“You know, Ann. You should just go do it. It sounds like you’ve already made your choice, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me, anyway.” Ren said suddenly, curtly. _ ‘I need to leave. I need to get out of here. What have I been playing at, here? Am I that selfish?’ _

Ann was taken aback. He had _ snapped _ at her. That was different.

Ren sighed. “...Sorry. Blink once, right? I’m just… tired. I’m going to go home.”

“...Right. Thanks again, Ren.”

Ren gathered his things. He paused at the door. He couldn’t - wouldn’t - leave it like this. He looked back, a little smile on his face. Not the crooked, cocky one. The one Ann had come to recognize as resignation.

“Look, Ann. You’re a beautiful, compassionate person. One of the best people I’ve met. The main reason I don’t trust him is because he’s obsessing over you, and the only thing he knows about you is the first thing - that you’re beautiful. That means right now, to him, you’re little more than an object of his inspiration. Even if he worships you. I don’t like the idea of one of my few friends on this planet being around someone who might think it’s okay to do what he wants for the ‘sake of his art’, because he doesn’t see you as a person. I’m… sorry I snapped at you. Just let me come with you, if you go for it. If you want me to.”

“Thanks, Ren. I’ll let you know.” She smiled at him. “No harm done.”

She watched the door closed.

_ ‘One of the best people I’ve met.’ _

“That’s my line...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slow chapter. Lots of exposition/introduction of characters. May add fluff label for the ShuAnn parts.
> 
> More action later...ish. Next chapter a bit faster, more drama rather than fisticuffs or stabbing/shooting.
> 
> Definitions/Explanations:
> 
> 'Jiiiii' - In manga, when an author is demonstrating that a character is staring at someone. Used in some anime, too.
> 
> Mishima - I don't really hate Mishima as much as this story is making it seem, honestly. I just found it really odd how fast he got off the hook. My version of the protagonist does have an overly developed sense of justice and trust that's hard to regain once broken. Often to his detriment. It's making him not see Mishima's value
> 
> Taiho-jutsu - 'Arresting technique'/'Arresting art'. Modern martial art with roots in kendo, judo, aikido. Many variations, but general theme is that it's taught to police officers as their unarmed combat technique. Focuses on subduing suspects
> 
> Bachan - Granny, grandma, gramma, baba, etc. Yui obviously isn't related by blood, but effectively helped raise Ann
> 
> Yusuke - I went back and watched a playthrough of P5/read the May events. Yusuke really comes off as a dick to start. To the point where I was surprised I didn't remember that about him. In particular, where he basically labels Ren and Ryuji as being beneath him/too uncultured for art without knowing anything about them. And the part where he shoulder-checks Ryuji out of the way to talk to Ann.
> 
> And then later, where he blackmails a girl into stripping 'for his art'. How did he go from that to lobster boy?! I'll have to figure something out.
> 
> As always - thanks for reading! Next chapter is written as per my 'two at once, one in development' guideline. Just editing/checking for consistency etc.
> 
> 2020-08-21 - Yet more small edits. It occurs to me that these 'after the fact' notes are a little like the director's commentary on DVD/BluRay. I'll try to warn of spoilers/avoid talking major plot points. A few details added to make it a bit more clear what's going in Ren or Ann's head. More hints of Shiho's future trolliness added (she takes pictures, now). It's fascinating to look back and contrast the characters at this juncture with how they are at the end of GtD:XR, which I just finished.
> 
> Quasi-spoilers below for people who are reading GtD for the first time
> 
> At this stage, Ren's still prone to letting his anger use him; he can still be pushed into making decisions out of a desire for retribution rather than it being the right thing to do. It's only the support of his friends (in particular, Ann) that lets him get through it/stops him from going too far. I have to admit that this is only in part intentional. As I kept writing and more characters came in who relied on Ren as a leader (and in some cases mentor), the character seemed to evolve and grow naturally. It's a bit of a happy accident that it worked out this way; I certainly wasn't planning for it.


	10. Jack Dempsey

_Jack Dempsey, also known as ‘The Manassa Mauler’, was a cultural icon of the ‘Roaring Twenties’, reigning as heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. His fighting style became one of the influences in George Morikawa’s boxing manga, Hajime no Ippo, with liberal use of the ‘Dempsey Roll’. Dempsey’s style was aggressive - perhaps even ruthlessly violent._

_ But outside the ring, Dempsey was known to be generous, kind, and self-effacing. Once upon returning home to his wife, battered and bruised after losing the heavyweight title he had held for years, he remarked, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” Indeed, despite his fighting style, Dempsey wasn’t an overly angry man. He took his trainer’s advice to heart, quoting it years later in an autobiography: _

_ “As my trainer tells me, be more composed than your opponent; if you can make him miss, you can make him pay.” _

May 10, 20xx 

A young man stood at the docks in Kamakura, staring out at the incoming fishing boats. This was to be his new life.

Natsuhiko Nakanohara sighed. He was once a promising artist, so excited to work under Ichiryusai Madarame… Until the man started stealing his work under the guise of ‘giving him a head start’ and ‘ensuring he wouldn’t be dismissed’ for being a newcomer. And then he was just ‘sharing ideas’ to help with Madarame’s artist’s block. Natsuhiko headed down the gangway toward the dock, smiling ruefully at his own naivete.

And, when the stress of the situation got to him, when the artist’s block sunk in... The renowned artist had been so kind - at first. But as Natsuhiko’s production ground to a halt, Madarame made it clear. First gently, then angrily when Natsuhiko balked: he would have to produce, one way or another. Madarame first had him doing odd jobs. Small things that seemed innocuous, but not _ quite _legitimate upon further thought.

And then when he had finally grown a spine and refused to make another ‘delivery’, he found that the man had already taken his IN, his bank account information… _ everything _. Massive loans had been taken out in his name.

His identity stolen, his credit destroyed, he sank into despair. Stalked his ex-girlfriend. And then… everything changed, somehow. He apologized to her; she told him that she was glad that the Phantom Thieves were real, showing him the website. Regardless of the reason, he realized suddenly that what he had to do was start over. Reset to a time before things had gone wrong, when he last enjoyed what he did. So he declared bankruptcy and returned to Kamakura, to work for his parents. To paint in his spare time, not for money or fame - but simply to express himself.

He headed toward the boat. Today, he had been doing dry land maintenance of some equipment just to get himself familiar again. They had hired on a part timer to help on the boat, anyway. A tall, broad-shouldered man with a friendly smile. Kenji Amamiya, or something like that.

He blinked, seeing the new hire speaking to someone on the dock. Someone who was certainly _ not _a fisherman. A girl, slender. Wearing a light jacket and skirt, relatively plain clothes… But despite that, she was still beautiful, turning heads of the working fisherman. She seemed to be bowing deeply to the new hire, pleading for something.

But the man shook his head apologetically. He patted her shoulder, and walked past to keep working. She stood there a long time, before turning to leave. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Natsuhiko.

He recognized her, now - his cousin, Reiko Takahase. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She was biting her lip in an expression of resigned disappointment.

“...Reiko-chan? Is that really you? I haven’t seen you in years…”

“Natsu-nii? What are you doing here?”

May 15, 20xx

Shiho tiredly rubbed her eyes as she made breakfast for herself, including a double espresso fresh from the machine on the counter. She hadn’t gotten home until late last night. ‘Giving a statement’ apparently meant being stuck in a police interrogation room, waiting for an hour before having to speak first to a severe-looking woman with silver hair. She might have even been pretty, if it weren’t for the perpetual scowl on her face. She seemed annoyed to even be there and seemed like she had decided it was Shiho’s fault that she had to ask the high-schooler questions.

She had asked some cursory questions about Kamoshida. The usual things Shiho had already answered. And then, something unexpected.

_ ‘The boy who saved you from Kamoshida, Ryuji Sakamoto. How did he know to find you?’ _

_ ‘And where did you hide, after the assault? We have surveillance footage to show that Kamoshida drove by your home, but clearly you weren’t there.’ _

_ ‘Tell me more about Ren Amamiya. I understand from your teachers that you, Amamiya, Takamaki, and Sakamoto have become quite close.’ _

She shook her head. Why would they be asking about her friends? She answered as superficially as possible. The woman seemed to accept the excuse that Shiho gave - that she was simply spending time around people who made her feel safe. And then, on the way out, close to midnight, she had been stopped by someone her own age.

_ ‘Hello. You must be Suzui-san... My name is Goro Akechi. I’m sorry that you were held up here for so long. Can I buy you a coffee, or call you a car?’ _

Shiho’s suspicion of men in general, understandably, was high. High enough that she was able to see through the bad-cop/good-cop act. They had kept her in that room to tire her out and were now presenting with her a friendly face. The ‘Detective Prince’ that the girls at school fawned over. The ploy was so obvious it was almost cute.

Shiho accepted the offer for a car. While she waited for the cab, she politely deflected questions about her friends. For whatever reason, Akechi and the other woman were trying to learn far more about Shiho’s personal life than she would have expected.

Sighing, Shiho glanced at the time. Probably too early to call Ann, but she felt compelled to warn her. She picked up her phone; Ann answered after a single ring.

“Morning, Shiho!”

Shiho blinked. An oddly chipper greeting on a Sunday. “Morning, Ann. Hey, look. I wanted to warn you. The prosecutor last night… And that Akechi guy, the one from the TV. They were asking _ way _ more than I thought they would. Including stuff about you, Ryuji, and Ren.”

“...Oh.” Ann said. She sounded almost fearful.

“I’m not sure it’s anything. It was just weird, you know? Maybe they were just trying to fill in blanks. They wanted to know where I hid out after the attack, how Ryuji knew to help me. How I knew Ren. I just thought you should know.”

A long pause.

“...Right. Thanks, Shiho.” Ann said.

“Anyway, more importantly.”

“Hm?”

“_ Why _ are you sounding so happy? It’s not like you to be like this in the morning.”

“Hm? Oh, nothing!” Ann said, her voice rising in pitch.

“That’s your ‘obvious lie’ voice. As in, the voice you use where you’re ‘keeping a secret’ when really, you just want to tell me every single detail.”

“No it’s not!”

“Ann…”

“Well, since you’re twisting my arm.”

Shiho rolled her eyes, and then gasped as Ann described the previous evening. “Wow. Really? So much for giving him some space, huh?”

“I know, but…”

“I can’t blame you. So did you jump him?”

“What? _ No! _”

“Ouch. Lame.” Shiho said, sipping her espresso.

“Oh, shut it. Hey, I gotta go. Yui-bachan’s here. Catch you later?”

“Later!”

>>>

Ann hung up. She immediately opened up her messaging app.

**AT: Guys. Shiho said the prosecutor and that Akechi kid from the news were asking about us.**

**RA: That’s… problematic. What did they ask?**

**AT: It sounds like they were just asking things to fill in the details. Still, I think this just reinforces the fact that we need to lay low.**

**RA: We also should make sure our next target has no connection to Shujin, even remotely. It’ll throw the police off. And has anyone ever thought about the legalities of letting some high school kid ‘help the police’? I don’t think Shiho or any of us have any obligation to answer the questions of some dipshit TV detective.**

**RS: too true. never liked that idiot… anyway, if this Madarame guy turns out to be a target, he’d fit the bill. No shujin connection right?**

**RA: Right. Hopefully we’ll find out at the exhibit tonight, then.**

**AT: See you all then.**

“Kei-chan…?” Yui’s voice called from the kitchen.

Ann looked up at her nanny’s pet name for her. “Bachan? Yeah?”

“Did you cook?”

“Hm? Oh!” Ann got out of her room, still in pyjamas. She limped only a little; apparently it really was just a sprain. “Uh… ...yeah. I totally did.”

Yui was an older lady, in her sixties. She looked at Ann, head to toe. Focusing on her face, slightly pink, and then her ankle, carefully wrapped. And then the leftover mapo tofu that she had taken out of the fridge.

“You know, Kei-chan, I was young once too. I _ know _ you had a boy over. The story’s all over your face. And he looked after your ankle, how ever you managed to hurt it. _ And _ you don’t cook. Hopefully he does. I mean, I’ve never seen this dish before.”

The elderly woman took out a spoon, and sampled it. Her eyes widened as she slowly put the spoon down.

“...Kei-chan.”

“...?” Ann looked at Yui curiously; the woman had a very strange look on her face.

“Kei-chan, I don’t care what he looks like, or what he does. You _ marry _this boy.”

“What?!”

>>>

“Ah! This is the piece I wanted to see…”

Ren watched as Ann walked over to a painting on the wall of the art gallery. Something abstract, in shades of red and black. He burned a hole in the back of Yusuke’s head as the boy followed Ann. Apparently, the tall artist felt the stare.

Yusuke turned, meeting Ren’s eyes.

_ ‘Again, with the bullying act.’ _In the day that passed, Yusuke had wondered why he had been so unsettled by Ren - to the point where he had discounted as a passing fancy, some side effect of having his world opened to him by finding his ideal woman. He started to give the bespectacled young man a haughty sneer.

His expression froze. For a split second, he saw it again. Black wings.

He turned on his heel to stand beside Ann. Mindful to keep a respectable distance from her, because it was only proper - _ not _ because of the grey eyes watching.

Yusuke looked on in surprise that this was the painting Ann had gravitated to. It had been one of his earlier works - one of the first ones that Madarame had taken under his name, a ‘shared work’, as the man put it.

“This one feels so different from the ones that came after.” Ann said, looking at it.

“Th… there’s better work here, Takamaki-san. Not to say that Madarame-sensei isn’t brilliant, but this could hardly be considered one of his best. There’s other work that was more lauded, made a bigger impact…”

Ann turned, smiling at him. “Are you sure? I’m not an artist, but it seems to me that the value of a piece can’t be completely determined by the public. Isn’t it at least partly how it affects the individual, too? Somehow, to me, your sensei created something here that feels… angry. Angry at being trapped, forced to do something with no way out. It resonated with me, at the time.”

Yusuke stared at Ann, wide-eyed. _ ‘...That’s… exactly it.’ _

The young man hadn’t seen Ann romantically at all, when he had followed her to Shibuya. She was simply a means to an end, really - an inspiration for him.

But it seemed that she _ understood _.

“Ann.”

She turned, looking at Ren.

“Are we done, here?” He asked, pointedly ignoring Yusuke.

“Er… Yes.” She started to head toward him.

Yusuke caught her wrist by reflex. He seemed surprised by his own actions, quickly letting go. “Ah… Sorry. Takamaki-san, have you decided? Now that you know I truly am Madarame-sensei’s disciple? Will you model for me?”

Ann hesitated; she glanced at Ren before answering. For some reason, that drove Yusuke into irrational anger and irritation.

“I’ll think about it.”

Yusuke watched them go, feeling an uncharacteristic discomfort at seeing her leave. Specifically, leaving with Ren, walking so close to Ren. He needed to secure his inspiration, his next work.

And, he had to get her away from _ him. _

May 16, 20xx 

“Well. This is progress, at least.” Ren said, looking up at the gaudy gold walls of Madarame’s shack in the Metaverse.

“Yeah… Finding out he has a Palace was helpful. But man, you and Kitagawa almost got into it right on his doorstep.” Ryuji said. “Not that I would have _ minded _ him taking a swing at you… it would have been like watching a moth throw itself into a bug zapper. But I guess there’s even limits to self defense…”

Ren felt fairly sheepish, glad that the mask was on to hide his expression. When the four of them had shown up at Madarame’s door, Yusuke had tried to herd Ann in and shut the door in the face of the boys.

Ren, obviously, hadn’t taken it well. He had just grabbed onto the doorknob, and _ pulled _, while Yusuke was still tugging it shut.

Yusuke hadn’t counted on the lanky teen having so much strength; Ren hadn’t counted on the tall artist at being so weak. The artist had tumbled out of the doorway and fallen into Ren. Ren had kept his balance, but turned and gave Yusuke a hand in finding the ground. A _ firm _ hand. And then, Madarame’s car pulled around the corner...

Only the fast negotiation of Ann had saved Ren from getting told on by Yusuke; she had agreed to model for him later, some time when Madarame was out. Apparently, Yusuke didn’t want to disturb his sensei with having a model and her ‘entourage’ in the house anyhow. And the boy was sufficiently embarrassed by his own behavior that he was willing to let today slide.

But at the end of the day, ‘laying low’ had nearly fallen apart due to their normally reliable leader.

Ann eyed Ren sidelong. _ ‘...It looks like he’s learned his lesson.’ _

Ren caught Ann’s eye. “...Sorry, Ann. Thanks for getting us out of that.”

“It’s fine.” She said. She slid her mask on, smirking at him. “I don’t completely dislike it when you’re jealous like that.”

“I wasn’t jealous.” Joker replied, automatically. He stepped toward the threshold of the gate. “Anyway, looks like the gate’s wide open. Let’s move.”

His foot fell past the threshold, landing on the familiar feeling of a canvas ring.

“...Choose, Trickster.”

Ren looked up. He was again dressed as a boxer, facing his corner. Just outside the ring stood Igor, with the twins flanking him. This again.

“Choose what? Which Persona to use?” Ren asked, feeling a quiet dread form in the back of his mind. He knew what Igor truly meant. Every time they spoke, they spoke of more sacrifices to make. More to lose, in order to gain the power needed.

“No. Choose to survive, Trickster. Or not.” Igor laughed.

Ren turned, raising his fists in defense as he found himself facing not one, but two opponents.

“...Wait. Both at once?!” Ren slipped a jab, only to take a cross from the other shadow. He staggered. These ones hit _ hard _, too.

“Show us your choice again, Trickster.” Igor said, mockingly. “Show us your path to Rehabilitation. What will you throw away, now? Or will you take the coward’s path and succumb?”

“_ Fuck! _ ” Ren swore as he backed off fast from the rapid onslaught of _ two _ boxers.

He had fought multiple opponents in the Metaverse before, but always with the benefit of his blades, his gun, or his Personas. Here, he only had his fists, and was trapped in a ring that felt smaller by the second. And he was facing down boxers that were at least as good as himself.

Ren spat out his mouthguard as he was struck hard in the liver. He started to collapse down to the mat, only to be hit with a short uppercut that knocked him back into the ropes. He had already been cornered.

_ ‘Fuck fuck _ ** _fuck!_ ** _ ’ _

He started to lose consciousness despite keeping his guard up, the fists of two opponents far too much as he was battered through his guard.

He performed a check hook perfectly, getting ready to follow up - only to be knocked away by the other opponent. Again, he was rapidly cornered.

“How is this fair?!” snarled Ren, trying to mount any kind of counterattack. But any movement out of his guard was punished roundly with a hard punch or combination. “This is insane!”

This time, it was Igor, sneering, his voice tinged with amusement. “Why hesitate, Trickster? Didn’t you say you were done fighting _ fair _ ? Didn’t you say that you would fight _ dirty _? Didn’t you already understand that your opponents are not bound by such rules?”

Caroline scoffed. “Looks like he wants to die.”

Justine nodded, writing something. “A shame. The representative of the Lovers Arcana will be… ...distraught.”

_ ‘Ann…’ _

Ren’s body and hands moved of their own accord. He performed another check hook - this time taking a longer step inside, driving his left elbow hard into the temple of his first opponent.

_ ‘Check your elbows, kid!’ _ Takeda would always shout, when Ren got sloppy. _ ‘You can’t let them come up like that!’ _

He slipped a punch, dodging around the other. He gave them a hard shoulder check as he did, forcing them to stumble as he moved behind them. He did what he had been trained against for years. He drove a punch hard into the back of the second opponent’s neck, the rabbit-punch injuring and dropping him to the mat beside his fellow.

_ ‘ _ ** _Never_ ** _ hit from behind. You’ll break someone’s neck, or fuck up someone’s brainstem. This is a _ ** _sport_ ** _ , not a war. Never forget, that’s a life in the other corner.’ _

“Finish it, Inmate!” Caroline yelled.

“I estimate you have 10 seconds before they are both standing again.” Justine said, calmly. “Choose.”

_ ‘Someone might piss you off. Really piss you off. But when their knees hit the mat, they’re off limits. They’re done until the ref says otherwise.’ _

Ren slammed his knee into the back of the neck of the second opponent, twice until he felt the crunch reporting a destroyed spine. He then turned, tackling the first opponent who had just struggled to their knees. He grabbed them from behind in a rear naked choke, his forearm against the hollow of the throat.

Ren grit his teeth, feeling an elbow drive hard into his ribs. But, he held on. He held on, as he felt the strength in his opponent’s arms start to wane. He held on, as the flailing at his head turned into vague gesturing in the air.

He held, as he felt the last few twitches of a body dying of asphyxiation.

_ ‘It’s rare, kid, but it’s a tragedy when someone gets hurt in the ring. It’s a dangerous sport. People die in boxing, even when they _ ** _aren’t_ ** _ trying to kill each other. So you need to fight hard, but you need to remember - you have a duty to fight clean.’ _

And the Trickster stood. He watched quietly as Justine and Caroline dragged aside the bodies, wrapping them - and then doing _ something _ to combine their essence, forming a new, feminine figure.

“I am Clotho… Spin and spin, thread of fate. I am the mask that can see your past. The past that you have rejected, thrown aside.”

“...Was it right, then, Clotho?” Ren murmured, turning over his hands.

“It is not for me to say, Trickster. I am but the youngest. Should you meet my sisters… Perhaps they will tell you. Atropos may show you mercy.”

“By ending me? Or allowing me to live?”

“Yes…”

To Ren’s own surprise, he didn’t feel irritation or anger at the ambiguity.

He felt indifference.

>>>

A short time later, the team crept quietly through the museum, reaching a series of paintings in one of the galleries.

Ryuji stopped in front of a painting - of Natsuhiko Nakanohara. “Hey! It’s that guy. The guy who mentioned Madarame, after we changed his heart.”

Ann nodded, reading the plaque. “Natsuhiko Nakanohara… April 26, 20xx. Sold to buyer…? And look! It’s one of Kitagawa… It just says, ‘On Consignment’. What do you think that means? Joker? Joker!”

Ren blinked, looking over. “Ah. Sorry.” He walked over, reading the plaque. “Hard to say. Doesn’t it coincide with when Nakanohara’s Shadow said he was put out on the street, though? Not sure what he could have meant by ‘sold’, though… As for consignment, no idea.”

Mona looked up at his roommate and friend. “...Joker, are you alright? Since getting in here, you’ve been quiet.”

“Just thinking.” Joker said. _ ‘What am I going to say? That I’m contemplating the metaphysical ethics and consequences of killing two parts of myself to make a new part of myself?’ _ “The man has a Palace, sure. And we know something’s off with Yusuke, and certainly with Nakanohara. But it’s different, isn’t it? We _ knew _ what Kamoshida was doing. With Madarame, we’re still just guessing…”

Ann frowned. “...That’s true. I mean, this place _ looks _ evil, and Mona said you can’t have a Palace without twisted desires or obsessions. But we still don’t know for sure, and I don’t feel completely comfortable just changing someone’s heart based on rumors or a ‘feeling’. What if we were wrong…?”

Ryuji sighed. “I guess.”

Mona nodded. “There’s always a risk of a mental shutdown. I think we’ve gotten as far as we can without learning more. ...Ann-dono, I hate to say it, but I think modeling for Yusuke might be our only chance at learning more… Though, it’s hard to know how to even question him without a hint.”

Ann frowned. “You’re right, Mona. We can’t just go in and say, ‘Hey, Yusuke, what kind of illegal things does your sensei do?’...”

Ren turned, his coat trailing. “We should go, then. No need to raise the alert level in here by hanging around if we aren’t sure we’re going to proceed yet.”

They made their exit from the Metaverse, reappearing near Madarame’s shack.

“So, what now?” Ann asked.

“Well, we should get some grub.” Ryuji said. “Let me just see what’s near…”

He frowned, looking at his phone. “There’s like six messages from Mishima…”

The bottle-blonde called Mishima back.

“Hey, man. What’s up? Wait. Slow down. Another client?... ...Nakanohara? And you told him _ what?!” _

Ryuji switched Mishima to speaker. “Say it again.”

“Er… Hi, guys. Nakanohara-san sent me a message on the website. His ex-girlfriend must have told him about it. He… ...he said he has information about… ...the guy who put him on the street, but he can’t post it. He doesn’t even want to risk emailing it, because of how famous the target is.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “_ And _?”

“And so I told him that I’d set up a meeting--”

“_ What _ did you say?” Ren said, taking the phone.

“A-Amamiya! I…”

“Where are you?”

“At… at the diner. Jonathan’s.”

“Remember what I said? That if you exposed the Phantom Thieves, it’d be the last thing you do on this Earth?”

“...”

“Run. Or don’t run. I don’t fucking care.”

Ren handed Ryuji the phone back, and started walking.

Ann, her eyes wide, chased after him.

“Ren! _ Ren! _Ryuji, talk to Mishima! Make sure he doesn’t freak and call the police. I’ll stop Ren! Ren!”

“What, Ann?” He asked, almost conversational, if not for the flat look in his eyes. He kept his nearly casual pace as Ann walked beside him.

“What are you planning on doing?!”

“Pest control.” Ren said. “Didn’t I say it? Mishima can’t be trusted.”

“You can’t… This isn’t the Metaverse!”

Ren stopped in his tracks. He felt the world pitch below his feet. _ ‘That’s right. That’s right. I can’t solve things like that. I can’t, not here. Not as easily, anyway.’ _

“...Right. Right, Ann. You’re right.” He mumbled, shaking his head. “Sorry. Tell Mishima I was joking or something. I don’t care. Work something out. We’ll… we’ll meet Nakanohara. Set it up. I’m going home. I need to rest.”

He started to walk, stopping as Ann held onto his hand with both of her own. She looked at him, blue eyes steady, serious.

“You _ promised _.”

“...Right. I did.” He smiled at her, or tried to. “I’ll… I’ll see you later. I promise.”

>>>

Hours later into the dark of the evening, quiet creaking and controlled breathing seemed to fill the space of Shinoda’s boxing gym.

The source of the noise was Ren, the lone fighter in the gym at this hour. He steadily did pullups on the steel frame that had been built into the floor and ceiling, letting his body sweat and his mind go blank. He had his hands wrapped up as if he was going to work either the heavy or speed bag, but this was purely out of habit. He hadn’t touched a punching bag of any sort since his arrest. The truth was, the young man didn’t feel worthy of either, anymore.

He tried to fall into the blank space he reserved in his mind for training. A time to concentrate purely on what he was doing.

Five pull-ups - he paused, hanging by his arms and switching to hanging leg lifts.

_ ‘Why hesitate, Trickster?’ _

Five more, then switch back.

_ ‘This is insane!’ _

He shook his head. Hard pull, use the inertia to hang in the air and switch grip. Pull.

_ ‘Atropos may show you mercy.’ _

He dropped down from the bar, panting. He shook his head, trying to find his space. The peace he found through physical toil. He tried to shake the voices that haunted him.

“That’s it, Wildcard?” It wasn't a voice that haunted him; it was a salve, to him. Even now.

Ren looked up; Ann walked in, putting her gym bag down. Even in his state of mind, he could appreciate how she looked. She wore a fitted tank top; stylish sweatpants. And her hair was tied back into a simple ponytail. At least, simple on anyone else. She made the outfit look like it belonged in a magazine.

She was bewitching. And here to work out, apparently.

“I thought I’d find you here, when you weren’t answering.” Ann said, nodding at his phone on the nearby bench. “You promised you’d still be around, after all.”

Ren nodded. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Ann smiled. “I know. I dropped by Leblanc, first. Mona said he told you to go to bed, but you refused to listen. And then you left suddenly. He wanted me to pass along that he’s still 'annoyed with _mew_’. His words, not mine.”

“So you came… to work out?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

Ann shrugged. “If I’m going to be here, I should be productive, I guess. And it's easier to make sure you don't over-do it by participating rather than just watching.” She eyed Ren’s hands, the pullup bar. “You’ve never made me or Ryuji do that thing where you pull yourself halfway up and switch grips…?”

“Oh. I went back to my usual workout… I ease up when you guys are around.”

“...Wait, what?” Ann asked, eyes wide. “You… ease up?” She asked, thinking of how grueling their team training sessions were like.

Ren nodded, smiling a little. Ann felt relieved to see something on his face other than indifference or irritation.

“Well, that’s a little insulting. How about I do what you do tonight?” Ann asked, perking up.

Ren raised an eyebrow. “...You sure you got the guts for that?”

“I’m a guts demon!” Ann replied, grinning, pumping a fist into the air.

“...What does that even mean?”

“No idea. Let’s do it!”

Around an hour later, Ann sat on the bench, panting. She looked up at Ren. “...Are… ...are you _ serious _? Do all boxers do that?!”

Ren shrugged, smiling. Genuinely, broadly. “All Takeda boxers. That was fun, Ann. Like when I helped teach back home.”

“Good.” Ann said, sighing. “Thanks for getting me through that… Though, don’t you do punching bag stuff, too?” Her eyes flicked eagerly to the hanging heavy bags.

“Not really for beginners, Ann.”

She pouted at him.

“That won’t work on me.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. You're a giant sucker."

“...You’re not wrong.” Ren sighed. He reached into his bag, sitting beside Ann. “Hands.”

“...Hands?” Ann startled, as Ren took her right hand, starting to carefully wrap them with the cloth tape he had.

“Hands.” Ren said, quietly. He spoke, as if from rote, from a nostalgic memory. “If you’re going to be a boxer, you need to take care of your hands. Your hands are your livelihood; your defense and your offense. Treat them well, and they’ll treat you well.”

He continued wrapping, his fingers dexterous, gentle.

Ann turned pink at the proximity, at his touch. All she could hear was his breathing layered with the quiet buzz of the fluorescent lights and the hum of the fans running in the air ducts. The way his fingers never stopped moving spoke of a ritual years in the making - the way he’d go between each of her knuckles, then back over the swell of her palm.

She couldn’t know that he was taking longer than usual. That his touch lingered. That his own flushed face wasn’t just from the exercise they had done.

He finished with her left, holding it in his own.

He let go - reluctantly - and stood, finding a pair of gloves that would fit her before leading her to the heavy bag.

He spoke again, closing his eyes as he hailed back to happier times. He described the basic orthodox stance to Ann, showed her a jab, a straight, a hook. He recalled Takeda’s own words to him as he first started, so many years ago.

>>>

_ ‘This is the heavy bag. If you screw up, you can break your hand on it. Never punch it without at least gloves on, preferably wraps plus gloves. The two most important things are your feet and your distance. Your fists will follow if the first two are right. Start with some jabs, figure out where it feels right. Your hand should only close completely just before impact, then return to your guard immediately. The return is more important than the punch itself. Don’t drop your guard. _

_ Give me a few jabs. _

_ Good. _

_ One-two. _

_ Faster. Less space between the two. It should sound almost like the same punch. Faster! What did I say about your guard? Come on, kid, is that all?! Move your feet! MOVE! 1-2! 1-1-2! 1-2-3!’ _

>>>

By the end, Ann was breathing hard, bent double. She took off the bag gloves, pulling at her top’s collar in an effort to cool down. “That… that was awesome!”

“You looked great.” Ren said, grinning broadly.

She looked up, smiling enthusiastically. “Yeah! ...Say. Can you show me what _ you _ look like? Doing this?”

Ann had seen Ren in the Metaverse, of course. Fighting as Joker, the black blades on his forearms. But this was different. This was… special. A chance to know him in the real world, just a little more. And he was starting to lighten up again. His smile hadn’t been forced.

Ren froze. “I… I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Ann.”

“Please?” She gave him a cute, encouraging little smile. “It’s just me here.”

“...Alright.”

Ren collected his own gloves from the bottom of the gym bag, pulling them on. Ann watched him as he took his distance in front of the heavy bag - curious, as his left hand dropped just a little lower from the orthodox stance he had shown her. Like in the Metaverse, it was constantly in motion, relaxed.

The quiet became almost oppressive as the boxer focused in.

His left hand exploded out, arm blurring without a hint of telegraphed motion. The impact against the bag sounded like a _ crack _, as his left lanced in and jabbed over and over, from varying angles. She heard him breathe in time with his punches, his movement alternating between hard and soft; going from relaxed to tense at the moment of contact. She stared in shock at the velocity and force. Ann had assumed that what he did in the Metaverse was due to the power of their belief, of their cognition of their thief alter egos.

Ren showed her that he didn’t need to believe _ that _ hard.

As he added his right, the 1-2 combinations struck nearly at the same time; the sound became staccato as he started adding hooks, uppercuts. His body moved as if slipping punches.

Ren gradually forgot Ann was there, smiling tightly to himself.

_ ‘That’s it, kid! Don’t let up!’ _

More punches; a rapid beat filled the gym.

_ ‘Come on! You got this!’ _

Not faster, not harder - time it. Catch it during the backswing. Motion in stillness, stillness in motion.

_ ‘Wake up! What the hell are you waiting for?!’ _

Ren blinked. A shake of his head. He kept hitting.

_ ‘Finish it, Inmate!’ _

Ren stumbled. He recovered, continuing.

_ ‘Sacrifices must be made, Trickster.’ _

He cursed under his breath. He hit harder. The bag swung wide. His tempo became erratic.

“Ren…?” Ann looked on, her expression of wonder turning into concern. The air became different.

_ ‘That kind of anger uses _ ** _you_ ** _ .’ _

_ ‘It’s time to fight dirty!’ _

_ ‘...I never stopped loving you, Ren-kun.’ _

“God _ damnit!” _Ren screamed, his tempo gone. His calm gone. He swung wide at the bag, as hard as he could. He knew it would hurt him. Maybe break a knuckle; sprain a wrist. He didn’t care. He deserved it. He had thrown away his boxing. Takeda’s boxing. The fist he had been entrusted with had killed. Would kill again.

His arm was heavy - it wouldn’t hit the bag. He tried again.

“Ren! REN!” Ann clung to his right, to his elbow. Holding him back. “Ren, please! Please, stop…”

He stopped. His shoulders slumped.

“...Guess I didn’t show you much, Ann. Sorry.” He shook her off, walking back to his bag. He tore off his gloves, shoving them into the bottom of the bag. He started to carelessly pull off his hand wraps. “I’ll walk you home. I’ll…”

Arms around his waist. Pressure between his shoulder blades, of her forehead pressed against his back.

“...Ann?”

“Ren... Won’t you talk to me?”

“I… I don’t even really understand myself.” Ren said, shaking his head. His hands closed over hers. “I betrayed Coach. I…”

“You didn’t.” Ann said, shaking her head. He could tell now, that she was crying. Crying for his sake. “You _ didn’t _. You’re a good person, Ren. Why can’t you see it? Why…”

“I’m not, Ann. I don’t deserve the faith you put in me...” He said, his hands shaking a little as he tried now to pull away from her. She refused to let go.

“No! I’m not letting go. _ You’re a good person _.” She repeated, burying her face against his back. “Every day, even after you promised me, I can see you punishing yourself. You always act like you don’t deserve to be happy.”

He finally pulled away from her, turning to face her. “Because I _ don’t _ , Ann! I don’t! It’s all my fault! Everything’s my fault! I hurt my parents, everyone I cared about! And it’s _ still _ not enough. I still want to hurt _ more _people, Ann! I wanted to tear Yusuke’s head off! I was going to actually hunt down Mishima! I’m…”

He sat down on the bench. “...It’s my fault.” He said, in a small, raw voice, his face in his hands. “It’s my fault, and I’m going to end up alone.”

He heard her voice in front of him; her hand gently taking his hands away from his face. He opened his eyes; she knelt in front of him on one knee, her hands still holding his.

“Why? Why do you think you’ll be alone?”

“...Because I’m going to keep doing it. Because if I’m scaring _myself_ with what I’m turning into, what hope do I have for everyone else?”

She looked at him for a long, long time.

“...I’ll never be scared of you, Ren. And you’ll never be alone. You… you have me.”

Her hands let go of his, to steady herself against the bench as she quickly leaned forward, tilting her chin up.

Ren’s eyes widened; a sharp intake of breath as he registered the soft touch of her lips against his. It wasn’t his first kiss. But, as his eyes closed, before his senses became utterly, completely full of _ her _, he had a few, fleeting thoughts:

They were in a dimly lit, beaten up gym. They were still sweaty and tired. They both still had tears in their eyes from his outburst.

But it was perfect. No awkward fumbling, none of the stumbling steps that signified the start of the dance. Just... music.

His arms slid around her, pulling her fully out of her kneeling position and onto his lap, against himself. He felt her tense, briefly, before accepting his embrace and melting against him, sparking the rush of warmth over his body and electricity down his spine.

She shivered, as her mouth moved against his. The embrace was so different from the moments they had shared before. He almost crushed her against his frame as she straddled his lap. Possessive; passionate. She hadn’t done this before, with anyone. Years of being stared at like a curiosity at best, a prize at worst, had closed off romantic encounters for the blonde girl. But this felt… _ right _. Everything. The way he held her; the way she leaned on him completely, trusting him to keep them off the ground. The way her lips started to part in an invitation.

She let out a soft little moan as she felt him start to taste her. One hand clutched the collar of his sleeveless tee; the other ran through his hair, still damp. Still hot. She thrust her tongue against his, the last sense of reservation leaving her. Suddenly, the thought that she should wait, give him space, seemed like a silly, idle thought.

There was just a sense of urgency; a sense of longing. A sense of _ now _.

They broke the kiss, their breathing heavy. Ann still clutched his shirt with one hand. The other caressed his face, his hair.

“Are… are you trying to kill me?” She murmured; then gasped, as he moved his head, starting to kiss and taste her slender neck.

“Far, far from it…” He mumbled. “Do you have any shoots coming up?”

“No, just the thing with Yusuke--Ah…!” She arched her back in pleasure/pain as she felt him gently mark her. “You… did you just...?”

“I _ was _jealous. I might have to leave more.”

“Ah…” Ann smiled, dreamily, as he continued to nuzzle and kiss her. In return, she kissed his ear, nearly purring. “You’re the worst…”

_ ‘You’re _ ** _literally_ ** _ the worst.’ _

_ ‘Figuratively. There’s no way you could know I’m the worst, without having met everyone on the planet.’ _

Ren stiffened. He pushed Ann back.

“Ren? What’s wrong?”

He sighed, shaking his head. “You can’t… You can’t get involved with me. I’m fire, Ann. With your career, the last thing you need--”

“_ You’re _ what I need, Ren.” Ann said, pointedly. She grabbed his chin, kissing him firmly. “You’ve got another thing coming if you think you can just get rid of me after giving me a first kiss like _ that. _”

Ren looked at her - her blue eyes, pink cheeks. The way she looked so determined, serious.

He shook his head in defeat. “Let’s… let’s both think about it. Let’s figure out this thing with Madarame, and after that… if you’re still up for it… I’ll be yours.”

Ann looked at him. There was no lie in his words. She just nodded. Reluctantly, she stood; so did he.

He sighed. “Anyway. I should still walk you home, and--”

She caught him off guard, kissing him again. And off guard immediately again, as she deepened it, sliding her arms around his neck. Her body pressing against him in a way that lit fires in him that he hadn’t known existed.

And then she was gone. She smiled impishly, at him.

“Just wanted to give you something more to think about, Wildcard.”

>>>

May 17, 20xx 

Ryuji grumbled, sitting in the outdoor seating area of a small cafe in Shibuya. He was not the only Phantom Thief at the appointed spot; somehow he had been entrusted with the ‘Mona bag’. The cat was completely asleep, after having given instructions for Ryuji to keep an eye out for Nakanohara.It was after school - supposedly, the three of them had gotten out at the same time, but Ren and Ann had to stay after school to have a word with Kawakami, apparently.

He caught sight of his friends, now approaching. If he hadn’t been so annoyed with them, he might have noticed they were walking just a little closer to each other than usual. Or he might have noticed Ren’s normally immaculate blazer was buttoned incorrectly, leaving one side lopsided. Or he might have seen that Ann’s eyes were carefully studying one of the buildings in the intersection, looking anywhere but Ren or Ryuji.

Ryuji stood, gesturing with his bubble tea. “Finally! Kawakami can be a real bear, huh?”

Ren nodded with a neutral expression. He straightened out his blazer, undoing the buttons and then securing it properly. It _ definitely _hadn’t been buttoned up in a hurry, in an empty classroom.

Ann sighed. “Yeah. She just kept going _ on _ …” She absently tugged on the sleeve of her own blazer, normally rolled up, to cover a small bruise. A bruise that _ certainly _ hadn’t been caused by a boxer with a mild jealous streak.

Apparently, ‘thinking about it’ didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun, according to Ann. And Ren had required little to no convincing.

Ren sat down. “Thanks for getting drinks… Nakanohara show up, yet?”

Ryuji shook his head.

Mona yawned. “Mrrraa… Nope. Not yet. But in a few seconds, we’re going to see the reason Ryuji hasn’t been _ that _ bored.”

“...You noticed?!”

“I noticed you drooling, yes.” Mona chirped, poking his head out of the bag. “You might as well come clean, Ryuji.”

Ryuji grinned sheepishly. “When you see her, you’ll understand. Even if Nakanohara turns out to be a bust, this afternoon has been the highlight of my week.”

He looked at the corner of the intersection.

A girl stepped around the corner. Slender, with pale skin that nearly glowed. Long, black hair. She wore a dark blue A-line dress with a ribbon belt tied in a bow around her waist. She moved gracefully, fluidly. She looked around, as if trying to find something, or someone. She didn’t seem _ real _.

“There she is. She’s been walking around the area, keeps coming through this intersection. I bet she’s been stood up or something, and is trying to find her date. Maybe I’ll talk to her if Nakanohara doesn’t show? Hey, Ren, whaddya say about bein’ my wingman? ...Ren? Ren.”

Ren stood up, slowly.

He stepped out from the cafe seating area, a haunted expression on his face.

The girl, the _ yamato nadeshiko _who moved in a way that Ren could still see in his dreams.

_ ‘I never stopped loving you, Ren-kun.’ _

Her last words to him on the phone, the day she called to tell him about his parents’ situation.

She spotted him. 

They closed the distance mutually, quickly.

Ann’s world shattered as she watched the girl throw her arms around his neck, her brown eyes glistening with tears.

“Ren-kun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #sorrynotsorry
> 
> The cliffhanger wasn't completely intentional. It's just that the content that follows... either end it here, or this turns into another 10k+ word chapter purely based on flow.
> 
> Kei-chan: ...Intentionally not explained right now. Explanation to come some time post incarceration/post Valentine's, haha
> 
> yamato nadeshiko: Floral metaphor, combining yamato, an old word for Japan, and nadeshiko, a delicate pink carnation (Dianthus superbus). Meant to be the the epitome of pure, feminine beauty, the idealized Japanese woman. Poised, kind, gentle, etc etc etc. Common anime trope. Hifumi Togo is comparable character.
> 
> Funny enough, Nadeshiko Japan is the name of the national soccer team


	11. Don King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Don King is a boxing promoter who has been involved in a number of historic fights. He is a highly controversial figure - on one hand, he helped elevate the popularity of the sport, promoting some of the most famous fighters in the business: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson, to name a few._
> 
> _On the other hand, he has also been put forth as an example of the dark side of boxing. Several fighters have accused King of defrauding them. Sadly, this is not uncommon. A promoter is in charge of setting up and paying for everything involving a boxing match, assuming much of the financial risk of the fight. Thus, the promoter expects to get a large share of the profits from the fight. A promoter’s financial interests are best served by minimizing the boxer’s purse as much as possible. Young, hungry boxers will often fall prey to unscrupulous promoters, putting life and limb on the line for pennies on the dollar. The promoter has absolutely no duty whatsoever to be fair to the boxer._
> 
> _In a way, it is appropriate that some promoters will refer to their clients as their ‘stable of fighters’ - because some promoters see them as little more than livestock to be profited from._

**** May 17, 20xx 

The sleepover is in many cultures, a rite of passage - a sign that someone is growing up and forming close social connections with people outside the immediate family. Aside from that, they’re fun, and many adults recall fondly the events that transpired, marking them as important memories from their formative years:

The pillow fights.

The conversations about love interests.

The snacks and games past normally acceptable hours.

The hanging out with your almost-boyfriend slash makeout partner slash literal and figurative partner in crime’s ex-girlfriend who never really properly broke up with him, and who still may or may not be in love with said almost-boyfriend slash… etcetera.

As Reiko took her turn to bathe in Ann’s bathroom - her private bathroom, in her family’s luxe apartment - the blonde girl wilted under the withering stare of her best friend as they sat on the floor around the small _ chabudai _ table that she had in her room.

“...Oh, _ shut it _.” Ann muttered, tossing her head angrily.

“Oh, no. You don’t get to be angry with _ me, _ blondie.” Shiho said. She spoke in rapid falsetto. “‘Oh my God, Shiho! I need you! Pack a bag, you’re sleeping over! I made out with Ren, _ twice _ , and now his ex is in town and needs a place to stay and I invited her over without telling her any of this because I didn’t want Ren to feel obligated to let her stay with him but I can’t be alone with her! Please, Shiho, you’re the light of my life and the butter to my bread! Without you, I can’t function as a normal human being and make _ terrible _ decisions!’”

Ann pouted, hugging a pillow to her chest. “You made up the last part.”

“I did. Doesn’t make it not true. And I’m _ not _ the champ, so pouting won’t work on me. So _ spill _ . While she’s in the shower. What the _ fuck _ happened?”

And so Ann spilled.

She told Shiho the story of Ren’s breakdown in the gym, leaving out the Metaverse-related events that brought him there. Ann told Shiho how as Ren finally opened up to her, told Ann what he was truly afraid of - her resolve had shattered.

Ann couldn’t stand the idea of the boy she… ...liked… feeling like that. Feeling afraid of being alone and unloved. And so she had kissed him on impulse. And it was _ perfect _ . She still felt chills, thinking about it. His arms around her. His hands, like the boy they were attached to, a perfect contradiction. So gentle and strong, able to make her feel safe and _ hot. _And yet, the violence they were capable of… But she was never afraid of him. She couldn’t be.

When he was swinging wildly, Ann had jumped in without hesitation, holding him back.

And then in the classroom. They had lingered, an unspoken agreement to just take a little longer to pack up and go. The room emptied. Ren closed the door.

And then she had just looked at him, taken a step towards him.

And then somehow, she was clawing at his blazer as he lifted her up, putting her on his desk; one of her legs locking around the back of his upper thigh as they devoured each other. He bit her again, on her forearm this time, and she _ loved _ it. He had a hand on her thigh, sliding up under her skirt and squeezing. It had made her make a sound that she thought was only something that people did in those videos Ryuji had ‘heard of’ _ . _

Only another text message from Ryuji had made them stop.

But then, _ she _ showed up.

Reiko freaking Takahase. _ The _ Reiko, whose name had been on Ren’s lips that one time in his sleep. The girl who left him, only not voluntarily, as they found out. The girl whose cousin was Nakanohara. The girl who was so _ god damned pretty and graceful _that even Ann was starting to admire her a little.

Shiho shook her head. “Holy. Shit.”

“And you know what the worst part is?” Ann said. “I can’t even hate her.”

“Why?!”

“Just… Just _ look _ at her, for one thing! Didn’t you see her, when you got here?!”

Reiko had been in the kitchen alongside Yui, smiling pleasantly and helping Ann’s nanny prepare dinner. The older woman was a shrewd judge of character, Ann knew, and liked Reiko immediately. She didn’t believe a word of the lie Ann told - that she was an internet ‘pen pal’ who was visiting, but probably understood there was something sensitive afoot.

“And also…”

The sounds of running water stopped; the bathroom door opened. Reiko stepped out, wearing borrowed Kuririn pyjamas from Ann. The little golden hamster character seemed to be mocking the blonde girl.

_ ‘This girl is Ren’s type! See? She even makes me, a goofy looking hamster, look elegant! She’s thinner than you, more graceful than you, and probably more acceptable to his parents!’ _

Ann sighed. She looked at Reiko. “Takahase-san, is it alright if we talk about why you’re in Tokyo in front of Shiho?”

Reiko sat in _ seiza _ across from Ann and Shiho. She bit her lip for a moment, and then nodded, eyes downcast. “You can, Takamaki-san. Suzui-san is your best friend, isn’t she? It would be weird if she didn’t know why a stranger was suddenly staying here.”

Even Shiho felt a shot through the heart, looking at her. She seemed so gentle, poised. _ ‘...Is she real? What the hell?’ _

“Er… ...it’s fine if you don’t want to. You can call me Shiho, by the way.” Shiho caught Reiko’s expression brighten at this, recognizing a profound loneliness, made lighter even by that simple gesture. She glared at Ann, jerking her head at Reiko.

“...And you can call me Ann.”

Reiko smiled, relaxing. “Thank you. Shiho-chan, Ann-chan. Please call me Reiko.”

Reiko looked at Shiho. “Ah… anyway. You know Ren-kun, then, yes? You go to school with him?”

Shiho nodded. “I’m proud to call the champ a friend.”

Reiko smiled, genuinely happy. “I’m glad. I’m glad he has friends, and that you even seem to know he boxed. I’ve been worried. It’s part of the reason why I wanted to come and see him. My father didn’t allow me to say goodbye, when everything happened. I managed to call him once, but I didn’t know where he was in the city.”

So she had approached Kenji, finding him at the docks. She begged for Ren’s address and whereabouts. The older man was sympathetic, but his priority was his son. He gently - but firmly - said no.

And then she had run into Nakanohara.

“Natsu-nii… He’s had a terrible time.” Reiko said. “He told me what happened to him, and that the Phantom Thieves saved him. He wanted to go back to Tokyo to try to give them some information to help his former _ kouhai _ but was ashamed of showing his face in town. So I offered to go instead… And because I wanted their help, too.”

“And that’s connected to Ren and Ann how…?”

“Well, they’re apparently the contacts for the Phantom Thieves?” Reiko said, tilting her head. “I was a little surprised, but then again, Ren-kun has this habit of ending up in the middle of things…”

Shiho’s eyes widened. She glared suspiciously at Ann. “The _ contacts _ for the Phantom Thieves. _ Really _.”

“...Er… surprise?”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Reiko said, gasping. “I didn’t realize Shiho-chan didn’t know. I…”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Ann, you have some explaining to do. Later. For now… Reiko, why would you need their help…?”

“My father’s become obsessed with our family’s reputation. And my circumstances. Being associated with Ren-kun… ...was challenging.” Reiko said. “Smaller towns and schools can be cruel. Father’s trying to commit me to an arranged marriage to repair our reputation. Into a _ respectable _ family, to a much older man. A man who’s already been through two divorces…”

“Oh. Oh, Reiko, I’m sorry.” Shiho said, reaching over to touch her hand sympathetically. “So you want the Phantom Thieves to do something about your father…?”

Reiko nodded. “I won’t go through with the marriage. Father doesn’t know I’m here. If they can help change his mind, then I’ll go home. If they can’t… then… I’ll run away, permanently!”

Shiho sighed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I’m sure they’ll help, Reiko. In the meantime, we’ll look after you. Won’t we, Ann?”

Ann nodded. Still pouting. Mostly because it was as she said - she couldn’t have the petty pleasure of hating Reiko. “We’ll have to be at school tomorrow, though…”

Reiko waved hand. “Please, don’t worry about that. Ren-kun said we’d all meet up after to talk a little more about everything, didn’t he? At his place.”

Ann managed to not twitch at that. She didn’t want this girl anywhere near where Ren slept.

>>>

It wasn’t like Ren _ could _ sleep.

He stared blankly, up at the ceiling.

Morgana appeared in his vision, looking oddly enthusiastic. “Hey! Ren! Do you think if you get back together with Reiko, we could go on a double date with her and Ann?! It would be _ great!” _

Ren resisted the urge to throw his friend through the glass of the window that overlooked the street.

As Morgana prattled on, Ren tried to sort out the mess in his head. Before Reiko had arrived, he had succumbed, completely, to everything he had felt for, about, and frankly, _ on _ Ann. Their first (and second) kiss in the gym had been a brief relief - before turning into a full blown _ need _ for her. He wasn’t sure who ambushed who after class yesterday. Just that he had closed the door and walked back to her. She had stood up, and looked at him, tilting her chin up just a little; her eyes just closing slightly.

And then he had her willingly trapped on his desk, his hand on her ass, the other on her back and about to make the trip down to the hem of that hoody she wore under her blazer. And then her arms were around his neck; hands running through his hair.

Her leg was locked around his upper thigh; her other one was heading that way, too.

He bit her forearm in response to that little _ sound _ she made when he squeezed her firm backside, the one that sounded like…

He had no idea what it sounded like. But biting seemed like the right response. Biting, and then claiming her lips, her mouth, over and over...

Ren glanced at Mona, now furiously grooming himself as he kept talking and planning this glorious double date. Now, more than ever, he hated having a roommate and hated not having access to a cold shower.

And Reiko…

When he saw her again, in that dress… It was like stepping back in time. It was the dress she wore on their first date.

_ ‘Sorry, Rei-chan! Sorry! Practice went on, and Coach had these new mitts, so…’ _

Back then, she had just giggled, and smiled at him.

_ ‘Boxing glove for a brain, Ren-kun. It’s okay. If you didn’t do this sort of thing, you wouldn’t be you.’ _

She blushed when he took her by the hand. When he wasn’t being a cocky ass, he always told her he wasn’t sure why she picked him. He was just a face-puncher, a lazy student. A recreational pianist. She always just smiled. She’d tease him gently, but then tell him, shrugging.

_ ‘I love you. I trust you. Does all that stuff really matter?’ _She had said that to him again, the first time they made love.

Ren shook his head, turning his back to Mona as he faced the window. _ ‘And I repaid her with her life now. Running away from home to avoid getting married off to some old bastard as his third wife. Is this some Showa-era drama? What the fuck. I have to fix this.’ _

>>>

May 18, 20xx 

Ann and Shiho walked toward Leblanc, Reiko in tow.

Ann had spent the entire day trying to figure out what to tell Shiho, about everything. About how they were the ‘contacts’ of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They entered an alley, taking a shortcut. It was empty.

Ann leaned toward Shiho, speaking at a volume for her alone. “Ne, Shiho. About how Ren, Ryuji and I are involved in this…”

Shiho looked at Ann, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re actually--”

“I don’t want to hear it, Ann.”

Ann recoiled as if struck. “Shiho…! I’m sorry, I didn’t want to keep it from you--”

“No, Ann.” Shiho said, gently. “I mean, _ I don’t want to hear it _ . After that ‘statement’ I gave, or rather, the interrogation… The less I know, the better. This way, I don’t have to lie. You’ve told me _ nothing _. This is the best way I can protect you.”

“Shiho…”

Shiho smiled, pulling Ann against her into a side hug as they walked.

Reiko, looking up from her phone, smiled sadly. “You two are really close, aren’t you?”

Ann smiled, a little embarrassed. “Aheh…”

“...Do you know if Ren-kun… if he’s… _ close _ with anyone?”

Ann stumbled at the question, nearly eating pavement. And then she got annoyed, a scenario playing out in her mind. She’d stop and turn, right now, and say something.

_ ‘Yes. Yes he is. He had his tongue in my mouth and his hand on my ass. And he likes biting me. And I love that he likes it.’ _

As she turned to look at Reiko, the venom disappeared from her mind. The girl looked utterly, completely conflicted. Guilty. Hopeful. Everything.

“...You really still love him, don’t you?”

Reiko blinked, looking at Ann, and then back to the ground. They came to a halt just outside Leblanc.

“I… I do.” Reiko said, quietly. “I do. I thought I had buried my feelings, but when I heard his voice on the phone… and when I saw him again, yesterday. But I don’t deserve to. I… I disappeared when he needed me the most. And now I’m here. Begging him for help. I’m utterly shameless.”

Shiho looked at Ann, as Reiko started to cry, looking like she was on the verge of running away.

Ann sighed. _ ‘Oh, God. And I thought _ ** _me_ ** _ crying was a trump card. This is just unfair.’ _

She handed the girl a handkerchief. “Ren is pretty easy to read, Reiko. If he’s angry, it’s obvious. If he doesn’t like someone, it’s even more obvious. And if he cares about someone, if they’re special to him… Well..”

Reiko eventually stopped sniffling, just listening to Ann.

“Ren, he won’t leave them alone. He can’t. He once told me that my strength was my compassion for others. That I care so much it hurts me. The thing that’s so beautiful about him, so frustrating about him, is that he’s almost the same. But, he can’t see it.”

Ann sighed, smiling a little. That little, affectionate smile reserved for him. “He buries it, hides it. Like all boys do. But when he loves, he _ loves _. He loves so much that it fills his heart and head and when the people he cares about are happy, he’s happy. But if they’re hurting, especially if they’re hurting because of him… It kills him. It hurts him more than he deserves. Only, he thinks he deserves it.”

Reiko nodded, handing the handkerchief back.

“So straighten up. Raise your head. If you go in there like that, he’s going to hate himself.”

“...Thank you, Ann-chan.” Reiko said, nodding. “I’m fine, now.”

“Good.”

_ ‘I just gave my rival a god damned pep talk. Best strength my ass.’ _

The team gathered around the table upstairs; Sojiro raised an eyebrow at the addition of both Shiho _ and _Reiko. Shiho tried not to burst out laughing as she heard the man mutter.

“Damn. Kid’s got _ game _…”

Ren sat at the table, all business. He didn’t react visibly as Reiko entered and sat beside him. But, they looked good together. They looked like they _ fit, _to Ann’s mounting irritation.

“Let’s review what we know, before we contact the thieves.” He said. He looked at Ryuji.

“Right. So the first contact was Nakanohara’s ex. She found out that he had gotten into a _ lot _ of financial trouble, quickly, and his life was falling apart. So he started stalking her. He saw her as the one bright spot in his life.”

Mona meowed. “And then when we changed him, he moved back to Kamakura…”

Reiko smiled. “Nice kitty.”

Mona looked annoyed, until Reiko started stroking his ears. Mona started to purr.

Ren frowned. _ ‘...I am _ ** _not_ ** _ jealous of a cat.’ _

“Natsu-nii told me that when his artist’s block really set in from the stress of having his work plagiarized, his sensei told him he had to produce somehow. Whether it was art, or ‘making deliveries’...” Reiko said. “He had to sell expensive pieces of art, and then immediately spend the money on something else. And when it started to worry him because of the people he was selling and buying from, he wanted to quit. And then he found out that his sensei had sold his identity and someone had taken out massive loans in his name.”

The group paused.

Shiho frowned. “The second part makes sense. I mean, if he’s a bad guy, fine, steal his identity. But why would he make him sell, and then buy supplies? I mean, it seems like a zero-sum game…”

“Money laundering.” Ren said, simply.

Ryuji frowned. “You mean like in one of those yakuza movies? But don’t they do that through like, gambling dens or offshore accounts or something?”

Ann nodded. “And how would just one person do it? How could it be worth it?”

Ren reached behind him, grabbing paper off his desk. “That’s all true, what you guys are saying. Cashing money into chips, or dispersing into gambling dens and then pulling it back out is one way.”

He drew a box, an arrow with cash in, arrows showing it circulating, and then coming out in multiple directions with multiple people - the money now all much harder to trace. Only to have it recollected, and returned to the first person.

“It’s a bit of both of what you guys described. It’s a type of ‘smurfing’, where they break the large sum down into a lot of small packets. If not a casino, they could also use a lot of people to buy smaller bank drafts and clean the cash that way. But banks are wise to that now. And also offshore transfers.”

He turned to the other side of the paper.

“I think what Madarame is doing is trade-based money laundering. Artwork is perfect for it because the value can be extremely high, and very hard to dispute. Especially if it’s been produced by a high profile artist. Who would ever dispute the cost of a Madarame original?”

He drew a square, a representative of a painting, then an arrow to a stick figure. “He just needs to set the value of the painting to be extremely high. The money then gets transferred to his courier as a legitimate transaction.”

He drew another arrow to the ‘art supplier’. “And then he goes to buy art supplies and other necessities. Probably for far more than they’re actually worth, as part of the cycle to return the money to the client who wanted the cash cleaned. Less the fees from all the cogs.”

Ren frowned, thoughtfully. “Based on what happened to Nakanohara, I’d bet that Kitagawa’s taking all the risk. The money probably moves in and out of an account under his name but controlled by Madarame. If he ever gets caught, Madarame can just claim he knew nothing. Just a wayward, greedy student. Or if he becomes rebellious, he sells the accounts and IN and moves onto the next mule.”

Reiko watched, quietly. “...Ren-kun? How do you know all of this?”

Ren shook his head. “No _ good _ reason, Rei-chan. I was detained for awhile, remember? Even if it was just juvie, you run into people who know crime. And I did a lot of reading.”

“Bro, that’s amazing.” Ryuji said.

“Not really. Like I said, I just read--”

“No, it’s amazing how such a talented guy is such a shit artist. I didn’t even know that was supposed to be a person stick figure until just now.”

“Can it, Sakamoto.” Ren said, laughing. “Anyway. That should be enough to… ...pass onto the Phantom Thieves.”

“Ren-kun… Will you also tell them about my problem?”

Ren looked at her. He smiled in a way that made Ann clench her fists on her thighs, under the table.

“I’ll make sure of it. Anyway, we should go. If we don’t get meeting on time, they’ll think we’ve been burned and disappear on us permanently. Shiho - can you see to Reiko?”

“Of course!”

“Thanks.”

They filed out.

As Ryuji and Ann went ahead to the station, Reiko caught Ren’s hand.

“Ren-kun… I… Didn’t you say yesterday that a mental shutdown could occur when you change someone’s heart?”

“It can.” Ren said, simply.

“...Then, should we really be getting involved in this? What if we hurt Natsu-nii’s sensei? What if we hurt father?”

“Are you alright with your cousin’s kouhai being exploited? Having his life ruined? Are you alright being married off?” Ren asked, coldly.

Reiko blinked in surprise at his tone more than anything else. “No! No, of course not. But, isn’t there another way…?”

“None available to us.” Ren said. “I know it sounds harsh. But people don’t fight fair, Rei-chan. No one does.”

He sighed.

“I should go. Ann and Ryuji are waiting.” He smiled at Reiko. “I’ll see you later, okay?” He gently broke free of Reiko’s grip, heading down the alley.

Reiko watched him for a few steps. He was different. Colder, harder. He knew things now that he shouldn’t; he comfortably went from discussing felonies to laughing with his friend. He went from being okay with collateral damage in the form of human life to a reassuring smile. And that smile wasn’t the same anymore.

“Ren-kun!”

He paused.

“...Let’s run away together. Let’s forget this. Let’s go somewhere where no one can find us…” She said, desperately casting her hope into the space between them.

“...Rei-chan. I’m not going to respond to that, yet. Because I don’t think you know who I am anymore. Not completely.”

“You’re… you’re _ you _, aren’t you?”

“Even I’m not sure what that means, anymore. I’ll let you know when your problem is dealt with.” He said, in a carefully measured tone. “I’m not the same anymore, Rei-chan.”

Reiko watched him go.

_ ‘...I know. But, you didn’t say ‘no’...’ _

>>>

Yesterday, Ryuji hadn’t noticed anything different going on between Ann and Ren. He first had been too irritated at his friends for making him wait, and then he was too taken with Reiko to notice anything. Today when they got off the train in Shibuya, Ryuji walked up between his friends, putting an arm over his friend’s shoulders.

“So, RenRen, you and Rei-chan, huh? Are you still--”

“Don’t call her that.” Ren replied.

“Wha… ...oh. Uh, sorry.” Ryuji replied, awkwardly. “You keep calling her your ex, and…”

“She is.” Ren said, flatly.

“Uh. Okay. Uh… ...so, Ann, is Takahase settling in okay? How was last night?”

“Fine.” Ann said, staring ahead pointedly.

“What’s she like, is she…” Ryuji’s words died on his lips as his instincts screamed _ danger _, from both Ren and Ann.

“...I’ll just walk back there, a few steps. Right behind you guys.”

Mona hopped out of Ren’s bag. He too, had a strong sense of self-preservation. The not-a-cat was still besotted with Ann and couldn’t see that there was something between her and his friend but still had the animal instinct to avoid fires.

Ren and Ann walked in tense silence.

“So. Is she really doing alright?” Ren asked, quietly.

“Shouldn’t you just ask _ her _?” Ann replied.

“I would, but she’s not here. You are.”

“I can see why _ you’d _ settle on that logic.” She shot back. “At least you’re _ consistent _.”

“That’s _ not _ what I meant.” Ren said, irritated.

“Then what _ do _ you mean? What do _ we _ mean to you?”

“Forget it.” Ren said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

They arrived at Madarame’s shack.

Ryuji looked at Ren and Ann. “..Guys. I hate to ask, but whatever’s going on… is it going to be a problem?”

“Not at all, Ryuji. I’m just _ excited _ to finally get to model for _ Yusuke _.” Ann said, looking at Ren.

Ren didn’t reply. “Whatever. Knock on the damn door. You handle your part, Ann, and we’ll handle ours.

>>>

“Money laundering?! Accounts? Identity theft? Sensei is an _ artist _, not a criminal!” Yusuke snapped, glaring at Ren and Ryuji.

_ None _ of them had handled their parts particularly well. Ann was stiff and irritable. Ren’s questioning was distracted and slow. None of his usual quick wit and sharp tongue to throw Yusuke off balance. Not even his usual brand of quiet physical intimidation. Instead, he sat there, sullen.

And this left Ryuji, as subtle as a firecracker in a watermelon, to do the talking.

Ann raised her hands. “L-look. Kitagawa-kun, we met your senpai. There’s things he told us. Things you don’t know.”

Yusuke calmed, briefly, as Ann spoke. “Like…?”

That calm disappeared, as Ren took over. Yusuke automatically glowered at him.

“Doesn’t he make you do deliveries? Sell some things? Buy some things?”

“Of course he does! Any artist would ask this, of his disciples! Not that a _ brute _ like you would--”

“In the amounts of a million yen, per transaction? Two million?”

Yusuke turned even paler as the mysterious ravenette’s guess was disturbingly accurate.

“Maybe even three million, depending on the bank. More than that, and they’d start flagging it, probably.” Ren said. “Stop me if I get any of this wrong. He gives you artwork. Artwork for a value he specifies, but he never lets you see it. You sell it. Then, you transfer the same money to another vendor, who gives you a receipt and promises a delivery. But you never see the supplies.”

“Sensei says I need not concern myself with such petty things.” Yusuke said, shaken.

Ryuji, patience already worn thin by Ren and Ann’s behavior, chose the exact wrong time to speak up. “Isn’t that just what a criminal would say, Kitagawa? Face it, Madarame’s using you. He’s a hack who can’t paint a fence let alone artwork, so now he--”

“_ Enough! _ ” Yusuke shouted, throwing his brush against the wall. “Enough! I will _ not _ have you insult the man who taught me everything I know!”

He snatched up his phone. “I don’t recall _ ever _ inviting either of you ingrates in here. I only wanted Takamaki-san. I’m going to report you both for trespassing.”

Ann’s eyes widened. “W-wait. Hold on a second!”

Ren rolled his eyes. “You _ really _ think that’d work? You opened the door for us. You let us sit here for hours. Do you think the police are just going to buy that you only noticed us sitting here _ now _?”

“...Er… ...yes.” Yusuke said.

“...Ren. Ren! Your record! They’ll--” Ryuji was not having a great day for decisions.

Ann clapped a hand over Ryuji’s mouth. Too late.

“Ah… Ah ha! I should have guessed.” Yusuke sneered. “An uncouth _ brute _ like you should have ‘priors’, is that what they say? The police will surely take my word over yours.”

Ren grit his teeth. He loved Ryuji like a brother, but…

“S...sorry, man. I…”

Ann shook her head. “Kitagawa-kun… please.”

Yusuke looked at her. The entire time, she and Ren had seemed angry with each other. Ren was looking anywhere _ but _ her; Ann had been ignoring him and fawning over Yusuke. It had made him happy, at first. But as a model, it made her useless. She was irritable. Angry. She couldn’t concentrate if she was at odds with Ren, it seemed. That… was vexing, for Yusuke.

But, when push came to shove… the concern in her expression for Ren. The unquestioned devotion and love in her eyes. It made her beautiful.

And it enraged Yusuke.

“Fine. Then I won’t call the police. _ If _ you model for me…”

“I already said I would--”

“Nude. Alone, _ without _ either of you here.” Yusuke said, though his words were clearly for Ren.

There was silence in the room, save for Morgana’s jaw hitting the floor.

“You bastard!” Mona mewed.

“What?!” Ryuji said, shocked. “Why?!”

Yusuke smirked. “Because those are my terms. You’re hardly in any position to negotiate. Your move, convict.”

Ren’s eyes widened. Ann had just spent the entire school year being targeted by Kamoshida. Having rumors created about her, making the entire school see her as little more than some musclehead teacher’s sex toy. Then he had outright tried to blackmail her into letting him rape her. And now, this boy - no, another man - was trying to blackmail her into taking her clothes off. Ostensibly ‘for his art’. But Ren hadn’t been so distracted as to not notice the glee Yusuke had shown at his and Ann’s atmosphere today. And now that superior, haughty smirk that hinted at motives that weren’t entirely pure.

The complete silence from Ann drew Ren’s eyes to the girl.

She stood there, shaking. Her fists were clenched. She mouthed a quiet curse word, and closed her eyes.

“...Fine.” She breathed, quietly.

Yusuke was puzzled. Certainly, it made sense that she would be bashful. But it looked like he had physically struck her. She looked like she was a mix of profoundly terrified and enraged, but ultimately resigned to having to do this to protect Ren. And there was something else, too… He looked toward Ren, to see if it would clue him in to what was happening.

There was nothing but a blur, and then _ pain _.

“You _ rat bastard! I’ll kill you!” _

Yusuke choked and gasped. His collar had been drawn tight around his neck. He stood on his toes, because he _ had _ to. Ren had him by his throat, had twisted the fabric around his strong fingers.

It hurt to breathe; partly because of the collar, but also because of the ruthlessly hard right body blow Yusuke had taken to his solar plexus. His chest burned; his throat seized. He wanted to vomit, but his stomach hurt too much to allow it.

“Pl..plea--Urk!”

Ren’s left tightened as he drew his right back. At this range and vulnerable state, a hard punch from the boxer on this frail artist would be devastating. “You piece of _ garbage _ . Do you know what you asked her?! Do you know what she’s been through?! What we’ve all been through!? You’re just like them! Just like the piece of _ shit _ adults that forced us to take matters into our own hands. You want to _ use _ us? I won’t let you!”

Yusuke’s eyes widened. This wasn’t right. This was supposed to defeat them. Put them in their place. His terms _ had _been out of line, but this response… He had crossed some kind of line. Something he hadn’t known. As he looked at Ren, his clenched jaw, his fist drawn back, he saw them. He saw them for sure, now.

The black wings of an avenging angel.

Salvation came from an unlikely source.

Ann leapt onto Ren’s back, her arms wrapping around him and hauling him back. “Ryuji!”

Ryuji, his initial shock broken, dashed forward, prying Ren’s hand off Yusuke.

Ren struggled, nearly snarling. “No! No, let me go!”

Ann, sobbing, clung to him. “You promised. You _ promised _. Don’t throw it away. If you hurt him like that, it’s as good as throwing it away. He doesn’t know, Ren. He doesn’t…”

Her words, as always, affected him. She pulled him out of the room.

Ryuji collected their things quickly. As he followed his friends, he looked over his shoulder. “Look up the Kamoshida case on the news, Kitagawa. Look it up, and if you still want to blackmail Ann into posing naked for you… We won’t hold him back next time.”

>>>

As the team walked back toward Leblanc, Ren spoke heatedly.

“We’re going in. We have enough information. We’ll infiltrate the Palace and fuck that place up. I don’t give a shit what happens to Kitagawa.”

Ryuji shook his head. “Ren. We decided it has to be unanimous, remember? When you’re like this, we aren’t going ahead, bro.”

Ann looked at Ryuji, surprised. “...Ryuji’s right.”

“I’m not a boxer, Ren, but I’ve been in enough scraps to know that you shouldn’t fight hot. You need to go blow off some steam.”

Ren sighed. “Fine. I’ll hit Shinoda’s. Tell Reiko that we’ll deal with her father in Mementos another day.”

He took a step, before remembering what happened the last time he had gone to Shinoda’s to blow off steam. “...Nevermind.”

Ryuji grinned. He reached into his bag, handing Ren a parcel and a business card. “Take this, and go here.”

Ren looked at the card.

“ASOBIBA Akibahara Field…?”

>>>

Eventually, the pain faded from Yusuke’s midsection enough for him to sit up in his bed. He turned on his phone, using the camera to check his throat. He shivered, seeing the bruises forming from where his collar had turned into a weapon. He had been utterly, completely helpless.

_ ‘Helpless… Trapped.’ _

That was it. That was what he had recognized in Ann’s expression.

He opened his web browser app; he didn’t have to search for ‘Kamoshida’ - it was already on the news feed on the first page, the one he usually ignored. As he read it, his eyes widened. And then, he clicked on a link to a cell phone video of Kamoshida’s confession at Shujin.

_ ‘ _ _ I assaulted Suzui-san and tried to rape her… Only the interference of one of the students I tried to expel stopped me. And… and I tried to force Takamaki-san into having sex with me, also, by using her friendship with Suzui-san.’ _

Suddenly, it made sense why Ann had reacted that way. It made sense why Ren had over-reacted. Actually, Yusuke corrected himself, some might have considered Ren’s response a normal response, particularly if he was… involved with Ann. Ann, who had been targeted by a man who had tried to force himself on her.

_ ‘But… but this was for my _ ** _art_ ** _ . I’m different. As Madarame-sensei says, we artists cannot just follow the mores of society blindly, because we… we…’ _

Her shoulders. Tense, shaking. Her clenched hands. The look of anger and fear, overcome only by her need to protect that dangerous young man.

_ ‘...Fine.’ _

The world usually seemed monotone to Yusuke Kitagawa. When he saw Ann, it flashed into color. When he saw Ren at his worst, it was bleak, frightening.

Now, it just spun, as the young man retched into a nearby trash can.

>>>

Shiho frowned. “So you all went to confront this Kitagawa, first? Before you talked to the Phantom Thieves?”

Ann nodded, as they sat around the kitchen island in her place. Each with a mug of hot chocolate. Yui had already gone home. “Kitagawa’s the last piece of the puzzle. I mean, we… meaning, the thieves, wouldn’t want to do anything if he didn’t want to be rescued, anyway.”

Reiko’s eyes were wide. “I can’t believe Ren-kun did that! He was always so gentle. No one believed he was a boxer until they saw him in action, usually.”

Ann smiled, despite her mood and the company. While she didn’t _ hate _ Reiko, she also wasn’t quite settled with the idea of having the girl stay with her. “I can see that. When he’s in a good mood or when he’s being spaced out, it’s almost impossible to believe. Especially with those glasses.”

Reiko gasped. “I almost didn’t recognize him. They make him look like such a good boy.”

“Oh, please. That impression lasts for all of two seconds. He’s such a snarky _ ass _…”

The two started giggling.

Shiho raised an eyebrow.

Reiko and Ann each stopped, slowly. Reiko sighed; she looked at Ann carefully.

“...You know him pretty well, Ann-chan. And he really threatened that Kitagawa like that, for you?”

“L-like I said, once he decides you’re a friend, he really can’t be stopped.” Ann said, quickly.

Reiko seemed to accept that. She frowned. “It’s too bad he went straight to Akibahara.”

Ann looked thoughtful. “Well. I’m kinda curious where Ryuji sent him. I mean, it’s a school night, and already sort of late. What could possibly help him blow off steam, there?”

Shiho ‘hrmed’, opening up her Maps application. “Well, right now, there’s a cosplay cafe open. And a maid cafe. And…”

Reiko and Ann stood up. 

“It’s only 20 minutes away, Reiko.”

“Oh, good. Let’s see what he’s up to.”

>>>

Ren walked into a large building, glancing at the sign.

_ ‘ASOBIBA. ...Airsoft center?’ _

He blinked, looking around. Despite the hour, there were several people around. Some were dressed in military fatigues, ranging from woodland to urban. Almost everyone toted either a bag or openly carried an airsoft gun.

A man at the desk looked up at Ren. “Oh! Fresh meat!” He grinned. “You packin’, newbie? Or do we need to get you completely set up?”

“Oh. _ Oh. _ ” Ren said. _ ‘This is what Ryuji meant by practical as well as fun. I guess I can work on my shot…?’ _

Ren approached the counter, taking out his bag and the parcel Ryuji had given him.

“I just have these. Is that okay?”

He took out his original M1911 Custom, the black and red detailed gun that Ryuji had made for him. And now, a matching twin, detailed in black and silver. Ryuji had grinned broadly, handing over the twin.

_ ‘He who rules with his left, huh? You’ve been looking rough, lately, so I figured…’ _

He was a good friend.

“...Dude. Holy fucking shit.” The man breathed. “Guys. Guys, look at this shit! Novak night sights, extended mags, combat hammers, extended slide stops and compensators. Gas blow back... Jesus… This is amazing work. You’re… you’re one of Iwai’s guys, aren’t you?!”

Ren smiled, a little put-off by the rapidly growing crowd surrounding and admiring Ryuji’s work. “Uh… ...yeah. Ren Amamiya. Nice to meet you.”

The man at the counter grinned. “Well. There’s a spot open in the pistols only game. Get some eye protection and get your ass in there!”

So Ren got his ass in there. He found himself in a team of four, facing off against a team of five in an ‘abandoned office building’ scenario for the shootout. He watched as two of his teammates took one look at Ren and the other member, scoffed, and ran off.

Ren looked at his partner. He was an elementary school kid, for sure, wearing a black cap turned around backwards with the words ‘GET SMOKED’ on it. He glanced at Ren, then his pistols.

“Nice guns. Hope you can use ‘em. Don’t slow me down, and watch my six.”

“...okay.” Ren said, amused at the cocky grin the kid gave him. It was like talking to himself from happier times.

They moved through the office building. Ren watched his partner; the kid moved with efficiency, clearing rooms like Ren had seen in movies. He tried to copy his movements.

“What’s your name?” The kid asked, quietly.

“Ren. Ren Amamiya.”

“Shinya Oda. Everyone calls me Shin.” He suddenly raised his hand, signalling Ren to take up a position behind a cubicle. He pointed two fingers at his eyes, then forward, into the office. It was their teammates, the two that had abandoned them.

Ren moved to join them; Shin shook his head. He pointed at his eyes again, and then to the side - Ren’s Thief’s Eye spotted four of the other team, moving into flanking positions.

Shin mouthed the word, ‘bait’.

Ren grinned ruthlessly. Ryuji was right. This was awesome. He watched in fascination as Shin raised his Auto 9-C M93R, the gun he recognized as Robocop’s chosen weapon.

Shin waited for the other team’s ambush to start, and the cries of his teammates.

Shin fired repeatedly, the _ ‘brraaaapa’ _sound of the automatic pistol followed by the ping of pellets off of hard surfaces, or the cries of the other team getting hit.

“That’s four! One more!”

Ren looked around - he sighted the fifth, waiting to ambush _ them. _ He wouldn’t have seen them without his Thief’s Eye highlighting their form in red. Ren emptied both magazines in the direction of his opponent, until he heard the cry.

“Agh! Shit! Hit, hit!”

The lights turned on.

“Red team wins! Nice job, Shin and ‘Miya!”

Shin grinned up at Ren. “Not bad for an old, slow guy.”

Ren grinned back. “Not bad for a runt. Can you show me to shoot like that?”

“...You want me to teach _ you _?” Shin looked surprised.

“Why not? You’re better than me.” Ren said, smiling.

“...Most of the guys here are jerks. They think an elementary school kid can’t do much.”

“I’m not most guys.”

“That’s super cliche. And super lame. So I’ll teach you to shoot, to make you less lame.”

>>>

May 20, 20xx 

Ren, Ann, and Ryuji made their way to Shujin. For some reason, things had reached a bit of an odd stalemate, or balance. Ann and Reiko seemed to be getting along, oddly. When they were all together yesterday, they’d seem to whisper between themselves before laughing or smiling about something, while looking at him.

He didn’t know that they had bonded over stalking him to Akibahara, and then bonded over fending off hordes of lonely guys in the airsoft center’s spectator gallery. It turned out that Reiko had learned how to do a pretty good left hook from Ren.

Ren sighed. He wasn’t sure if this was better, or worse.

“So Kitagawa texted you?”

“He did. He said he wanted me and Ryuji to go over there today. Not for modelling. He wanted to discuss something…” Ann said. “I think he’s still terrified of you, though.”

“I’m okay with that. I suppose in the meantime, Mona and I can look after Reiko’s father in Mementos…”

“Gr… Ren, I’d rather go with Ann-dono! There’s no telling what that creep is going to try.”

Ren shrugged. “I’d bet on Ann and Ryuji over Kitagawa alone any day of the week. And besides, I don’t want to walk the whole time in Mementos. Anyway… what’s with the crowd?”

They walked into the main foyer. Ryuji groaned. “Oh, shit. It’s exam results.”

Ann sighed. “Well. Let’s go check the damage…”

They advanced through the crowd as people filtered away.

Ryuji found his name. “...Ah. Well, I guess a D average isn’t _ technically _ failing…”

Mona meowed with laughter. “Keep telling yourself that, Ryuji!”

“Shut up, cat.”

Ann looked at her overall score. “Ah. That’s not bad. Middle of the pack.” She smiled a bit, noting that she did better in the subjects that Ren had helped her with.

Ren searched for his name. Not at the bottom, near Ryuji. Not in the middle. His eyes widened briefly behind his glasses.

“Uh… You know, my name’s not there. Probably because I’m a recent transfer.” Ren said, casually. “We should go.”

Ryuji snorted. “That bad, eh? Come on. Now I _ hafta _ find your name. Let’s see…”

Ann smiled at Ren. “It can’t be that bad, Ren. I’m sure next time--”

“For real!?”

Ryuji pointed. Ann looked.

  1. ** Ren Amamiya**

“BETRAYAL!” Shouted Ryuji, pointing at Ren.

Ann just laughed, smiling sweetly at Ren. “Congratulations, Wildcard.”

“...Wait. Ren Amamiya. _ You’re _ Ren Amamiya?! Aren’t you the kid that transferred in?!”

A crowd formed quickly.

“Can I borrow your notes?!”

“We should form a study group.”

“I bet he cheated…”

“Hey, Takamaki-san. He studied with you? Are you two, you know…”

Ren quickly disengaged from the crowd; Ann followed him, ignoring the questions. She walked alongside him, carefully studying his expression. He kept it carefully blank, or so he thought.

“Hey.” Ann said, touching his elbow. “Are you okay?”

“...Yeah. I am. It’s just unsettling.”

“I get it.” Ann said. “They spent weeks talking shit about you, and now they all want to be your best friend. Prep schools are like that, unfortunately. _ I’m _ proud of you, though. And so is Ryuji, I’m sure.”

“And me, too!” Mona said, poking his head out.

“Thanks, Ann. That means a lot to me.” He glanced over his shoulder, down the empty hall. “It’s just unsettling, like I said. It’s the reverse of what happened to me in Kamakura. Yesterday, I was garbage. Today, it’s the opposite. We say we change hearts, but I’d say they change pretty quick on their own. It’s an irrational fear, but…”

Ann sighed. Reiko was a complication… But Ann knew her own feelings hadn’t changed. And it was clear he was still worried about being alone. About him, or others around him changing and disappearing from his life. She stood on her toes, on the other side from Mona so that the cat couldn’t see. She kissed Ren’s cheek.

“Hey. Stop that. You have me, remember? No matter who-- I mean, what you choose. You have me.”

>>>

After school, Ren and Mona walked toward Shibuya station to enter Mementos.

“You’re pretty confident that we can handle this on our own, Ren?”

“Pretty confident, Mona.” He replied. “I learned a few new tricks from Shin. And honestly, if it wouldn’t have given Ann a heart attack, I might have preferred to do this on my own. It’s my responsibility.”

“Mrrrr.. Ren, you can’t keep putting so much on yourself.” Morgana said, concerned.

Ren reached to his shoulder, gently tapping Mona’s head. “Might as well tell a fish to breathe air, Mona.”

“Some fish _ can _ breathe air.”

Ren laughed at that; or perhaps Succubus did. He tapped the red eye app on his phone. “Saitou Takahase.”

>>>

Reiko wandered Shibuya, looking at her phone.

_ ‘Hn. There’s a bakery in the shopping center near the station. I wonder if Ren still likes melon bread? I should get him some…’ _

She smiled a little sadly. Ren had changed quite a bit. There were flashes of his old self, certainly. That charming smile, the devil-may-care attitude. But there was so much bitterness, now. So much anger. But she loved him, the pieces of him that were still there.

He still hadn’t given her an answer about running away.

And, it was clear. Despite Ann’s deflection, there was something there. She _ knew _ him. The current him. She had brought out that anger in him in a protective rage against Kitagawa… but she had also been the one to pull him back from it. The blonde girl was fearless, charging into the fire to pull him from it; she accepted it was part of him.

Reiko admired that strength.

She perked. _ ‘Did someone just say father’s name…?’ _

>>>

At Madarame’s shack, Ann and Ryuji had been prepared for anything. Almost anything.

But not for walking in to find Yusuke Kitagawa in _ seiza _ in the living room. As Ryuji closed the door behind him, the pale artist bowed low into _ dogeza _.

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Takamaki-san!”

Ryuji scoffed. “So you actually read the news like this ‘ingrate’ suggested.”

Yusuke slowly sat back up, eyes downcast. “I… I did more than that. I looked at the program sensei had me install on my phone, and I… I looked in his office. It is as Amamiya-san said. He is using me to launder money. Everything traces back to _ me _. All he needs to do is decide I am disposable… I just don’t understand. I don’t understand how he can be producing so many expensive paintings with his artists’ block. Or why he is doing this.”

Ann nodded sympathetically. “...It’s fine, Kitagawa-kun. You’re being used. Just like Shiho and I were.”

Yusuke nodded miserably. He stood, slowly. “There is a door. Just down the hall; I’m not allowed in. We… we should look inside.”

The three ventured upstairs. Yusuke headed to the gaudy looking door. The two Phantom Thieves noted that it indeed had an identical design to the impassable wall they had found inside the Palace.

Yusuke reached to the keys he kept at his belt. “I stole a copy from sensei’s office…”

He opened the door, and turned on the light.

The key clattered to the floor from fingers that had lost all their strength. “S… Sayuri…!”

>>>

Joker glanced at his partner as the little cat-bandit slashed the head off a Jack Frost. “We getting close, Mona?”

“Yep! I can feel it.”

Ren paused; he turned, whirling, his pistols flying out of his coat. He aimed down the sights, before quickly lowering them, his fingers off the triggers.

“...Rei-chan?!”

The girl, wearing normal clothes and a fearful expression, looked at Ren with wide, uncomprehending eyes. “...Ren… Ren-kun? And… ...Mona-chan?”

Mona blinked, and then grinned. “Wow. You’re pretty sharp. You actually recognized me right away!”

“...I must be going insane.” Reiko mumbled, before dropping to her knees.

Mona sighed. “Everyone says that…”

Ren holstered his weapons, pushing his mask up. “Rei-chan, how are you in here?”

“I… I was in the station, and I heard someone say father’s name. So I walked over, and was… pulled in? Ren-kun… _ You’re _ the Phantom Thief?!”

“...Yes. Just me.”

Reiko frowned, observing him carefully. “...You’re lying. Ann-chan, Sakamoto-kun, and Shiho-chan are, too, aren’t they?”

Ren rubbed his face with a gloved hand. “What is it with the women in my life being able to read me like a book? Not Shiho. The others, yes. We need to get you out of here. You have no idea how dangerous this is.”

Mona hopped up, pointing. “But the Shadow is _ right _ there! Her Father’s Shadow--”

“Mona!”

Reiko blinked, and then looked, understanding crossing her face. “...This is how you change hearts. My father’s heart is here, isn’t it?! Or whatever it is. Let me talk to him!”

“Reiko, it doesn’t work that way--”

“You’ll protect me, won’t you? So it’s fine.”

“Reiko, you’re being unreasonable. We can’t. I can’t be responsible for you--”

“Not _ everything _ is your responsibility, Ren!” She yelled.

Ren paused. She only dropped the honorific in two situations. Either when she was pissed, or when she was really _ not _ pissed. And they weren’t doing the second thing.

“Ann told me, you know. She told me that you’re carrying everything. That you constantly put others’ burdens on your shoulders, and you act like everything is your fault. It’s _ not _.”

Ren shook his head. “You’re here because your father wants to marry you off, because of something I did.”

“I’m the one that chose you. Don’t you see what you’re doing? By playing the martyr, you’re taking away the gravity of _ my _ choices. I… I chose to fall in love with you. I chose to be with you. And I’m the one that chose to be a coward by not trying harder to say goodbye. You didn’t drive me away. You don’t get to take away my mistakes _ or _ my successes! You didn’t ruin my life!”

Two strange, echoing voices spoke, interrupting.

“I beg to differ.”

>>>

The other two Phantom Thieves, now in Madarame’s Palace, had a similar problem.

Madarame had arrived home early and caught the three of them in the locked room. After some failed excuses and Yusuke’s keen eye noting that the painting in the room _ was _ the original, the three of them had been forced to make a quick escape. And the only one available to them was into the Metaverse.

Skull ducked behind a marble display stand covered by a glass case, which promptly shattered. He shoved Yusuke’s head down. “Get DOWN, dude! This place is your sensei’s fucked up head, but the bullets can still kill you!”

He leaned out from behind cover, his new SPAS-12 booming as he cut down an advancing guard.

From the other side of the hallway, Ann aimed her H&K UMP, first firing a burst that blew apart the head of another guard before laying down suppressive fire. Ryuji took advantage of the pause in gunfire.

“Captain Kidd! Mazio!”

The lightning spell arced across the field, electrifying the pools of water that Ann and Carmen had inadvertently created with a fire spell that activated the sprinklers. More guards were taken down.

“Some infiltration, huh?! Mona would give me so much shit about this turning into a John Woo film!”

“If you can bitch, you can shoot!” Ann shouted back. Yusuke was a mess; his eyes were wide, nearly in fetal position as he rocked back and forth. But at least they were cutting down the guards, and…

“What a _ mess _ you’ve made of the museum of the master artist, Madarame!”

The gunfire ceased. Yusuke slowly stood at the familiar voice, looking at his master’s Shadow, wide-eyed.

“S… Sensei? Why? Why this museum…? Why all the copies of Sayuri…?”

“What?” Shadow Madarame sneered down at Yusuke. “Are you expecting me to have some high-minded reason? Something philosophical? You fool. It’s all about _ profit _ , Yusuke. Everything is about profit. I’ve been poor, once. A pathetic, starving artist. _ Never _ again!”

Shadow Madarame cackled. “And it’s so easy, too. That is but one of my brilliant ways to earn. My copies of Sayuri are a perfect means to wash vast sums of money. I don’t even have to find a real buyer or speak to another moronic member of the public who thinks they know what art is. I just need to set a value for the rest of the cogs in the system. And who would dispute the value of the ‘real’ Sayuri…?"

He giggled. “And then there’s _ you _ , and all the rest of you pathetic students. I was able to sell your paintings as mine as even more income, and you actually bought my lines! ‘I will unveil you in due time’. Please… And the best part, is even after your ideas are used up, I can still use _ you _!”

He threw an arm out toward the paintings lining the wall. “Look, Yusuke! Look at all your senpai! The men, their identities stolen, billions of yen worth of loans stolen from them! The women… ...well, there _ are _ individuals out there with interest in impressionable young women.”

Yusuke, Ann and Ryuji paled.

“...You… you wouldn’t.”

“No way…”

“What did you do to them, Sensei? What did you…”

“Nothing _ directly _. But it turns out, there’s plenty of buyers for indebted ‘labour’ in certain districts in this city! But enough talk. Curator! Deal with this mess.”

As the thudding footsteps approached, Ann hoped Ren had gotten her text before they entered the Metaverse.

>>>

Ren and Mona had their own problems. They faced down the Shadow of Reiko’s father, Saitou. The man had taken the form of a winged, two-faced angel: Janus.

They angel was highly agile and invulnerable to flank attacks. It could see across the entire field, leaving no openings. It didn’t seem to have a vast array of attacks, using primarily its twin scimitars. But, all of its spells were status enhancements. Each turn, its agility increased, its attacks became more powerful.

And worse yet, the Shadow of Saitou Takahase had no issue trying to attack his daughter.

“You’ve _ betrayed _ me, Reiko! You’ve betrayed your family again, for this _ criminal! _ Repent! Repent and _ die!” _

“Father..!?”

Ren shoved her out of the way, wincing as a sword slashed along his ribs.

“Ah… Fuck! Reiko, get back!”

Green light flared as Mona healed Ren. “Joker, it would be a _ really _ good time for one of those new tricks you mentioned.”

Ren’s eyes flickered to Reiko.

_ ‘...He’s just the Shadow, but I can’t just attack…’ _

He shook his head. No time to hesitate.

He drew his twin pistols, recalling what Shin had told him. _ ‘If they’re dodging like that, you need to shoot so that you can corral them. The first shot lines them up. It’s your second shot that counts. I call this, the Down Shot!’ _

He started firing, his weapons blazing. The agile angel darted back and forth; only to repeatedly take bullet wounds in the wings. Feathers exploded out, the angel crashing to the ground. Joker charged forward, leaping up - and his fist punched down, the blade stabbing through the chest of Janus.

Reiko watched, wide eyed. “F… father…? Ren, what have you done…?”

Ren smiled, bitterly. “This is how it’s done, Reiko. This is what I am, now.”

He retracted the blade as the form of Janus vanished, replaced by the kneeling form of Shadow Saitou.

Reiko ran forward, throwing her arms around the man, getting between him and Ren. Protectively.

Ren watched quietly, as the girl he once loved wept. She wept, as her father’s Shadow apologized to her, promised to let her do as she willed. That all he had done, he had done out of misguided love.

After he disappeared, Mona drove them out of the Metaverse in silence. After they exited, Reiko looked at Ren, as if she wanted to say something. He turned away - unable to wipe the look of accusation and horror on her face from his memory. There was a moment where Reiko thought that he had killed her father. He looked at his phone, using it as an excuse to not address whatever Reiko wanted to say.

He paled. “Oh, _ shit _. Mona. We have to go!”

>>>

Ann and Ryuji cowered behind a pillar, as balls of electrified fire laid waste to the battlefield, preventing them from moving a step. All they could do was try to protect Yusuke, as the young man had been in shock ever since Madarame’s admission.

Even now, the gold-clad Shadow was cackling, pointing and laughing as the Curator, a massive, hulking golem made of chiseled marble turned the team’s own abilities against them.

As Ryuji and Ann had discovered, any casting of an offensive spell led to the golem ‘curating’ their ability - absorbing it, gaining immunity, and then using it against them. Gunfire only chipped minimally against the marble, and they couldn’t get close for physical attacks at this point.

Yusuke rocked back and forth. “This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream…”

The pillar was blown apart, throwing the three onto the floor. No more cover within easy reach, now.

Ann looked up, her brief life flashing before her eyes as a marble hand reached out, the impassive, carved face staring down at her. The hand crackled with electric flame, preparing a blast to finish the three teenagers.

Her mind went to that time at Shinoda’s, and the classroom after.

_ ‘...At least I got to do that.’ _

“Zorro! Garu!”

The wind blast briefly cut into the stone, knocking the Curator back a few steps before the tell-tale sign of absorption and immunity occurred. A soft, blue light.

But it was enough time for Mona and Ren to help the three behind more cover.

The blasts of fire and lightning renewed, now with gales of wind.

“Is that thing doing what I think it’s doing?” Joker asked.

“Y-yeah, man. We’re done for!”

Ren watched, for a moment. “...Time for something stupid. Succubus! Rebellion! Skull - cast Tarukaja on me.”

Ren stood, dashing as the buffs took effect. He dodged fire blasts, before leaping - and striking the golem, his twin blades penetrating into the chest. To no effect.

A smoking and crackling Joker crashed back down behind cover, blown away. Mona healed him, quickly.

“On second thought, Skull. I think I agree with your assessment.” Joker groaned.

He looked at Yusuke, rolling his eyes as the man was still clearly in shock. He turned, about to issue orders to try his last attack again, when he heard him. Arsene.

_ ‘Trickster. Goemon is… there. But his chosen needs you. He needs you to inspire him… he needs you to…’ _

Ren grabbed Yusuke by the collar, slapping him. Hard.

_ ‘...’ _Ren would have been amused by the prospect of shocking his other self into silence if he wasn’t pretty sure they were all going to die.

“God _ damn it _ Kitagawa, if you don’t wake the fuck up and _ see _ what’s happening, I’m going to make damn sure that I kick your ass before I die.”

“W...wha? Amamiya…?”

Ren, still holding Yusuke by the collar, pointed at Shadow Madarame. “Are you going to let him win? Are you going to let him take advantage of you, of others?!”

Madarame laughed. “Of _ course _ he will. That spineless worm. Do you think he’d dare to stand against me? He knows what he is. He knows that he’s nothing but _ livestock _ . Like him and all the rest of the promising young artists I’ve harvested. They live to serve me! Feed me with ideas until they’re used up. Just like his _ mother _…”

“....You… ….my mother, too?” Yusuke said, his voice becoming stronger. “It’s true, isn’t it? I should have seen it. You worked her to the bone, didn’t you…? My eyes were truly blind. Blind, and unable to see your true, horrible self.”

_ ‘...well done, Trickster.’ _

Yusuke’s snapped fully open before he clutched his head in pain, going through the throes of the Awakening.

_ ‘Ah… You have finally come to your senses? Let us now forge a contract, you and I _

_ I am thou _

_ Thou art I _

_ The world is filled with both beauty and vice _

_ It is time you teach people which is which…’ _

Yusuke straightened, his stance now calm, relaxed. He bore the white mask of the kitsune. Gracefully, he stretched an arm, grasping the top of the mask. “Very well… Come, _ Goemon! _”

He ripped it from his face. An explosion of icicles and snow revealed a masked samurai, standing proudly behind Yusuke. The newest Phantom Thief posed gracefully in his kabuki-samurai outfit.

“The children who adored you… The artists who put their faith in you… I will avenge them all! I will bring you to justice, _ fiend! _ Though the flowers of evil blossom, let it be known--”

Ren slammed into him, tackling him aside as the Curator blasted the area he had been standing.

“Kitagawa, I’m really glad you’re part of the team, but monologues are _ not _ a safe zone. Don’t use your ice. We need to _ think _.”

Yusuke nodded, getting to his feet. He jabbed a finger at Madaramex “I learned much from you, Madarame. In order to see authenticity, one must be--”

“_ Jesus _ , man!” Ren pushed him aside yet again, this time behind cover. “What did I _ just _ say? We need to kill this thing, _ then _ you can monologue!”

“...Very well! Bring it on!”

Ren looked at the marble floor under Goemon’s feet, turning to frost and slowly cracking…

“...Yeah. Time for something stupid again. Succubus! Ryuji, same deal! Kitagawa, cast an ice spell on me, just before impact!”

“What? But that’s going to hurt you…”

“Consider it payback for the punch the other day, Kitagawa. It’ll be your only shot.”

Ren dashed out again, narrowly dodging blasts of fire, wind, and lightning. He felt Rebellion take effect, along with Ryuji’s attack boost. He leapt up, gritting his teeth.

Goemon’s Bufu struck him in the back, chilling his body. From the top of his head, to the tips of his… blades.

Ren struck home, streaking from the air and into the Curator’s chest like an icy comet.

The marble golem frosted...cracked, and shattered.

Ren blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this was the 'in development' chapter I had going when I posted the other two recently.
> 
> I'm enjoying Shiho more than I thought I would. I think she knows who Ren/Ann/Ryuji really are, but is choosing to not know.
> 
> Why money laundering? Various reasons. Some as explained by Madarame - this way, he doesn't have to actually talk to anyone to sell the paintings. And the paintings aren't even that important anymore - they're just evidence of a 'legitimate transaction' in order to clean the cash. In the original game, I never liked the explanation of "Oh, hi there rich person, I found the real Sayuri and you can have it, but just don't tell anyone K?" Rich people who collect art - they collect it so they can talk about it. To everyone. Also, it'll serve to create connections to the following Palaces. Madarame has many laundering 'clients'.
> 
> The whole Reiko thing is key to Ren dealing with his martyr syndrome/letting go. I'm glad I kept her past the phone call from 'Dementia Pugilistica'.
> 
> “I would, but she’s not here. You are.”  
“I can see why you’d settle on that logic.” She shot back. “At least you’re consistent.” --> Ouch, Ann. _Ouch_
> 
> For the posing nude thing, I always thought that someone who was being made a target of blackmail for sex would react a little differently to yet another person trying to force her to do something in the same vein. In Yusuke's defense, as said in the chapter, he has no idea. It's just an immature, stupid thing for him to say and in my version, a way for him to lash out at Ren and Ann. He's jealous, and sees there's a rift right now. He wanted to rub the salt in.
> 
> Unfortunately for him, Ren doesn't think clearly when it comes to Ann. (He hasn't really thought clearly for a few chapters now - he'll smarten up again soon).
> 
> Shinya Oda - I liked the idea of using an airsoft field rather than a video game. Means I get to nerd out about guns more.
> 
> Ren's exam score - Getting into Marty Stu territory here. But hey, whatevs. :P He's bad at some things, I promise. Like ball sports, and swallowing pills.
> 
> More notes if I think of them! Thanks again!


	12. Sunday Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A ‘Sunday Punch’ is a particularly destructive blow. A knockout punch. Some define this specifically as a boxer’s favored technique to decisively win a fight - a specific technique that a boxer is known and feared for. If overused, this can also become a boxer’s downfall as clever opponents start trying to design strategies around it. If countered, the feared knockout blow can turn into a KO in the other direction._
> 
> _This is no simple task, however. Failure means certain disaster. Who would want to face down a boxer using their best technique, who is focused on ‘knocking them into next Sunday’?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9/16/2019 - Some minor edits made. Mostly grammar/word choice/clarification. Some more stuff to the final two scenes just to better capture what I wanted to do. Updated some end notes.

May 20, 20xx

Ren knew it was a dream. But it was a good dream, so he didn’t mind. It was a memory. He was waking up in Kamakura, on a winter morning. The inn was empty; his parents had taken a short vacation in the offseason, leaving the place to him. He felt warmth at his side. He smiled, turning to face her.

The memory was different, here. That was okay, though. It was just a dream.

“Ann...” He said, reaching to brush hair from her face.

It was a happier time. He wouldn’t have even known Ann, then.

He glanced away, at the window. It was definitely still the middle of winter. He looked back to the sleeping girl, recognizing now the features of Reiko. Her eyes were open, now. Smiling at him.

It was warm, on this winter morning.

Too warm.

>>>

Joker’s eyes snapped open. He sprang to his feet, using his gloved hands to frantically beat at the flames making their way up his tailcoat.

“Holy shit…! What the hell happened?! Why am I on fire?!”

Ann was standing off to the side, arms crossed, body turned away from Ren. She may have been pouting, her nose in the air.

Ryuji and Yusuke looked awkward.

Mona looked confused, speaking up. “Er, well… After you took down the Curator, you passed out from the cold. Ann-dono got to you first and was at your side, holding you. Then you said her name, while you were out.”

“What’s wrong with that?!” Ren shot at Ann, patting out the last of the flames.

“Well, then you said Reiko’s name, too.”

“...Oh.” Ren said. For a moment, he understood why Ann was upset. Except for the one, undeniable fact.

Ren looked at Ann. “You _ lit _ me on _ fire. _”

Ann shrugged, nonchalant. “You were _ really _ cold.”

“You _ lit me. On fire _.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

Ren opened his mouth, words failing to find their way to the young fighter. The conversation was forcibly truncated anyhow by the shouts of guards, alerted by Madarame.

Ryuji fired his shotgun down the corridor at the approaching guards, forcing them behind cover. “We need to go!”

The Phantom Thieves ran for the exit. At the causeway leading to the door, Mona transformed, his back door springing open. “Come on!”

Ryuji and Ren pushed Yusuke into the back.

Ren found himself sitting beside Ann in the middle row; he leaned out the window, firing behind Mona as Ryuji took the wheel. He looked at Ann.

“We are _ not _ done talking about this.”

“Talking about what? I just defrosted you.”

“_ You lit me on fire.” _

“Whine, whine, whine…” She rolled her eyes, grumbling something about how the score was ‘two to one’. Panther put down her SMG as they got away from the firing guards. She sidled up to Joker. “Don’t tell me it got too _ hot _ for you, Joker.”

Once again, words failed Joker.

>>>

May 21, 20xx 

After school the gang, with the addition of Yusuke, had agreed to meet at Leblanc.

Ren walked toward the cafe from the station. He had foisted Mona off on Ann and cut his last class, claiming that he wasn’t feeling well. At first, Kawakami had looked skeptical. But she relented - after his exam score, she had nothing to complain about. To Ren’s eye, the teacher may have even seemed somewhat contrite. She was, after all, the first person he met at Shujin. And also the first person to have completely written him off.

As he looked at the letter Reiko had left with Sojiro for him, he realized he probably had been telling the truth about feeling unwell, anyway.

_ ‘Ren, _

_ I was really happy to see you again. I wasn’t lying, on the phone. I never stopped loving you. I couldn’t. But now, I understand what you meant when you said you aren’t sure who you are, anymore. _

_ Right now, I need to go home to check on Father. _

_ I promise you, I won’t just disappear again. You deserve more than that. _

_ Remember what I said. Not everything is your responsibility. _

_ You can’t make things go back to the way they were. _

_ But, maybe we can find a way forward? For both of us. I’ll be in touch. Stay safe, Ren-kun. _

_ Reiko’ _

Ren folded the paper carefully, sliding it into his jacket pocket. He shook his head, kicking at an empty can on the sidewalk.

_ ‘Not my responsibility, Rei-chan…?’ _ He knew that was true, of course. But knowing something isn’t the same as feeling something.

He approached Leblanc, his hand on the door. He then turned, heading down the alley opposite the door. He stepped into a doorway and backed into the shadows.

He quirked a little smile, watching as Makoto Niijima quickly walked by. The manga she had in her hands to conceal her face was now dangling by one hand as she frantically tried to find her target again.

She reached the end of the alley. Silently, Ren moved back to the mouth of the passage while her back was turned. He found two trash cans; one of them filled with half-full cans of old paint, the other filled with recycling. Many aluminum cans. He ensured that neither of them were so heavy that they wouldn’t easily fall and placed each one at either side of the alley’s entrance.

Then, keeping an eye on Makoto, he carefully tied them together at ankle height using the monofilament line he had from his last shift at Untouchable.

He then returned to the door of Leblanc, coughing loudly and ensuring that the bell over the door rang loudly.

“Hey, Boss.”

“You’re early, kid. You feeling okay? ...Why are you peeking out the window like that?”

Sojiro’s question was answered by a surprised yelp and the incredibly loud crashing of aluminum hitting pavement, followed by the wet sounding splash of paint.

Ren stepped outside, his phone out. He placidly snapped photos of one Makoto Niijima, floundering in a puddle of blue, red, and yellow paint as she desperately tried to put the cans back.

“Yep. That’s it. Show me your good side, Niijima. ...If your good side is your middle finger, that’s fine, I guess.”

“What is _ wrong _ with you?! Who carries a tripwire?!” Makoto snapped.

“A delinquent.” Ren replied, stooping down to help put the cans away. “Who carries a tankoubon manga volume to hide their face when spying on someone? I can still see the entire upper half of your face. And your weird braid-hairband thing.”

“It’s my actual--”

“It’s not your actual hair.” Ren said, still placidly.

“God, you’re annoying.”

“Then why are you following me?” He righted the trash can as Makoto did the same with the one full of paint cans, before she wiped miserably at her uniform.

“I… I wasn’t!” Makoto snapped, blushing.

“_ Really _ . The star student of Shujin, skipping last period for _ fun _.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“Look. Like I said, I have to find out what’s going on at Shujin…”

“And what have you found, by following me?” Ren asked, raising his hands. “Anything at all other than the fact that I topped the second year exam scores. I think I might have even done better than _ you _ did when you were in second year.”

“....Nothing. Not _ yet _.” Makoto said, fiercely.

Ren sighed. “...I know Kobayakawa probably sicced you on us. But, look. There’s other places you should look, if you really want to help the students.”

“I’m listening…”

Ren thought to what Takanashi and Sakoda had told him - the bullies they had changed in Mementos during one of their earlier forays while studying for exams.

“Students are getting into trouble. There’s something going on in Shibuya… People are getting their money taken, or else being forced to do work because of ‘debts’ that they incurred. I’d start there.” Ren said, thinking as well of the students that Madarame had alluded to. The ones he had ‘sold’.

“How do you even know this? That in itself is suspicious.”

“I’m a delinquent, remember? People tell me things that they wouldn’t tell the Supreme Leader of the Student High Council.”

“I’m _ not _ the Supreme Leader.”

“Sure. Primary colors suit you, by the way. Too bad it’s not in style this year.” Ren waved, turning to head back into Leblanc. “See you, Your Excellency.”

>>>

“...Ah. So you’re saying if we steal Sensei’s desires, he’ll become an honest man?”

“That’s the idea.” Ren said. He leaned back in his chair, balancing on the two back legs. “It worked on Kamoshida.”

Ann nodded. “There seems to be a risk of mental shutdowns, though. We aren’t sure what triggers it. But that’s why we’ve been really selective of our targets… We only go if it’s unanimous, and if there really isn’t any other option.”

Mona nodded. “That’s right. Kamoshida backed us into a corner, so we took the shot. With Madarame…”

“Ah. There is that, actually.” Yusuke said, slowly. “When I returned home, Sensei seemed to accept that I had gotten lost trying to chase Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san. But he was… suspicious. He is going to look into pressing charges against you two after the show.”

“Shit.” Ryuji cursed. “That gives us…”

“Until the 31st.” Ann finished. “But what about you, Kitagawa-kun? Is he going to do anything to you?”

“It’s hard to know for certain.” Yusuke said. “He has increased the pressure on me to produce artwork for him before the show is over. And he’s increased the number of deliveries I have to do…”

Ren let his chair come back down with a thump. “We have to assume that he’s trying to get everything he can out of you before getting rid of you, Kitagawa. Even if he’s only wanting to go after Ann and Ryuji, he probably can’t discount the fact that you saw his Sayuri counterfeit operation. He’s going to use you and discredit you as soon as it’s convenient.”

Yusuke shook his head slowly at the matter-of-fact breakdown. “I… I’ve been a fool.”

“You have.” Ren said.

“Bro…” Ryuji breathed. “That’s a bit harsh.”

“It is,” Ren said. “But he’s been under that man’s control for years. His entire worldview is based off of a man who exploits people who are basically children by comparison. The sooner Yusuke comes to grips with that, the faster we can help him build himself back up.”

Ann blinked, looking at Ren. She caught the use of the boy’s given name, and his change in tone. She smiled at the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “Ren…”

Ren nodded at Yusuke. “You’re one of us, Yusuke. You’ve been exploited, kicked to the curb, and the bastard expects you to just take it. If you want in, you’re in. We’ll help you find vengeance or justice. Your call as to which.”

“...After everything I did?”

Ren shrugged. “I punched you in the gut, choked you, and then slapped you upside the head. There’s not much more I can ask. Unless, Ann…?”

Ann shook her head. “Just… no more nude paintings.”

“Ah. So non-nudes would…”

“Absolutely not.” Ren said, cheerfully. “Anyway. Should we get to work?”

Ryuji brightened. It was his turn, and his favorite part. “Ah, just wait. Yusuke, you’re going to love this.”

He reached into his bag, pulling out an airsoft rifle that had been field stripped. He quickly reassembled it. Yusuke watched in shock, as the blonde showed more care and dexterity than he would have thought possible.

Within seconds, the assembled Steyr AUG A3 was in Yusuke’s hands. The bullpup design was unusual, and the smooth lines of the European design seemed to fit the artist.

“Uh… ..it’s…”

To Yusuke, it was just a gun. But on Ryuji’s face, he saw the same eager look that a young art student might have on showing off their portfolio.

“...It’s very beautiful.” Yusuke finished.

“I know, right?!”

Ren hid a smile behind his hand, winking at Yusuke. “Ryuji’s a genius when it comes to this sort of thing. Anyway… Shall we?”

The team filed out.

Ann caught Ren’s elbow, getting him to fall into step beside her behind the rest. 

“Say, Ren… You never told us how things went in Mementos yesterday. Mona said the mission was successful, but there was a complication?”

Ren frowned. “...Yeah. Reiko knows. She accidentally got pulled in with us.”

“Oh!” Ann gasped. “Is she… is she okay?”

Ren nodded. “She seems to be. She didn’t take me shooting and stabbing the Shadow version of her father particularly well, but that’s understandable.”

Ann glanced at Ren. His carefully guarded expression. It was indeed understandable - but she could see it was bothering him, even now. “I can tell it’s bothering you. You were _ helping _ her, Ren. It’s because of you that she was able to go back home, and…”

“She asked me to run away with her, Ann.” Ren said, suddenly.

“She… she what?! What did you say?!”

“Nothing. Nothing, yet.” Ren shook his head.

“...And how did you feel about it? What do you want to do?”

“It’s impossible. I’m on probation and even if we changed her father’s heart, being with her would just--”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“...I don’t know, Ann.” Ren said, quietly. “I don’t know. Half of me wanted to say yes. Half of me wanted to say no. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Ann bit her lip. “...No. Don’t be sorry. You’re doing what I told you. You’re talking to me and you’re thinking of a future where you’re alive. Just do me a favor, Ren.”

“Anything.”

“As soon as you figure it out… Tell me if it’s a future where I’m in it or not.”

>>>

May 25, 20xx 

In Madarame’s Palace, the guards were on high alert. Ever since the ‘impenetrable barrier’ had been breached, the guards were patrolling with more frequency and a complex system of laser nets had been installed around the main treasure hall. But, the ‘Spider-Man Rule’ still applied: nobody ever looked up, happily assuming that all of their trouble would only show up at eye level.

The five Phantom Thieves perched above the Treasure, looking down at the amorphous, swirling light. It was right there, seemingly within grasp. Except for the laser nets, the multiple armed guards, and Madarame himself, standing in front of it. They were all tired. It had been a grueling few days - traversing through two dimensional mazes hidden in paintings, and then a twisted world of stairs and Sayuri copies.

Only one of them was eager for a fight.

Fox’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. His left thumb pushed on the _ tsuba _ of his sword, unsheathing the first inch of the razor-sharp blade.

Joker reached over without looking, his hand covering the _ koiguchi _. “Not so hasty, Fox.”

Yusuke whispered harshly, his voice nearly a hiss. “The _ fiend _ is there! You told me you’d help me find my justice! My vengeance!”

Joker regarded his ally, his expression cool. Yusuke had changed; his other self, his rebellious self, had attracted the notice of Goemon, the famous Japanese ninja, thief, and folk hero. The man who even when being boiled to death for his crimes against the state, showed defiance. This, coupled with his revelation that he had been utterly betrayed by the man he considered a father…

It made sense that Yusuke’s sense of self-preservation was somewhat suspect right now.

“And we will. _ We _ will.” Joker said, indicating the team. “We’re going to do it, and we’re going to get out alive.”

Fox glared at Joker, before reluctantly sheathing his katana. “Fine. Then, Joker, what is your plan?”

Joker looked at the Treasure, then the hook in front of them. And then, the window across from them. He smirked. “Mona. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to descend on the treasure suspended by that hook.”

“...Why wouldn’t I accept it?”

Joker sighed. He started to explain the sequence from Mission Impossible. Yet another American movie reference, where Tom Cruise had been lowered down from the ceiling. It was perfect, because the actor was almost as short as Mona…

“Mission Impossible.” Ann said, quietly. “American movie again.” She winked at Ren. “Quite the cinephile, Wildcard.”

_ ‘Be still my beating heart.’ _Joker almost said. The joke didn’t make it to his lips, though. Too soon. Too rife with landmines. He settled for a nod, and then turned to Ryuji and Ann.

“We’ll need a distraction so that Mona doesn’t get shot up on the way down or on the way up. That’s where you two come in. You’re going to break into the control room and turn off the laser nets.”

Ryuji frowned. “But we’ve been over that. The backup power…”

“Exactly. We’re going to act like we don’t know about the backup. So you’re going to kill the mains, and then act like the plan’s gone FUBAR. Draw all the guards to you, then book it. You’ve both been training hard with me, so I know you’ve got the speed.”

“Right.” Ann said, confidently.

Yusuke’s impatience settled as he listened. While he was still simultaneously terrified and jealous of Ren Amamiya, he had come to respect the battle strength and resourcefulness of Joker. “And me, Joker?”

“Your weapon is best suited of all of us to cover Mona, Fox. If they notice him, you’ll need to pick off the guards before they can shoot him. When we get out, talk to Skull about getting a scope for your gun. As for me, I’ll be running the crane. I’ll also be secondary backup for Mona.”

Mona grinned excitedly. “This is great! A real heist!”

“That’s right. Let’s adjourn.”

As they left, Ryuji took Yusuke’s gun for the modification. He looked over at Ren.

“Hey, man. So how’s having two working out?”

“Prettty well.” Ren said, taking out his 1911’s. “I’ve been working on it with Shin. He says I ‘don’t suck’, now.”

“Hah. I’ve seen that kid around. He’s a little shit, but one hell of a player. His mom’s a bit of a monster, though.”

Ren frowned. “Yeah. I worry about him, sometimes… Ah. He’ll tell me if he needs to talk about it, I’m sure.”

“So did you name them, yet?”

“...Name them?”

“Well, yeah. That’s a lot of custom work. They deserve names.”

Ren looked at the pistols, glancing at the one detailed in black and red. He smirked. “Alright, Ryuji. I’ll pretend to be a gun otaku. _ Vengeance _, for the original. For the twin… I’ll think about it.”

>>>

May 27, 20xx 

Yusuke walked to the art gallery from the station on Thursday evening. In the past few weeks, he had dreaded it. It was another day of toil, of pretending to be the unknowing and unquestioning slave of a man who hid his demonic thirst for money behind a kindly old face. Every day was a struggle to not take a paint brush or whatever else was nearby and vaguely pointy, and shove it through the arrogant man’s eye.

But today, he walked with anticipation. Today was the day that Madarame would receive his calling card.

Oddly enough, the calling card was Yusuke’s first original work in a while. And certainly the first original piece that hadn’t been claimed by Madarame for his own purposes. The irony was not lost on the slender young man as he rounded the corner.

He arrived, just as Madarame’s car pulled up for this evening’s opening of the event.

Above the gallery, just as the cameras started flashing for the artist’s arrival, three weather balloons that had been tethered to the roof by Ryuji popped.

A rain of fluttering cards drifted down, many scattering in the wind, but the majority falling among Madarame and his entourage like red and black snow.

Madarame, startled, knelt down and picked up a card.

“Ichiryusai Madarame, the Da Vinci of Despair and Greed. Your days of stealing the work dreams, and very lives of your disciples is over. Confess your sins and beg the public you have deceived for forgiveness, or we will steal your twisted desires and force you to. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts…”

The PR staff and security guards frantically collected the cards. The press fought over them.

It was absolute chaos.

Only Yusuke noticed the look on Madarame’s face; a rictus of rage and fear.

Yusuke turned on his heel, walking away from the gallery with a thin smile.

_ ‘I think I’ll work on my marksmanship. I doubt anyone will notice my absence at the gallery…’ _

>>>

May 28, 20xx

“What I’m saying, Skull, is that I think the weather balloons were a bit much.” Panther said, lashing her whip around the neck of a guard. She threw her mask into the air, Carmen appearing and charging the girl’s weapon with flame.

The guard’s head was immediately incinerated; Ann then whirled, lashing out with the laser-like weapon at two more guards in the control room. She moved with agility and aggression, like an odd mix between a lion tamer and a rhythmic gymnast as her weapon cut the guards to flaming ribbons.

“Oh come on, it was awesome! Everyone’s gonna be talking about us! Joker seemed to like it, too!” Skull said, using the stock of his weapon to bash open the security cover on the control panel.. “Didn’t you see the grin on his face?”

“Oh, puh-lease. He’s a huge drama queen. Of course he’d like it. He can’t take two steps without flashing that tailcoat of his.”

“Spend a lot of time staring at his ass, huh?”

“Oh, shut it.”

“Don’t worry. He stares at yours _ all _ the time.”

“Just hit the damn button.” Ann said. She hid her smile. Things felt like they were gradually getting back to normal, with Reiko gone. It wasn’t really that, though. Somehow, Ren had found his peace. Not in the way he had on Children’s Day.

Rather, it seemed he had made a decision.

Ann didn’t want to ask him for details, though. For now… For now, this was enough. Fighting side by side. The flirting. The mutual ogling. She had an almost-boyfriend.

Ann aimed her UMP down the corridor as Ryuji started shutting down laser nets.

_ ‘I’ll have to change my Facebook status to ‘it’s complicated’. What else do you call a romantic relationship that’s only active during a hail of bullets?’ _

>>>

The almost-boyfriend stood over the Treasure. The item had materialized, now seemingly a wrapped up painting. It was huge.

Joker frowned, glancing at Mona. “Mona - can you still lift it?”

Mona looked up. To Ren, it seemed like dollar signs were reflected in the cat bandit’s eyes. “Mwe hee hee… When it comes to Treasure, my strength reserves are _ endless _.”

“Alright, man. You’re on the hook for this one anyhow.”

Fox laughed. “Haha… on the hook. Well said.”

Joker looked at Fox strangely. Could it be…? “Anyway, I’ll get to the controls. Don’t want to leave Mona _ hanging _.”

“I agree. To bring him back up without the controls would be _ chainful _.”

Mona groaned. “I’m going to jump…”

The guards ran off in the direction of the control room. Shadow Madarame followed from a safe distance.

Joker immediately lowered the hook.

>>>

Ann and Ryuji slipped away from the guards.

“Wow. That was subtle.” Ryuji said, patting away at his still-smoking scarf.

“It got the job done, didn’t it?”

“I guess. You torched an entire wing of the museum. Did you awaken something in yourself when you lit Joker on fire?”

“Why won’t anyone let that go? You light _ one _ person on fire, and everyone thinks you’re some kind of pyro. Hey, they’re waiting for us! Let’s go.”

The group reconvened at the window. Ren waved them through and led them out. The leader of the Phantom Thieves looked somewhat uneasy, as they scaled down the outer walls of the gaudy, gold-plated museum.

Yusuke looked at him as they made the last jump down to the courtyard. “Joker? Why so concerned? This has been…”

“Don’t say it.” Ren said. “If you say it, it’s a flag.”

“...fairly easy.”

Ren sighed. The spotlights blazed on, catching the thieves in full view. Madarame stood on top of the steps leading out of the courtyard, laughing. He gestured.

Gunfire from the guards flanking him blew the treasure apart.

Mona cried out. “No! The Treasure!”

Shadow Madarame cackled. “Were you looking for this?”

The _ real _ treasure, the original Sayuri (or at least Madarame’s cognition of it) was brought out behind the gold-clad artist.

“Predictable. Utterly predictable.” Shadow Madarame sneered. “Did you think that I wouldn’t be preparing for you? This is _ my _ realm. _ My _ museum. I’ve been able to observe a great many things about each of you. In particular, your lynchpin.”

He pointed at Ren. “Without you, ‘Joker’, this team doesn’t amount to much at all, does it?”

He pulled out a large paint brush, wielding it like a spear. He dashed toward Joker, the brush slashing out at him, leaving trails of black paint.

Ren dodged easily, dancing around the strokes. His allies couldn’t get a clear shot at Madarame, but managed to gun down the guards. He smirked as his blades came out, returning with stabs and slashes and ending with a left jab, the blade stabbing into Madarame’s shoulder, and a chopping right, leaving a nasty wound across his cheek.

“Is that all you got, old man?” Ren said, standing in stance, relaxed.

Shadow Madarame smiled slowly. He pointed down, at Ren’s feet.

The square he had painted around the Phantom Thief turned black… and Joker _ fell _.

Panther flung her whip out, just missing his hand.

“Joker!” Panther cried. She charged at the void on the floor. It faded to normal before she could reach it. She was forced to dodge back as Shadow Madarame attacked again with his paintbrush.

“Oh, don’t worry, my dear. If you can defeat me, your treasured leader will be just fine.”

He cackled as his body morphed, splashing into black ink… and reappearing in four frames, his face a distorted, Picasso-esque representation of his face.

“That is, of course, a big _ if _.”

>>>

Ren fell for a long time in the black void. He actually fell for long enough that the fear of plummeting to his death was gradually replaced by a sense of impatience. He eventually slowed. He was let down almost gently onto a surface that he instantly knew, just from the feel of it.

Joker half-expected to see Igor, or the twins. Instead, sudden splashes of paint and brush strokes in the void around him drew a glitzy boxing ring, surrounded by fans in 2D. They waved and cheered, but the effect was overall disturbing. Their faces were lifeless. If he looked at them from the side, they were as thin as sheets of cardboard.

“...Talk about a flat affect.” Ren murmured. He drew his weapons, coming face to face with Shadow Madarame. Or at least, a copy.

“Welcome, Joker.” Shadow Madarame cackled. “I do hope you’ll enjoy this little pocket realm of mine. Going back to your roots. I could tell from watching you and your team that you’re quite the boxer, aren’t you?”

“I’m getting really tired of people screwing with me like this.” Ren said. He drew Vengeance and her twin. A sudden hard punch from a painted figure stopped him, forcing Ren to dodge back.

A 2D boxer had appeared in front of him - the likeness of Muhammad Ali.

“Silly boy. My painting, my rules. This is a boxing ring! No guns allowed! Now, fight!”

>>>

In the courtyard, the team wasn’t faring well. They had determined the weakness of each of the paintings, but the ‘eyes’ kept healing up and repairing anything they did.

Mona cast a healing spell. “We aren’t doing enough damage!”

“I can see that, Mona! Captain Kidd!” A lightning blast downed an eye, only to be resurrected by the other one.

Yusuke took aim, firing with his rifle. The damage again was promising initially, but ultimately unhelpful. He gave Ann a quick glance. She threw him healing medicine from Takemi. She had been hit early on by some sort of black paint attack that had severely weakened her, pushing her to the back line. A huge loss - she was their strongest offensive spellcaster.

Mona yelped, jumping up in the air to dodge a lunging bite from the ‘mouth’ painting, springing off the top of the frame and straight into the air. He struck his head against one of the pipes that criss-crossed above them.

“Yow!” Mona cried, rubbing his head. He blinked, seeing black paint on his paw. He looked up, spotting paint dripping from where he had struck his head.

“Guys! I have an idea!”

>>>

In the pocket realm, Joker found himself backed into a corner, literally. No guns were allowed, but at least his blades and Personas were available. But his opponents now filled the rest of the ring, all facing him down.

There was a time where Ren would have just dreamed of something like this. And, it would have been a good dream.

He faced down paintings of Tyson, Ali, Frazier, Marciano. Pacquiao and Mayweather, as well. All of his heroes.

He slipped a hard body blow from Tyson, returning a blade through the throat.

_ ‘At least, Madarame can’t make them better than his own cognition of them. And he wasn’t a boxing fan, I can see that much. They’re all strong, but their technique isn’t deceptive. It’s all telegraphed punches…’ _

But Shadow Madarame just laughed. “Yes, very good, very good! You’re doing well against some _ real _ fighters, here! How long can you hold out?!”

_ ‘...He’s stalling. What’s happening up there?!’ _

>>>

“Now, Skull! Do it now!” Mona shouted.

Skull wedged his nail bat into the ‘mouth’ painting to block a bite, then kicking it toward the other three paintings of Madarame’s face. He aimed his shotgun above them, at the pipes.

The boom heralded an explosion of black paint, drenching the four frames. Madarame’s voice rang out.

“What… what is this?!”

“Carmen! Agilao!”

“Zorro! Garula!”

Shadow Madarame screamed in pain as he was set ablaze; his screams reached another pitch as Mona’s attack stoked the flames further. But, the Phantom Thieves weren’t done. Fox tagged in, katana flashing.

“Tsuki-kage!” Yusuke ducked a desperate spellcast from one of the eyes, and as he rose drew and cut in a single motion. Then, standing, he followed with a _ sho-men _ cut down through the mouth.

“Batter up, motherfucker.” With a cocky sneer, Ryuji stepped up. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a spherical object - pulling the pin from the grenade, he batted it into the pile of flaming paintings.

The column of flame wiped out the remaining pipes above them. When the smoke cleared, Shadow Madarame was on a knee, panting. He propped himself up with his brush. The Phantom Thieves surrounded him, bringing their weapons to bear.

“Bring him back, Madarame!” Panther shouted, brandishing her SMG.

“Ha… ha… Did you really think that was _ it _ ? This whole world is _ mine! _”

Paint exploded out from Madarame, blasting the team back. When the black mist faded, the team found themselves out numbered.

All around them stood Madarame - each of them armed with a brush, the bristles reshaping into thousands of razor sharp flechettes. With a cacophony of sinister laughter, they closed in, the thieves facing them down back to back. They unleashed a hail of bullets, explosives, and spells, but for every copy they burned down, another took its place.

Ann kept her cool. Headshot after headshot. But inwardly, a cool head was replaced by cold fear.

_ ‘Ren… Where are you?’ _

>>>

Ren took a hard punch from Mayweather, knocking him to his knees. He rolled, avoiding a finishing blow from Marciano.

Every time he took out a pistol, the boxers attacked even more aggressively.

_ ‘He doesn’t want me to fire. Why doesn’t he want me to fire?’ _

He was knocked down to the canvas.

His felt the familiar surface, scratchy fabric, through a rip in his glove.

_ ‘...Canvas!’ _

“Succubus!”

The scantily clothed demon appeared at Ren’s side.

_ ‘Oh, my. My dear little boy’s all beat up. Want me to… kiss it better?’ _

“Rebellion!”

_ ‘Ah. Boring. Fine. You know where to find me if that pretty kitty of yours leaves you wanting…’ _

Ren felt the ability work its usual magic, increasing his sense of daring, his sense that no matter what he did, it would work out just _ fine _…

“Clotho.” The youngest of the three Sisters of Fate appeared. _ ‘Trickster. How may I be of service?’ _

“Mahama.” Ren knelt, touching the canvas. A nova of holy energy burst out around him.

The boxers around him screamed and faded, leaving Shadow Madarame on his own. The artist staggered; the spell hadn’t been enough to kill him, but afforded Ren a moment of distraction. He brought his guns to bear, his sudden area attack successful.

Bullet Hail tore the pocket realm into shreds of canvas, leaving Ren standing in the void. High above him, in the distance, he could see a spot of golden light.

The Madarame in the void with him laughed, the voice disembodied. “And now what, Joker? How will you get out to save your friends? Don’t worry, though. If you can’t find a way, I’ll make sure to leave a scrap or two for you to bury.”

Paint splashed into the void again, showing live views of what was happening. Ryuji, falling, bleeding. Yusuke wincing, as a flechette brush cut into his thigh. Mona, frantically casting healing spells while trying not to get stabbed. He would run out of mana at any second.

Ann, dodging, lashing with her whip in hand, Carmen behind her. Her SMG in the other, arms akimbo as she desperately fought.

He saw his name on her lips, even without the sound.

Joker clenched the grips of his guns. He felt that infernal rage, the anger that wanted to consume. Everything he had gained, against all odds, was going to be taken again. His friends. _ Her _.

He aimed his guns into the darkness, firing blindly. “Madarame! Show yourself!”

There was only laughter.

He ran out of bullets and watched, numb, as Ann was cut, stumbling backward.

His anger was impotent. Useless. With a snarl, he unsheathed his blades, looking for something, _ anything _ to cut, to kill his way out of this. He punched, stabbed into nothingness. His form got sloppy. He stumbled.

_ ‘It can make you lose your form and make you sloppy.’ _

Ren froze. His other self, Arsene, using the words of his second father. He shut out the mocking laughter, closing his eyes.

_ ‘You’re incomplete… you’ve never had to box with your _ ** _will_ ** _ , or your _ ** _feeling_ ** _ … When you get pushed far enough physically, mentally, or emotionally, you have to tap into something past technical skill.’ _

_ ‘...In your shoes, I’d be angry, too. … But you can _ ** _use_ ** _ it.’ _

He took a breath. A long, slow breath, emptying his mind of everything. Everything but the need to hone his anger, his _ will _ into a singular focus.

He heard nothing but the beat of his heart and the roar of his own voice.

>>>

The Phantom Thieves had managed to get themselves into a corner, a slight improvement. They were no longer surrounded, but they had sacrificed their mobility. Ryuji and Yusuke were down, leaning against the wall but still firing.

Ann and Mona maintained most of the defense. Their mana was spent; they were burning through healing items.

“I… I guess this is it, isn’t it?” Ann said, gritting her teeth.

“We can’t give up, Ann-dono! Ren… Ren will…” Mona said, desperately.

Madarame cackled. “Oh, please, don’t give up. Let me bring you down, just like dear Yusuke back there. Haha ha… My boy, this brings back memories of your mother.”

“My… ...my mother?”

“Why, yes. _ I watched her die _ . She was always frail. It was such beautiful timing. She had finished Sayuri after a grueling painting session… had a seizure, and laid on the ground in front of me. She reached to me for help…” Madarame giggled. “It was so easy for me to just… _ turn away. _”

“You… ...you let her die.” Yusuke murmured.

“And the best part?” He waved a hand. Sayuri, on top of the stairs behind him, shifted - revealing what was under the grey streak of paint across the bottom of the portrait. An infant. “Her last work was out of love for _ you _ . That beauty you perceived was a mother’s love… and you couldn’t even _ see _ it! So pathetic!”

Madarame laughed wildly.

Yusuke tried to drag himself to his feet. “You… I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do…”

“Oh, you’ll certainly die trying. I’ll make sure of it--”

One of the copies of Madarame abruptly screamed, dropping to his knees. The others came to a halt, startled. They spoke at once, an echo of Madarame’s voice.

“What?! How?!”

The copy tore apart, its golden robes and body falling away into shreds. A black and red blur shot into the air on spectral wings. The familiar report of twin 1911s tore apart the copies with precision shots as Joker briefly hung in the air before landing. The wings disappeared, but as his blades deployed, his armor materialized in the form of gauntlets, bracers, and pauldrons decorated in avian relief. Black metal feathers decorated the elbows and shoulders.

With a lively grin, Joker darted into the crowd. In this moment, he was perfect.

It wasn’t an unheard of phenomenon. Athletes from time to time pull out monumental performances, moments where they play far above their level of practice. A combination of need, focus, and will.

Gunfire and bladework tore through the army of Madarame to the sound of startled screams and shredding canvas.

Attempts to cut him down resulted in flechette brushes being stabbed through each other rather than their intended target.

Deflecting a stab into another Madarame, Joker kicked off the ground into a high somersault, landing in front of his allies.

“J...Joker…?” Ann asked, tentatively.

He stood in stance; the motion of his shoulders relaxed and moving with a slight jog as he shifted his weight, standing on his toes. He looked at Ann.

“Sorry I’m late, Panther.”

Her eyes widened. There was something different. His focus, his little smirk. His… everything. Despite the situation, she averted her eyes, glad the mask hid her blush. “Er… ...Yeah. We’re barely hanging on!”

Joker nodded. “High Pixie, Media!”

The sprite appeared; the party, groaning, felt some of their wounds close, their pains vanish.

The army of clones laughed as they quickly replaced their fellows. 

“Fox!”

Yusuke blinked; he had been busy staring at Joker’s arm guards, the pauldrons that ended with stylized black metal feathers.

“Y-Yes!”

“Fox, these are all just paintings. Copies. You’re a prodigy, aren’t you? Can’t you identify the original?”

Yusuke blinked. He hadn’t thought to think of them that way. He focused, his keen eye for detail scanning them.

_ ‘...There!’ _

“Joker! At the front! Goemon - Bufu!”

With Yusuke’s last remaining mana, he marked Shadow Madarame with ice.

Joker was milliseconds behind the spellcast.

Madarame’s eyes widened, unable to move from the spot from a combination of the ice and the _ pressure _ of facing down the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

With two stabbing jabs to the body and a hard chopping right, Madarame was brought to his knees. The copies shredded into bits of canvas.

Ren grabbed the artist by his top knot. The arm guards and pauldrons on his arms vanished; he threw the artist down, at Yusuke’s feet.

“Fox… ...Yusuke. I heard everything. It’s your call, as promised.”

Yusuke nodded, grimly. He drew his sword.

“N...no! I just… I just never wanted to be destitute again… You have to understand, if there was any other way, I would… Yusuke! Please! You’re like a son to me!”

“Those… those are the wrong words, you _ scum _!”

Yusuke stabbed down into Madarame’s thigh. The Shadow screamed, high and shrill.

“Augh! No! The black mask! The black mask made me! He said he would…”

“Shut up!” Another stab. Another scream.

Ryuji, holding his side, looked in alarm at Ren. “Ren, shouldn’t we…”

Ren shook his head. “Just wait.”

Madarame continued begging. “P-please! I’ll give you anything! What do you want?!”

“...I want my mother back…” Yusuke said, quietly. “You think I was too young to remember. I… I do not remember her smile. Her voice. But I remember her warmth… the color she brought to my life. She’s gone forever. _ You stole her from me, and she’s gone forever!” _

He raised his sword again.

Ren stepped forward. “Yusuke… If this is what you really want, we won’t stop you. But something I’ve realized is that no matter how angry I get, no matter how much I sacrifice, or destroy, or kill, _ nothing _ will go back to the way it was. All I can do is move forward. If killing him will help you move on, then by all means.”

Yusuke tensed.

“But… if what you really want is your mother back… Then nothing will help. This, I can understand. At least a little.” Ren said, thinking of his own life. His memories of happier times.

The sword swung down - and into Yusuke’s scabbard.

Fox spoke, his voice brittle. “Let’s go. Before I change my mind.”

Mona collected the Treasure.

As the Palace started to crumble, Madarame called to Yusuke in a panic.

“Pl...please. Help me…”

Yusuke paused, looking back over his shoulder. His voice was as cold as his Persona’s magic.

“Why don’t you ask your money for help?”

>>>

The team finished their debrief at Leblanc, filing out. Ren walked them all to the door, with the exception of Mona upstairs. Ann lingered; together they watched Yusuke head toward the station, hands in his pockets.

“Is he going to be okay?” Ann wondered.

“I can’t say.” Ren said. “I don’t think any of us can…”

Ann sighed. She turned, looking at Ren. “...Are _ you _ okay?”

Ren blinked; he looked at Ann, and smiled. It was a gentle look. One that was significantly less troubled. “...For the first time in awhile, I think I’m pretty sure I will be.”

“That’s still a lot of uncertainty.”

Ren shrugged. “Best I can do. I’m ninety percent sure that I have a 60 percent chance of being pretty okay.”

Ann stifled a small laugh. “I wanted a status update, not a math lesson.”

“I’ll be your study partner any time.” He flashed a charming grin at her. Ann almost startled; he seemed… lighter. There was still that sense of burden, of growing up too fast. But he was different, now.

Ann stepped a little closer to him. She started adjusting the lapels of his blazer. She continued to play with them, long after they were straightened out. “You need to be careful with that smile, Wildcard. You could give a girl the wrong idea.”

“Or the right one.” Ren said. His grin faded back to that soft smile. “Ann. The only future I want to see is one with you in it. I can’t go back.”

“...You decided? Just like that?” She asked, still not making eye contact. Still looking at his lapels.

“I had a small _ satori _in the other place, I think. A combination of something Coach told me, and what Reiko wrote in that letter. She wrote that we all have to move forward.”

“You _ did _ pull off something pretty cool, there.”

Ren shook his head. “...Not voluntarily. Like I said, it was just a moment.”

“How did that happen?”

“Madarame showed me you. He showed me you, about to die. It’s weird, you know?” Ren said. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you in danger before. But it was this weird mix of being helpless in there, being filled with this useless anger and not being able to get to you. I think I read something about this, once. That enlightenment can either be this massive unveiling, or small flashes you get over a lifetime, and--mmph!”

Ann’s hands tightened on his lapels, pulling his face down as she pressed her lips against his.

She smiled up at him, her cheeks rosy as the kiss ended. “You were rambling.”

“... ..Right.”

“You were supposed to kiss me after I asked ‘just like that’.”

“...That would have been better.”

“Preferably after saying something really cool, like, ‘No, Ann. Just like this…’ “

“I’ll try harder next time.”

“Next time?”

“...It’s next time, now.” Ren said, tipping her chin up.

“Mn…”

She closed her eyes, standing on her toes and leaning on him.

“Ahem.”

They froze. Turned to the right.

Sojiro raised his eyebrow. “Can you at least move out of the way of the door?”

“...Sorry.”

>>>

June 2, 20xx 

“So you’re _ still _ not dating yet?!” Shiho exclaimed as she and Ann made their way to school from the station. Shiho moved along, walking with crutches in hand.

Ann just smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. Her face felt hot, despite the fact that they had changed to summer uniforms.

“After we walked away from the Leblanc, we talked. Reiko’s back in town on the fourth. She wants to talk to both of us, apparently… And Ren wants to clear the air with her before we do anything more.”

“_ Really _ . So after we changed to summer uniforms and he spent the entire first half of the day ogling you, you _ didn’t _ disappear with him to go to the supposedly off-limits pool? And you _ didn’t _ come back to meet me at the end of lunch having to reapply your lip gloss?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ann said, looking up into the sky.

Shiho grinned. She shifted her crutches to her other hand.

“You know, those are more effective when you actually _ use _ them.”

“My surgeon said I don’t need them if I’m not feeling tired. My ACL surgery went well. Weightbearing as tolerated. Then in a couple weeks, I’ll start reconditioning… I can start doing straight line sports, but no pivots or sport-specific training until week twelve. The graft actually has to remodel a bit. It’s really interesting, you…”

Shiho trailed off at Ann’s raised eyebrow.

“Sorry. It’s just really interesting.” Shiho said, smiling. “I think I’m going to apply to the Sport Science University. The therapists, nurses, and doctors working with athletes are really awesome.”

“That’s great, Shiho.” Ann said, smiling. She perked up, spotting Ren speaking with Mishima and Ryuji. She instinctively adjusted her hair a little, glancing at her reflection in a nearby pane of glass.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Come _ on _ , blondie. He’d drool over you no matter _ how _ you look. Let’s go.”

Ryuji spotted them first. He quickly shoved something into his backpack and walked away, innocently.

Ann frowned, following him with her eyes. “...So what’s going on, Wildcard?”

“Nothing.” Ren coughed. “Let’s go to class.”

“Oh, you’re _ totally _hiding something…”

>>>

June 3th, 20xx 

**RS: Dudes... operation maidwatch was a total bust. RenRen, you get out ok?**

**RA: ...I have no idea what you’re talking about.**

**AT: Maid WHAT?**

**RS: fuck wrong chat**

>>>

June 4, 20xx 

“Takamaki-san, I disavow any connection or knowledge to ‘Operation Maidwatch’. Clearly, Sakamoto-kun is having some sort of psychotic break.” Ren said, as if speaking to a lawyer.

“What are you talking about bro?! You were _ there _.”

“Ah. And now the young man is experiencing delusions. How sad.”

Ann sighed. “Fine. I’ll drop it. But you _ owe _ me, Wildcard.”

The team was upstairs in Ren’s attic, gathered around a TV after school. They watched, as Madarame’s news conference began. And, as predicted, the man tearfully confessed _ everything _. The counterfeiting. The plagiarism. The money laundering, and the human trafficking…

Yusuke shook his head in disbelief. “I… I can hardly believe it…”

Ryuji put a hand on Yusuke’s shoulder. “You gonna be alright, man?”

“...I hope so. From here on out, I hope so.” Yusuke said. “I think at least from now, I can start over.”

Ann sighed. “Good. Do you have a place to stay? I’d imagine that Madarame’s home is going to be crawling with police, now.”

Yusuke blinked. “Oh. Well, I’ve packed a bag.”

“Oh, good.” Ann said, nodding.

“I’m glad you agree. Shall we go to your home, then, Takamaki-san?” Yusuke asked.

“What?!”

“I even bought something for your parents…”

“...Oh my God.”

Ren took off his glasses, putting them down on the table with a sharp -_ clink- _.

The team quieted.

Ren gave Yusuke a quiet, hard stare. For a solid minute.

“...I… think I will try to find other accommodation.” Yusuke mumbled.

“Good.” Ren said, smiling. “I’m glad we’ve come to an understanding.”

“...Oh! Hey, guy’s night? Here?” Ryuji said, grinning. “We can work on our guns.”

“Dude, gross.” Ren replied, immediately.

“...Wait. What?! I didn’t mean--”

Ren laughed. “Fine. Sure. You guys can get started ahead of me, though. Ann and I have to meet Reiko. She wanted to update us on what happened with her dad.”

“Ah… Alright, then.” Ryuji said. “We should also celebrate! We won! No legal action!”

“Fatty tuna?!” Mona shouted.

“We don’t have the funds for _ otoro _ , Mona. But how about _ sukiyaki _ here, tomorrow?” Ren allowed. “Let’s text details later.” He and Ann stood.

“See you guys a little later.”

>>>

“I still can’t believe she wanted to meet you _ here. _” Ann said, as they stood outside Shinoda’s.

“Yeah… strange, I know.” Ren unlocked the door.

“Ren… you know, I’m not sure I should be here. I mean…”

“She said I should bring you, Ann.”

They sat on a bench together in silence, still in their school uniforms. Ren had thrown on a hoody, though, and Ann was wearing the one she normally had knotted around her waist. Ann looked at Ren occasionally. He had made his choice; he had told her so after the fight against Madarame.

_ ‘The only future I want to see is one with you in it.’ _

But still, as the minutes passed she felt anxiety curl her stomach into knots. At least, until Ren squeezed her hand.

“Hey… you okay?”

She leaned against him. “I will be.”

The door opened. Reiko walked in, looking around at the gym. She smiled softly at Ren and Ann as they stood, glancing at their hands. Ann started to let go - Ren hung on. Reiko didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.

“Ren-kun, Ann-chan. Thank you for indulging me one more time. I wanted to come in person to thank you for your care. My father… he changed. He apologized to me, and wanted me to apologize to you too, Ren-kun. He said he wasn’t there for you when you’ve done nothing but take care of me.”

Ren nodded once.

“I want… I mean, can I see you box?” Reiko asked. “Before I say anything more.”

It was an odd request. Ren frowned, uncertain. The last time he had tried, he had been overwhelmed with his own guilt.

Ann looked for a long time at Reiko, and then nodded, as if understanding something. “Ren… you should go get changed.”

Ren did so. He came back out in his black sleeveless tee and sweatpants. He started fishing around in his gym bag for his hand wraps, wondering what memories might haunt him this time.

“Hands.”

He looked up, seeing Ann in front of him. She held the rolled up wrap, smiling reassuringly. Mystified, he held out his right.

Ann took his hand. She blushed prettily, winding the cloth around his wrist, between his fingers, across his knuckles. To his surprise, in the exact, precise way he did his own.

As if reading his mind, she murmured. “I practiced.”

She repeated this with his left. Before letting go, she kissed the palm of his left hand through the fabric, with pressure enough that he could feel through the wraps. It was like a spell; the gesture seemed to quell the last bit of uncertainty in his heart as he turned, heading to the bag.

“Ren-kun. Not the heavy bag. Show me your shadow.” Reiko said, standing by the ring.

Ren nodded, walking to the ring. He pulled himself up, heading to the center.

Ann felt a brief flash of jealousy. She had no idea what Reiko meant, but clearly Ren did.

He focused in; similar to the night of their first kiss. This was different, though. He had the faintest little quirk at the corner of his lips. That lightness of motion, the life in his eyes that was there during the fight against Madarame. It was there.

And then he exploded into motion.

Ann watched in mute awe as he _ fought _. He slipped and parried unseen punches as he returned them. In the quiet of the gym, the only sound was his hands cutting the air, his feet squeaking and sliding on the canvas, and his perfectly timed breathing, adding force and speed to his punches.

She caught his eye; Ann realized she had been holding her breath.

Ren flashed a grin at her. He upped the pace even more, his hands a blur and his motion flawless.

Suddenly, Ann realized - she could see his opponent, too. All the punches he was slipping. All the targets he was striking. His shadow boxing was so precise, so focused, that he had ‘shown her his shadow’.

As he came to a stop, she realized - tears were in his eyes, despite his smile. Different from last time. Joy and sadness. Relief. Catharsis.

Reiko smiled. She nodded to herself, and looked at Ann. “Ann-chan… can I have a word with him? Alone?”

Ann nodded, after a reassuring smile from Ren. She left the gym.

Reiko stepped up onto the apron of the ring. Ren sat on the second rope and pushed up the top, letting her in. He was struck for a moment, by the way she looked. She had chosen that blue dress again, from their first date. She seemed to glow in the lights that shone down on the ring. He joined her as she walked to the center.

“You know, you’ve changed again. Since the last time I saw you fight, in the Metaverse.”

Reiko took his stance, mimicking a few jabs and straights. “There’s joy in your hands again. You looked a little like you from before. When you were my Ren. Not completely, though… Your hands are heavier. Not slower. Just… they’ve lived through more.”

“Reiko…” Ren started. “About before. About what you asked me…”

“That offer wasn’t for you, Ren-kun.” Reiko turned to him, a small smile on her face. “It was for the you from the past.”

Ren nodded, slowly, thinking of what he had said to Yusuke after the fight against Madarame. “I think I understand.”

“I wasn’t lying, you know. I never stopped loving that version of you.” Reiko said. “And I think my feelings for you now are there because those pieces of you are still there. But… that’s not love. That’s nostalgia…”

“I… I wanted to remember the old you, a little. The you that belonged to me. I wanted that image in my mind… of you at your best, with that little smile, the joy in your fists. Ren-kun... I’m going to study abroad. My father asked me what I wanted. I wanted a fresh start.”

“...If that’s what you want, Rei-chan.” Ren said, quietly.

“It is.” Reiko said, firmly, turning away from him. “You know, it’s Ann-chan that inspired me. She’s lived in the US, and Europe… She’s really a remarkable person. I’m not surprised you love her the way you do. She… she has the strength to accept you as you are.”

Ren was silent, unsure of what to say.

“...Ne, Ren-kun. I wanted to tell you something. Something I think you need to hear.” She crossed her arms in front of herself. “That night… there was no other decision you could have made. Not if you were my Ren, the boy I fell for. If you had chosen to walk away from that woman, then… then you wouldn’t have been you.”

For some reason, for Ren, he felt like time started again. As if the life that had refused to move since that night could finally take that first tentative step forward.

“So… I don’t think we were meant to be together. Not in this life. Not really.” She said, quietly. Her voice was soft, but resonated across the empty ring to him. He could feel her words in his heart. “Do you… do you believe in alternate worlds? Timelines? Where each decision we make leads to a different reality?”

She paused, taking a shaky breath.

“...I want to believe it.” Reiko said. “When I go overseas, I want to believe that somewhere, there’s a world where my parents were away that night. A world where you would have just stayed over, and we would have made love. Where we would have woken up the next morning…”

“And I’d have made us breakfast…” Ren said, softly.

Reiko nodded, quiet tears starting to fall from her eyes. “And then I’d wake up, hearing you sing in the kitchen.”

“And then I’d shut up, because I hate people hearing me sing.” Ren smiled, his own eyes burning.

“But you would have sung for our children?” Reiko asked, her arms crossed as if trying to hold herself together.

“All the time! All the time, Rei-chan. We would have gotten married, and our kids, you… You wouldn’t have been able to shut me up.” Ren said. He welcomed the pain in his chest. It was cleansing; purifying.

Even grief could be beautiful, he realized.

“I… I wouldn’t have ever asked you to. I would have wanted to hear it forever… You, singing to the family you love...” Reiko said, brokenly. Her voice, wavering, fell apart into sobs. “I.. …”

She startled, feeling his arms around her. She turned, burying her face into his chest, throwing her arms around him. “Ren-kun… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…”

“Me too, Rei-chan…”

She gradually calmed, resting her face against his chest. Listening to his heart beat. She allowed herself to recall all the times in the past, just like this. Just one last time. She looked up at him, smiling through her tears.

“Ren… thank you for loving me.” She stood on her toes, kissing his cheek. She smiled, watching the brief look of concern flash across his face. She lightly caressed his cheek. “Don’t worry. Ann will understand. Just… stay here. I’ll send her in. If I see you watching me leave, with those eyes of yours, I might lose my nerve.”

She turned, walking to the edge of the ring. She climbed down, and left, resisting the urge to turn around to look at him again. She told herself that she could only move forward.

It was a long time before Ann walked back in. She found Ren, sitting quietly on a bench beside the ring.

“...Are you okay, Ren?”

“I think… I think for the first time in a long time, yes. You?”

Ann nodded, smiling. She offered her hand.

He took it.

>>>

They walked in silence from the train station to Ann’s place in Hiroo. Ann held onto his elbow. They hadn’t spoken a word since Shinoda’s - no discussion of what they were to each other, no confessions or the famous ‘will you go out with me?’ used in shoujo mangas. But there was also none of the anxiety. None of the concern. They just… _ existed _ in the same space.

Reluctantly, Ann let go of his elbow.

He murmured a farewell, turning to leave… He felt her catch his wrist. He turned back to her.

She studied him in the light of the street lamp, until he gave her a little smile, a questioning glance.

She looked down at the ground between them. “...Bachan’s already gone home. And she’s not coming tomorrow.”

He didn’t say anything. He just felt a slight tension in her slender fingers; a gentle pull with quiet insistence toward the gate.

A thousand reasons to back away went through his mind. They hadn’t even gone on a real date. He wasn’t ready to be in that kind of relationship yet. He had just tonight cleared the air with Reiko. Ryuji and Yusuke were waiting at his place...

He looked at her, her shy, downcast eyes. The blush staining her cheeks. The little smile at the corners of her lips.

A thousand reasons, and not a single one of them good enough.

>>>

“R...Ren!” Ann gasped, her back against the door to her room. The door she had just closed, and locked. She cried out as he kissed her neck. “So fast, you’re…”

He paused. She felt him smile, against her skin. Just below her ear, she _ felt _ his words more than heard them.

“Did you want me to stop…?”

She realized she didn’t. She shook her head and gasped again, arching her back, pressing against him as he gently bit her in that way he liked. He claimed her lips, her mouth with a passionate, deep kiss. As she returned it, she was vaguely aware that he was half-carrying, half-guiding her to the soft surface of her bed. She found herself on her back, looking up at him with wide eyes and bated breath.

He had taken off his glasses. His grey eyes were dark.

_ ‘...Were his eyelashes always this long?’ _Ann thought, looking at him. She closed her eyes as he started kissing her again. Gently, now. Along the curve of her neck, the hollow of her throat. Her lips. She realized, as he continued, his hand resting on her flank, that the light kisses were questions.

_ ‘Are you sure? Is this okay?’ _

She smiled, her eyes still closed. Her heart swelled.

Her answer to him was a subtle bowing of her back, a shift of her pelvis against his. Her arms sliding over his neck. So was the passionate press of her lips against his; her tongue seeking entry into his mouth.

She let go of him to let him take her top off. Her resolve weakened as Ren looked at her; she knew he found her attractive, that wasn’t the issue. She just didn’t know how she’d react to the expression on his face. Would she recoil? Feel fear as he looked at her, with _ that _ kind of intent? Or, worst of all, would she look at Ren, and see the face of the predator that haunted her life only months earlier?

“Ann…”

She looked up at his voice. Low, gentle. She saw his grey eyes, his beautiful, soft smile.

“If you’re afraid, or if this is too much…”

She felt her heart flutter and thrill like a little bird as she heard him. He _ loved her _ , even if he hadn’t said it yet _ . _ He wanted her; she could tell that much from his biological reaction to her, the heat of his groin, the way his hands touched her fair skin. But he’d throw that desire away for her, if she just asked him. It just made her want him more.

She kissed him again. And again. And again…

His dexterous fingers slid up her back, unhooking her bra in a single motion. She let the undergarment fall away, and then cradled Ren’s head as he started kissing her neck, the upper swell of her breasts. She bit her lip and let out quiet, stifled cries when he started to kiss and suckle on the peaks, her back arching when he trailed a finger up and down her spine.

He stopped, for a moment.

Ann looked up at Ren, a little wide-eyed. She had gotten the sense that he was _ experienced, _at least, more so than herself; this was now all but fact. Ann felt her resolve crumble again, a little, looking away more out of embarrassment than fear. She averted her eyes, shyly.

“Ren… I… sorry. I’ve never…”

She blinked at the quiet chuckle. She looked up.

Ren smirked at her. “I gathered.”

“You don’t have to laugh at me!” She smacked him with a pillow.

He only laughed harder, kissing her and cutting off another indignant remark. “_ There _ she is…”

She huffed. And then, blushed, as Ren leaned down, kissing her ear before speaking softly to her.

“Just leave it to me. Tell me if you get scared.”

“Ren… ...ah! _ Ren!” _

She cried out, his name on her lips as he started to kiss and caress his way down her body, his fingers slowly dragging her skirt and panties off of her hips. She watched him, as he started to rain those soft, butterfly kisses down her inner thighs, working his way back up, back to her center. She was so lost in the sensation that it was only his breath, hot and soft, feathering against her waiting sex that brought her back to reality. Embarrassment washed over her again.

“Ren! You don’t have to… that’s so…— Oh my _ God!” _

Her last rational move was grabbing a pillow to muffle her screams. She felt him start to do _ something _ with his tongue, his lips, and _ her _ that made her toes curl, her back arch. Her other hand, the one that had initially been pushing him away now gripped those soft, raven curls, keeping him captured there as her hips bucked and ground her pelvis against the source of all the overwhelming pleasure.

Stars burst behind her eyelids; every muscle in her body tensed up at once, and then simultaneously went lax.

He kept gently lapping her up, his arms under her thighs; one hand resting on her flat belly, the other carefully massaging her pert breasts. Her near painful grip on his hair turned into a gentle, appreciative caress as he continued.

“Oh… Ren, that’s…” she mumbled. “It’s so _ bad _...”

“Do you want me to stop?”

She didn’t have to look at him. She could _ hear _ the smirk in his voice.

“Don’t be an idiot.” She muttered… and then gasped, as he started to pick up his pace again. She grasped his hand, pulling it away from his chest, kissing his fingers as he brought her quickly to climax again; she bit lightly down on his index finger.

“Ah… Ren…” she moaned, her voice catching. “Sorry… I bit you.”

She started to kiss and suck on his finger, slowly, lovingly. It seemed… right. She paused, though, opening her eyes when she felt him shift.

Ann withdrew his finger, only to watch in mild amusement as he started to tear at his clothes, getting to the same state of undress as her. Apparently, the visual of her doing that had been… stimulating.

Her giggles quieted as she looked down his toned, fit body… her hands slid across and down his chest in admiration and no small amount of desire. She _ wanted _ him.

“Ren… I’m really not scared anymore. So… _ please _…”

As if he needed any further encouragement. The sight of her demure eyes, her pretty blush, made him barely dexterous enough to roll the condom on. He positioned himself, and kissing her, he slowly took her.

She buried her face in his neck, muffling her little hitched cries and gasps. Each second that went by drew the blonde further into ecstasy… this, like everything else with them, just _ fit _.

He paused. A kiss, a whispered word in her ear. A quick, almost frantic nod in reply.

Ann muffled her cries again, as he reared back and started moving his hips. She squeezed him between her thighs, panting, gasping. Between breaths, she found herself speaking harsh whispers, alternating between encouragement (_ there _ , _ right there!) _ and manic professions of her feelings for him (oh my _ God _, I love you, Ren!). Initially, she had felt disappointment when she had learned Ren had a girlfriend before her. Now, as she directly benefited from his prior experience, she briefly wondered if she should send Reiko a card.

She felt the sensations rising to a boiling point; her back arched, her toes curled as she clutched at the sheets. She heard Ren’s sudden intake of breath at her movement, at the change in angle. He became more erratic, harder, faster.

They hadn’t even been on their first date.

They hadn’t had ‘the talk’ to define what they were.

It was impulsive, sudden…

It was perfect.

>>>

Ann watched him sleep beside her, a little smile on her face. She stroked the dark curls of his hair, thinking back to what Reiko had said to her.

_ ‘Ann-chan… It’s not my place to give him to you. He’s not mine to give. But I want to tell you a few things. _

_ First, he’s terrible at ball and disc sports. If you make him play, you should laugh at him. It actually makes him feel better than if you try to encourage him. _

_ Second, he likes shoujo manga and chick flicks. He’ll deny it, but if you catch him crying, don’t make fun. He’ll sulk for days. _

_ Third, he doesn’t celebrate his birthday and won’t tell anyone when it is. But it’s on September 10th, and if you get him something, he’ll really like it. _

_ Fourth, he can’t hold alcohol. Not even a little. _

_ And… and fifth. The best thing about him… Well, you already described it a bit. He loves. He really, really loves. But that comes from faith. Not faith in any God, or any religion. But it comes from the faith and hope he places in others. In his friends. At one time, in me. And now, in you. _

_ He understands better than most that when you love someone, you’re giving someone the ultimate power to hurt you - and having enough faith in them to hope that they won’t.’ _

Ann snuggled into his arms. She kissed him softly, hearing him murmur her name half-asleep before she closed her own eyes.

_ ‘...And that’s why what happened back home hurt him so much. Why it hurt him so much when his friends disappeared… when I disappeared. And that’s why I believe in your love for him, Ann-chan. _

_ Because, despite everything, you brought back his faith.' _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Broke my update schedule here a bit to get this out early. The appeal of finishing the arc before the start of the week was too strong. And it was really, really fun to write. The action sequences for me were fun. I wanted to use an All-out-attack without using the words 'all out attack', same with hold up. Also, Rebellion fits Ren's style and strategy a lot. Critical hits, a bit of a gamble.
> 
> For the drama/romance parts of this: I really enjoyed writing this. I feel like the story of Ren and Reiko turned out to be better than I meant it to be - something beautiful just for how impermanent it was. Prior to Shido, Ren really was this happy-go-lucky guy who was satisfied with being a boxer, average/passing grades. His plan was to carry on with boxing as far as possible, probably pro (wasn't well-read at this point). And when that was over, take over his parents' inn. And Reiko, she was this beautiful, gentle girl who was a mix of keeping Ren in line slash getting caught up in his energy. Not sure what her career plan would have been, but more than likely the two of them were in line to take over for Kenji and Inoue.
> 
> Before Shido, they were supposed to be a small town, happy couple. Two kids; a silly dad and a gentle mother.
> 
> That's what I was trying to convey in the 'do you believe in alternate timelines?' conversation. It was Ren and Reiko saying goodbye to that life they had imagined; trying to live together in that brief fantasy for one last time. It was a relationship that could have, should have worked. They did everything right.
> 
> A lot of inspirations to note: "Orange", "Angel Beats", "My Sassy Girl"
> 
> Satori - enlightenment - What Ren's talking about is that sought after sweet spot in martial arts, where you finally manage to put it all together - spirit, body, mind. If you're lucky, it happens in one big reveal, and that's it. Like someone tearing open the curtain. For most of us, it's just opening it a bit at a time.
> 
> Tsuki-kage - Going to be replacing some of Yusuke's katana stuff with actual kata names from iaido. Can't help it; fond memories for me :)


	13. Ali v. Frazier I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _One of the greatest rivalries in boxing was between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The two fought officially three times. Their rivalry was colored with vicious bouts in the ring and a constant trade of insults and bad blood outside the ring. Ali insulted Frazier repeatedly, calling him ‘ugly’, a ‘gorilla’, and ‘an Uncle Tom’._
> 
> _Their first fight, Ali v. Frazier I (also known simply as "The Fight") was the first boxing match between the two in 1971. It was a star-studded affair, and the first match between two undefeated boxers for the heavyweight title. This fight came on a controversial background - Ali, the challenger, was actually the previous champion. The title was stripped from him in 1967 for refusing to be drafted into the armed forces. For many Americans, "The Fight" held a broader meaning - Ali, a symbol of conscientious objection and anti-establishment (and in the opinion of some, true justice) versus Frazier, who was adopted by the conservative pro-war movement.  
_

June 5, 20xx

Weekends in Tokyo could be iffy, depending on your position. The stereotypical corporate salaryman could still be at work even if they had nothing to do other than demonstrate their loyalty to the company by simply being present.

Unfortunately for Sae Niijima, she had to do a little more than just show up.

Sae, the silver-haired woman who had been the ‘bad cop’ during Shiho’s questioning hadn’t been home since Friday night. That night, the uniforms at the police department had notified the Special Investigation Division that they had received an unusual request. An older male claiming to be Ichiryusai Madarame had requested the police to be present at a press conference he would be holding on Saturday, so they would be able to arrest him immediately after.

The uniforms had dismissed it as a joke, but there was a standing order from the Special Investigations Department to report any odd requests for turning oneself in. And so, she had been called back into the office late on Friday night to start looking into this, growing increasingly irritated as the night went on. There was absolutely nothing on Madarame.

But then the press conference had happened. _ The Phantom Thieves _ had happened. After the old man’s confession, he had told the SID _ exactly _where to look. Somehow the artist had masterminded a massive money laundering and art forgery operation - so big that the human trafficking and identity theft parts of it were more like side businesses, a way for the man to squeeze out every cent of profit from his students.

He was shrewd enough to run this with enough separation between himself and his clients that even after his ‘change of heart’ he was unable to positively identify his customers on the other end. He was also clever enough to hide in plain sight, evading both the PD and SID.

Until the Phantom Thieves made him confess, humiliating both departments.

Needless to say, Sae’s superiors were annoyed.

And then it became extremely unlikely that she’d see her own bed before Monday night. Thus, Sae was also annoyed.

What was also annoying was the brunette teenager sitting across from her, with that insufferable smile on his face. Goro Akechi, the Detective Prince. The last person she wanted to see this Sunday morning.

_ ‘Sanctimonious little prick…’ _She groused. Akechi was always going on about ‘justice this, justice that’, while always managing to be in the right place at the right time. He had blown open several cases for both the SID and the police department - often through a series of convoluted ‘deductions’ as he called them, talking about his ‘process’ as if it were some incredible skill to reason that if A → B, and B → C, then A → C.

Akechi rubbed her the wrong way because there were several cases where he _ shouldn’t have known _ A or B. No one should be that lucky or have that many ‘hunches’.

It had gotten to the point where he had actually made it onto her list of persons of interest in an investigation - but that had turned up nothing, and the little bastard was a media darling. Akechi had never met a camera or microphone he didn’t like. And so, he had gotten himself inserted into this Phantom Thieves case.

“Well? Are you going to say something, or just sit there and pretend this is _ your _ office?” Sae said, finally annoyed with his staring and self-satisfied smile.

“I simply didn’t want to disturb you from your process, Niijima-san. I know that when I’m making _ my _deductions, I prefer to--”

“What did you come here to say?” Sae interrupted, rolling her eyes.

“Ah. Of course, you must be short on time. I wanted to offer whatever assistance I can on the Madarame case. Surely, we can agree now that the Phantom Thieves are real. However they’re doing this, they must be stopped.”

“The last time I accepted your assistance, I agreed to your request to drag an assault victim into the office and wasted an hour of my time so you could try to get her to fawn over you in order to feed you information. Did you know that her parents are diplomats? And that they filed a complaint after?”

“Ah, but by my line of reasoning, I was able to deduce that the Phantom Thieves are very likely high school students at Shujin.”

“...How?”

“I’m glad you asked. You see, the girl was reluctant to speak about most of her friends. But she did indicate that one of the people most affected by Kamoshida’s abuses was Yuuki Mishima. I determined that Mishima in fact--”

“Yes, we know. It was all over the other statements we took that he became Kamoshida’s errand boy, the poor bastard. And the website, we traced the IP and learned he made it. That doesn’t mean--”

“Ah, but you see… He seems to have intimate knowledge of how the Phantom Thieves operate. On his website, he is quite specific that the thieves require the first and last name of their target, and that if they accept the request, the result will be seen within a day or so. And two of their clients already have been Shujin students.”

Sae grimaced. That _ was _ something. “Well, I’m not going to haul in another student on some bullshit pretense.”

“That won’t be necessary. It turns out, a number of them will be going on a school trip soon to the TV studio. I will see to it that I have an interview on the same day. I may discover something.”

“Fine.” Sae turned back to Madarame’s file. “Do what you want.”

_ ‘You always do anyway, you little shit. And then the higher-ups make me find a loophole to somehow allow a high school student the authority and clearance to get involved in police investigations. We’re just lucky none of your ‘busts’ have been able to hire a good enough lawyer…’ _

“Thank you, Sae-san.” He gave her that TV smile.

Sae raised an eyebrow.

“Ah… Er, _ Nijima _-san.” Akechi corrected, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

>>>

In Hiroo, two more individuals were having a much more pleasant morning.

Ann woke up slowly, as she usually did on Sundays. Before she even opened her eyes, though, she noticed three things.

First, she was naked. She almost never slept naked.

Second, despite the first thing, she was _ warm _. That was weird. Her family’s climate-controlled apartment with central air, if anything, was often a bit on the cool side.

Third, she wasn’t alone.

She opened her eyes, greeted by the sight of Ren’s sleeping face. The one that she called cute before. He was on his back; she hadn’t woken up in stereotypical fashion with his arms around her. It seemed as though the young boxer was also used to being a bit cooler; he had rolled away a little and pushed his half of the blankets down, leaving his chest and shoulders exposed.

Ann smiled dreamily, just looking at him. The light from the window filtered through his eyelashes, the ones she had observed as being so long last night. Right now, that cute face looked _ beautiful _. Peaceful.

She shifted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder instead of her pillow. She blushed faintly, thinking of how that face looked last night above her in the darkness. _ Not _ peaceful. Still beautiful, though. Beautiful… intense… unfiltered. As much as she had given herself to him, he had given himself to her, showing her the depth of his feelings. Ren had made himself utterly, completely vulnerable to her. He mumbled in his sleep, smiling a little at the contact.

Ann looked at his bare torso, his smooth skin.

_ ‘...Not just beautiful. Also pretty hot...’ _She thought, mildly giddy. Curious, she carefully moved her hand down, tugging at the sheets. She wondered what his stomach looked like in the light of day. Eyes half-lidded, she felt his wiry strength, the lanky frame he still hadn’t really filled out yet…

The sheets were at his waist, now. Biting her lip, she started to push a little more. _ ‘Just curious.’ _

“You know, you’re welcome to look, but you might give a guy the wrong idea.”

Ann’s eyes went from half-lidded to wide open. She startled like a deer, moving to shift back to her own side of the bed.

In a quick motion, Ren was over her again, looking down at her with those grey eyes. His hands on either side of her shoulders.

“I..I was just…!”

“Is it my turn, then?” He asked, a languid smile on his face. He started to pull at the sheets that Ann clutched at her chest.

Ann _ squeaked, _ realizing he was very, very much naked as well. “Yes— I mean, no… I mean, if you _ want _…”

“Relax, Ann. I’m teasing.” Ren said leaning down and kissing her cheek. “Good morning.”

“...Ah. Morning…” She smiled. Her cheeks were rosy, her right hand holding the sheets over her chest. Her left thigh was uncovered, though, Ren noticed.

And he also took a long, slow look at her hair; out of her trademark twintails. Just disheveled _ enough _. And her blue eyes, with just the last vestiges of sleep in them. The overall picture was so unintentionally sexy that he...

“...Ren? You’re staring.”

“Well. I _ was _ teasing.” Ren said, his hand starting once again to pull the sheets away.

“What…?” Her hands tightened on the sheets for a moment, but relaxed as he leaned in, kissing her.

“Oh… Oh, _ Ren… _”

>>>

A little later, Ren sat on the edge of the bed, idly glancing at his collarbone in the mirror on the wall. “Hn. That’s going to leave a mark.”

Ann, smiling, draped herself over his shoulders from behind and kissed his cheek. She was wearing his hoody. “It’s only fair. I have the one from last night.”

Ren chuckled. “That’s true…”

He stood, just wearing his uniform pants - he hadn’t brought anything else other than his gym clothes. And his polo shirt was… somewhere in the room. And Ann had informed him it was _ her _ hoody, now. He’d find the shirt after making breakfast, or something, he told himself. Kissing Ann again, he headed to the kitchen while she took a quick shower. Ren put together a quick breakfast - French toast, spread with peanut butter and sweet condensed milk.

He heard Ann approach; she hugged him happily from behind, before letting go and moving to the kitchen island.

Ren turned, putting the last slice on the plate. “So there’s… ...leg.”

Ann had opted to wear just the hoody. Plus underwear, _ maybe _. The hem came down too low for Ren to be completely sure. After the ‘wake up call’ they just had, Ann figured being embarrassed around Ren seemed a bit silly, especially in the afterglow. Ann smiled at him mischievously, leaning on the kitchen island.

“Good look for me, I take it?”

“Er. Toast. French. Food words.” Ren said, nodding firmly.

Ann giggled; she hugged him again, this time kissing him before taking a seat as Ren served out the food, spreading peanut butter and sweet condensed milk on the toast.

“You’re spoiling me, Wildcard.”

“Least I can do.” Ren said, sitting beside her as he sipped his coffee. “So… what do we tell people?”

“Mn. Well… I guess we’re definitely more than just friends, now? I kinda don’t want to tell people _ anything… _” Ann said, looking down at her plate.

Ren blinked, looking hurt, briefly. “I… guess that makes sense. I mean, with your modeling career and my record…”

“...What?!” Ann said, looking aghast. “I don’t care about that!”

“Then…?”

“Well…” Ann nibbled on a slice of toast for a moment, before looking up at Ren over the edge of it, holding it in both hands. “I feel like up until now, I’ve been sharing you with Reiko. Like part of you has been stuck in the past. Now that you’re finally mine… I guess I’m feeling a little possessive. I want you to be all _ mine _for awhile.”

Ren laughed. “That’d explain the hickey.”

“Well, you like giving them so much, I thought I’d give it a try.” Ann said, winking. “I’ll at least have to tell Shiho, though. I wonder how I should break it to her…”

The front door opened.

“Hey, Ann? Aren’t we doing brunch today? You weren’t answering your phone, and one of your neighbors let me up. You left your front door un… locked…”

Shiho trailed off. She stared at Ren (shirtless) and Ann (pantsless) seated at the island. Close together. _ Romantically _ close.

“Oh. ...Oh wow.” Shiho said. She turned, closing the door behind her before anyone wandered by in the hall.

Ann shot into her bedroom with a shriek and locking the door behind her. Ren was stranded outside.

Ren stood casually, leaning against the island as he watched Ann vanish. He then looked at Shiho, taking a sip of his coffee as if being half-naked in Ann’s kitchen was the most natural thing in the world.

“Hey, Shiho. Breakfast?”

>>>

A short time later, Ann sat across from Shiho at a cafe close to her home. Shiho and Ren had successfully coaxed the embarrassed blonde out - Ren needed the rest of his clothes, after all. He had already left to face the music for abandoning ‘guy’s night’. Ann sat with her arms crossed, staring out the window beside them, looking anywhere but Shiho. She looked a little like a cat that had shorted a jump in full view of an audience.

Shiho just stared at her, chin on her hand. Grinning. Also like a cat, but one that had gotten the cream.

“Well…?” Shiho asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, _ what _ ?” Ann asked, sullen. She ‘hmphed’. Truthfully she wasn’t even sure why she was upset. Part of it might have been Shiho getting to see Ren like that. The other part of it was that she still felt she hadn’t had enough of _ him _ yet.

Shiho took a different tactic. She spoke, her voice nearly a purr. “Mm. Well, Ren looks _ good _… Never realized he had shoulders like that.”

Ann glared at Shiho at that, a flash of possessive jealousy crossing her features. She blinked, as Shiho tried to make a sleazy looking expression. It didn’t work on her face at _ all _, and the girls both started laughing.

Shiho, giggling, reached across the table to poke Ann’s cheek. “You’re absolutely _ adorable _. I guess it’s true what they say about girls in love being prettier.”

Ann smiled, despite herself. “Sorry, Shiho. You just really surprised me, earlier.”

“So did _ you _.” Shiho said. “Wearing his hoody, and him, cooking breakfast? It was like something out of a romance novel.”

“Mm. Complete with the dramatic closure with an ex…”

Ann explained, including Reiko’s parting words with her.

“...You were right.” Shiho said, shaking her head. “It’s really hard to hate that girl. I hope she finds whatever she’s looking for.”

“She will. Rei-chan’s strong.” Ann said, smiling. “I gave her some contact info for friends of mine if she decides to go for New York or Helsinki.”

“Mm.” Shiho’s eyes wandered down Ann’s neck. She blinked, and then smirked slyly at Ann. “So. He’s actually pretty possessive, isn’t he?”

“Hm? What makes you say that?”

Shiho reached over again, poking the bruise on Ann’s neck.

Ann’s eyes widened; she turned bright red as she rearranged her hair to cover the mark.

Shiho laughed at Ann, until the blonde joined her. Shiho grinned. “I never thought the champ would have that much of a jealous streak.”

“Well, not really. He…”

Ann stopped, remembering. His voice, nearly a growl the night of their first kiss.

_ ‘I _ ** _was _ ** _ jealous. I might have to leave more.’ _

“Ann?”

The blonde blushed. “Nothing. But he does, a bit. It’s not like he’d go and do something crazy out of jealousy, though.”

>>>

Yusuke turned the corner of the hallway, clutching his assault rifle like a long lost lover. The overhead lights flickered, barely functional in the dimly lit, abandoned office. He swallowed in response to the lump forming in his throat. His allies were gone. He was the last one standing. There was a quiet scrape at the edge of the room. Panicking, Yusuke emptied his magazine in the direction of the sound.

He approached the direction he had fired into, finding only a slowly spinning office chair. With a relieved sigh, he reached down to stop the chair.

Only then did he stop to think: _ ‘Who made the chair spin in the first place…?!’ _

There was a polite cough. He looked up, only to see the twin barrels of the custom M1911s in his face - and the grey eyes behind them.

From this range, it was a nearly deafening sound as the guns discharged, the slides blowing back. Yusuke’s life flashed before his eyes.

“Ow!”

Yusuke winced, feeling the airsoft pellets impact his forehead above his goggles.

“You’re supposed to give me a chance to say ‘mercy’ from that range!--” 

-_ Blam- _

“OW! Ren! -_ Blam _\- OW!”

Yusuke stumbled back, falling onto the floor.

Ren kept firing pellets into Yusuke’s body, mercifully aiming away from his face as the artist flailed.

“Ow ow ow!”

“You didn’t say ‘hit’.” Ren said, placidly. He didn’t even smile, just firing away as if it was as mundane as checking his newsfeed on his phone.

“Ow! That really hurts! Hit! Hit!”

“Sorry, I didn’t get that. ‘Mitt?” -_ Blam- _ “Lit?” - _ Blam- _ “Oh, or are you swearing? Did you say _ shit _ ? That’s rude.” _ -BlamBlamBlamBlamBlam- _

There was, in fact, a reason for this merciless torture of the artist. And only _ partly _ related to jealousy.

>>>

A short time earlier, Ren walked into Leblanc after leaving Ann in the care of Shiho. Sojiro looked up, glaring. He started to say something, some scolding remark about how Ren had abandoned his guests, and that a single text of ‘Sorry, can’t make it. Something came up. Make yourselves at home’ was _ not _ sufficient.

But Sojiro paused. He looked at Ren; the edge of a small, discolored bruise at his collarbone, barely hidden by the polo shirt. A _ very _ wrinkled polo. And most of all, the little, self-satisfied smirk on the boy’s face.

For a moment, Sojiro saw himself, years ago.

Sojiro crossed his arms, tilting his head.

Ren raised his eyebrow, his smirk just… ..._ smirkening _ a bit more.

“...Yeah. Yeah, I can’t say I’d have made a different decision.” Sojiro said, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “Just get your ass upstairs. Your friends are waiting.”

Ren nodded, once. He paused, about to pass by the counter. Slowly, he raised his fist, not even looking at the man.

Sojiro rolled his eyes. Instead of bumping it, he threw a towel at Ren.

Ren let the towel hit him. He left his fist in the air.

Sojiro, laughing, bumped it. “You’re terrible. Go on!”

Ren, chuckling, headed upstairs. He opened the door to the attic.

Ryuji was at the card table, parts of his SPAS-12 strewn all over as he worked. That was normal. Yusuke was trying to pose Mona on the windowsill with a small sombrero on the cat’s head, holding his sketchbook. Not normal, but sort of expected.

Mishima sat at the table with Ryuji, seemingly helping the blonde boy out. Not normal and not expected.

“...Ryuji. Yusuke. ..._ Mishima _.” Ren said, simply. He put his gym bag down.

The room became awkwardly silent. It was well-known that Ren still wasn’t completely okay with Yuuki Mishima - something that had been improving, but became worse when Mishima had roped Ren into ‘Operation Maidwatch’ as a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided attempt at bonding with Ren and Ryuji. What made it worse was when Mishima and Ryuji had effectively abandoned Ren in the apartment to deal with ‘Becky’. Ren still hadn’t had the chance to see what the fallout from _ that _ would be.

Ren moved over to the shelf where he kept his clothes.

“Er, hey, bro. Look. I’m the one that invited Mishima over. I thought it would be a good chance to bury the hatchet, finally. I mean…”

“Oh, sure.” Ren said, picking out a T-shirt and jeans. “Hey, Mishima. Welcome. Sorry about the mess. I’ll make sure to call a _ maid service _ next time I _ actually _ invite you over.”

Ryuji sighed. “Look, dude. You’re not getting all pissy with _ me _ for running away, and I was the first out the door. Why do you have such a huge problem with the guy?”

“I don’t.” Ren said. He did, obviously. But he didn’t want to spoil his good mood by dealing with this. Nor was he very pleased with the impromptu invitation. He pulled off his shirt to change. “How was your night?”

Ryuji, frowning, started to prod Ren again. He knew his friend could be stubborn with everyone but Ann. “Hey, look. Don’t change the.. where _ were _ you last night?”

Ryuji eyed Ren, focusing on the bruise on his collar.

“Out.”

“_ Out _? Where?”

“Not here.” Ren said, again with that crooked little smile. He slipped his shirt on.

“..._ Dude _. You were with a girl!” Ryuji said.

“Maybe.” Ren shrugged.

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “...Reiko?”

“Technically true.” Ren said, adjusting his glasses.

“...Wait. What about Ann?” Yusuke asked.

“Technically true as well.”

Mona yowled, batting the little sombrero off his head. “You… you were _ out _ with Ann-dono?! _ And _ Reiko?! As in, dates?!”

“Hm? Oh, no. No dates. Technically.” Ren reached to the top shelf, taking down his airsoft pistols. “Say, Ryuji. The slide on Vengeance has been catching. I think--”

Yusuke stood up. He pointed his pencil at Ren accusingly, as if it were his katana. “Ren… you came after me for treating Ann like an object. And now you’re doing just the same… ...well… just _ what _did you do?”

“Not really any of your business.” The ravenette said in a song-song voice. He sat down at the card table with Ryuji and Mishima, taking out his pistol. He started to disassemble it in the way that Ryuji had shown him. “I think it’s just a matter of tightening this part, here, and…”

“RenRen… how did you get that hickey?” Ryuji insisted.

“Oh, _ that _.” Ren tightened a screw in Vengeance before starting reassembly. “You see, when a guy and a girl mess around, sometimes they’ll kiss or bite the neck in a way that causes rupture of superficial capillaries in the skin. This results in temporary discolouration. While technically an injury, between lovers…”

As Ren continued to clinically describe the physiology, intentions, benefits, and drawbacks of hickeys, the other three humans (and one not-a-cat) stared at him with increasingly incredulous expressions.

“...and historically, the term was ‘necking’, though this has fallen out of favour with our generation—“

“This is _ intolerable! _ When did that happen?!” Yusuke snapped, standing.

“When I was out.” Ren replied.

“With Ann-dono or Reiko?!” Mona yowled.

“Yes.” Ren replied, sighting down his gun as he finished the maintenance.

“Well, which one?!” Ryuji asked.

“The pretty one.” Ren said, shrugging.

“So… Reiko?” Ryuji asked.

“She’s pretty. That’s true. Ann is too, though. They both are.” Ren said, carefully putting his guns back in their case.

Mishima, completely confused, stammered. “S… so _ both _ of them?”

Silence. A little smirk.

“No. Just the one I spent the night with.” Ren said. 

And then, shouting.

Somehow, in all the yelling, Ren had been challenged to a five way battle royale at the airsoft center in Akibahara with varying conditions. Ren’s vague answers and clear enjoyment of his friends’ discomfort had driven them to this. By the end of the argument and the subsequent challenge, no one still had any idea who Ren had spent the evening with.

Yusuke had demanded, on victory, the right to go out with Ann to try to convince her to model for him properly.

Mona entered with condition that he would earn ‘dibs’ on Ann.

Ryuji somehow entered the contest with the condition that if he won, Ren would provide Reiko’s number to him and would promise to ‘be okay’ with him dating her.

And finally, Mishima had shown a surprising amount of daring, saying that if he won he’d have his choice of _ either. _

For Ren’s part, he went along, providing no conditions upon victory. Instead, all he wanted was to choose the setting and to be allowed a five minute head start. The other four were so determined that they didn’t notice Ren’s expression change when they started mentioning Ann and Reiko as their potential ‘prizes’. It was anger and irritation, at first, quickly morphing into amused anticipation. Like a jungle cat hunting only vaguely because it was hungry, but mostly because it _ could _.

The other four resolved amongst themselves - they’d take out Ren, and then sort things out after. 

>>>

It was a good plan, but they should have decided on other conditions as well. Such as banning tripwires, nets, and zap ties. Ren certainly wasn’t the best shot - Ryuji was the gun otaku after all - but Ren fought _ dirty _.

Ren holstered one gun as his phone buzzed. He took it out, smiling as he read it. He still fired with the other one, emptying the magazine into Yusuke.

**AT: Miss you~**

She sent a picture of a lovestruck bunny.

**RA: Me too.**

A lonely penguin.

**AT: What are you up to?**

**RA: Having some fun with the boys.**

Penguins playing baseball.

**AT: Me and Shiho will come by around four?**

The same bunny, holding a sign - ‘see you soon!’

**RA: Sounds great!**

Ren frowned as Vengeance clicked empty. Shrugging, he holstered it. Yusuke slowly brought his Steyr to bear with a single hand, the barrel trembling. Ren, with his other gun - the one he had named _ Faith _ based on Ann’s suggestion during some quiet pillow talk - intercepted, the barrel of the custom 1911 gently moving aside Yusuke’s weapon. 

Ren aimed without looking, continuing to text. He chuckled, selecting the penguin popping out of a wrapped gift box. His finger tightened on the trigger.

“HIT! Hit… hit…” Yusuke said, almost crying.

“Oh! _ Hit _. Right. Well, that’s game, then!” Ren said. The lights came on. Ren helped Yusuke up, all pleasant smiles again. “Come on. I could use your help getting the others.”

Ryuji had one wrist zap strapped to a desk, the other to a chair. His shotgun was stuffed uncomfortably down the back of his jacket and into the back of his pants. As the blonde stood, dozens of plastic pellets poured out of his pant legs.

Mishima had fallen victim to the tripwires, still completely tangled in monofilament line. His rented AK-47 was in his hand - sort of. The gun had been suspended by line from the ceiling, with the muzzle aimed at Mishima. Mishima’s hand supported the weight of the gun at maximal extension away from his body. It was hard to maintain this sort of isometric contraction… Each time Mishima’s strength wavered, the gun dipped in the air a bit - and another line bound around the trigger resulted in another burst of pellets nailing the boy in the chest.

Morgana hung inside of a pillowcase, dangling from the ceiling with a little elastic bounce as Ren had used his slingshot to suspend him. The cat, prone to motion sickness, promptly left the battlefield to find a place to safely throw up.

After getting everyone freed up, they gathered in the spectator gallery with cans of coffee - Ren’s treat. The four eyed the bespectacled teen, now the picture of mild mannered. Ryuji studied his best friend carefully. Ren was acting… different. He wasn’t angry, or even mildly irritated. The boy was _ amused _.

“Did we all learn a lesson?” Ren asked, chipper.

“L..lesson?” Yusuke stammered.

Ren sipped his coffee. “Yusuke, Ryuji… you guys can’t challenge me for the ‘right’ to _ anyone _ . Last I checked, Ann and Reiko are people, too. You can go ahead and _ ask _ them yourselves, if you’re serious. If Reiko found out you did this, bro, she’d never want to speak with you again. If Ann found out, Yusuke, what I did to you would _ pale _ in comparison to what she’d do to you.”

He turned to Mishima. “And _ you _ . _ Really _? You thought Operation Maidwatch was a good idea, and then you threw your name in the hat for some stupid contest over two girls you barely know? Is it a fear of missing out, or are you just that blindly horny? If you thought that’d help ‘bury the hatchet’...”

Ren sighed, seeing Mishima shrink slightly. “Just… stop trying so damned hard. Give me some time. Show me who you really are, not who you think would impress me. Besides. The Phantom Thieves wouldn’t have been able to finish the last case without you. _ You aren’t a useless person.” _

_ ‘And I never would have gotten closure with Rei-chan if you hadn’t set up that meeting…’ _Ren thought. Not that he would ever share that.

The three, covered in welts, looked sheepish.

Mona spoke up. “And me? What about me, Ren? You wanted me to learn the same thing as Yusuke and Ryuji, right?”

Ren shook his head.

“No. I just wanted you to learn that not having opposable thumbs makes it hard to win a gunfight. Seriously, what’s _ wrong _ with you? How did you think that was going to end? And yes, I suppose the same thing as Yusuke.”

Yusuke looked at Ren. “...So, that means if I asked her directly, you…”

Ren smiled pleasantly at Yusuke. “Ask any time you want. I could use the target practice.”

Yusuke shivered at Ren’s casual nonchalance.

Ren grinned at the group, with no small amount of sadistic glee. “I had a lot of fun. I think we can consider the hatchet buried. Buried _ shallow _, though.”

Ryuji eyed Ren as they relaxed with their drinks, watching the next game on the screen. It looked like Shin facing off against other elementary school kids, strangely. “So… what exactly happened, last night? Are you dating one of them now? Where were you?”

“Out.” Ren said, pleasantly. He held up Faith and Vengeance, just happening to choose this time to inspect the guns. “Shall we leave it at that?”

“...yes.” The four responded, gloomily.

>>>

In the afternoon, the Phantom Thieves, plus Shiho and Mishima, gathered in Leblanc’s attic.It was an interesting dynamic, to say the least. The thieves spoke in vague terms regarding the previous case; Shiho and Mishima didn’t pursue details. The two of them were in the category where they clearly knew what was going on, but no one acted like they knew they knew what was going on. Not ‘officially’, anyway.

Shiho was comfortable with it, laughing and joking along as she fought with Ren and Ryuji over the choice pieces of meat for the sukiyaki pot.

Mishima looked on enviously. He wanted that familiarity. He wanted to have _ value _. Months of being dragged down, being told by Kamoshida that he wasn’t even good enough to get beaten up had taken his toll on the boy; Ren’s words from earlier had helped, but a single moment wasn’t going to undo months of abuse. And even before that, his middle school years hadn’t exactly been kind to him.

Ren glanced at Mishima; the boy hadn’t eaten much.

“So, Mishima. That website’s gotten pretty popular.” He said, deflecting an attempt steal his beef with his chopsticks.

“Hm? Oh! Y-yeah. A lot of people have been visiting it, lately.”

“I bet the Phantom Thieves are using that intel pretty regularly.” Ren said, neutrally. “You should probably keep it up.”

“...! I… I will!” Mishima said, brightening.

“Of course, if you ever exposed them, or fed them bad information, they’d probably hunt you down.”

“_ Ren _.” Ann said, rolling her eyes at him.

Ren shrugged, flashing a grin.

Mishima chuckled nervously. He knew Ren was joking, but the memory of being strung up with a machine gun pointed at him, airsoft or not, was still fresh in his memory. He glanced at the time.

“Ah… Thanks for having me. I should go.”

Shiho blinked, checking as well. “Oh. Me too, actually. I have to get to my next physio appointment.”

The two left, leaving just the team.

Ryuji waited until the attic door was closed. “...Man. So, how much does Shiho actually know? Mishima, I know that he knows, we’re just not _ directly _ admitting we’re the Phantom Thieves.”

Ren looked at Ann.

Ann sighed. “I’m pretty sure she’s figured it out. I mean, aside from all of us, she’s been about as close as one can be to this whole mess? Rei-chan let it slip that Ren and I were somehow the ‘Phantom Thieves’ contacts’. Shiho isn’t stupid, though. I started trying to tell her to clear the air, but she said she didn’t want to know. That way, if she were ever questioned, she wouldn’t have to lie.”

“Ah. Plausible deniability. Willful ignorance with a lack of evidence confirming she knew. Smart, especially since she’s been questioned already…” Ren mused. “It prevents them from accusing her of perjury.”

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. “Ren… for someone who was falsely accused of a crime, you’ve certainly learned the ins and outs of being a felon.”

Ren shrugged, a crooked smile on his face. “In for a penny, in for a pound, as I’ve said to Ryuji. If they want to make me a criminal, I’m going to give them Arsene Lupin or Danny Ocean, not some cringing pickpocket.”

Ryuji shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind more people talking about us, though. It’s kinda cool to get some recognition in general.” He brightened up. “Did ya see how people _ freaked _ when those weather balloons popped?!”

Yusuke smiled, nodding. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen my artwork displayed in such an exciting manner before.”

“I’m thinking for the next one, we should go even _ bigger! _ I know a guy who sells fireworks on the down low, and…”

Ann waved her hands. “Wait. _ Wait _ . We _ just _ succeeded, here. Shouldn’t we lay low again, for a bit? We have no idea what’s going to happen at school tomorrow. Shujin’s where this all started, right? What if the police come back around to investigate again?”

“And what Madarame said about a black mask telling him to do what he did concerns me also…” Yusuke said.

Morgana murred, flicking his tail. “Ann-dono’s right. We should lay low and keep our eyes peeled for both another target and also this black mask… And explore Mementos more, I think. It’ll get me closer to finding out about where I came from…”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were a human?”

“Uh, yeah.” Morgana said. He shook off a feeling of foreboding. Something that had been bothering him since he saw Ren escape from Madarame’s pocket realm, bearing the raven-black armor on his arms. He straightened. “That’s what I mean!”

Ann smiled. “We’ll be sure to help you, Mona. ...Anyway. What did you boys get up to today? Ren texted me and said you were having fun.”

Yusuke, Ryuji, and Mona briefly looked at Ren with an expression of abject terror.

Ann raised an eyebrow, looking at Ren. He was whistling, looking up at the ceiling.

“Er… ...we uh… went to ASOBIBA. It was… _ fun _.” Ryuji stammered, a hand unconsciously rubbing his beltline where Ren had shoved the SPAS-12.

“A-anyway.” Yusuke stood. “Ren, I wanted to give something to you and Sakura-san. Let me show you…”

>>>

A short time later, after hanging up the ‘true’ Sayuri in Leblanc, the group parted ways.

From a distance away, red eyes watched them.

Makoto had taken Ren’s advice on a few matters - now, she was sitting further away, and ‘reading’ a newspaper rather than a manga volume.

_ ‘Hm. Yusuke Kitagawa…’ _ She murmured, watching the tall youth leave with Ryuji and Ann. She recognized him from the art show. Makoto had attended, following Ren and company there. _ ‘Madarame’s last remaining student, if I recall correctly. And probably his final victim before the confession.’ _

The girl had investigated the names Ren gave her, finding indeed that they had been exploited by suspicious elements in Shibuya. Her own investigation hadn’t gone much further than that, though. It had been as Ren had said - not many students were willing to speak to the student council president.

Her nose wrinkled in irritation. Ren had firmly planted himself in her head, irritating her almost instantly with every memory. Him and that cocky little smirk a contrast to his bookish glasses.

_ ‘Sure. Primary colors suit you, by the way. Too bad it’s not in style this year. See you, Your Excellency.’ _

She snapped a furtive picture of Yusuke leaving Leblanc with Ann and Ryuji. _ ‘Wonder how you’ll talk your way out of this one, Amamiya…’ _

>>>

June 6, 20xx 

Kawakami sighed, looking exhausted - as usual - when she addressed her homeroom at the end of the day on Monday.

“Alright, everyone. Just a couple of reminders for the week before you all disappear. Thursday and Friday is the field trip to the TV studio. And before you go today, make sure you hand in your career surveys. Try to have three choices listed for either university or jobs.”

She paused, glaring briefly at Ren. He shrugged.

“Three _ serious _ choices.”

Ren just shrugged. He had listed:

  * ****Don’t get arrested again****
  * **If arrested again, don’t get convicted**
  * **If convicted, don’t get stabbed in jail**

“Amamiya-kun, I’ll see you for a moment after class, please. The rest of you are dismissed.”

Ann glanced at Ren, favoring him with a little smile. “Call me when you’re done?”

“Sure.” Ren said, smiling.

Kawakami rolled her eyes as he approached the front.

“I wish you’d pay this survey as much attention as you do to Takamaki.” Kawakami started, sliding a new form across the desk to Ren. “Honestly. Just because.. ...of what you _ saw _, that doesn’t mean you can just screw around in my class.”

“I would have filled it out the same way whether it was you _ or _ Ushimaru. Or anyone else.” Ren said, shrugging. “The entire school’s written me off, even if I top the charts on every exam that you throw at me. And you can bet I’m going to do my damned best to make sure that happens.”

“You don’t make any sense.” Kawakami muttered. “You don’t care, but you study? Why--”

“Spite, sensei. Pure spite.” Ren replied, smiling coldly. “Best gift I can give back to Shujin. A convict beats out everyone in the fancy prep school where I was meant to fail.”

Kawakami shook her head. “You aren’t _ meant _ to fail. You…”

“I was written off from day one. By you, in fact.” Ren said, pointedly. “I was standing _ right there _, remember?”

She had no words, for that.

Ren sighed. “...Look. I’m not trying to be a jerk. ...Well. I am. A _ little _ . But look at it from where I’m sitting. I don’t have a whole lot to gain from this year. Anything I do is under the microscope. If I succeed, it’s a fluke. If I fail, it’s expected. I’m not going to get a recommendation letter. The only way I _ might _ squeak by is if my grades are flawless. But I won’t have any extracurriculars, because no club in this place is ever going to take me. So… yeah. I’m probably going to act out a little. I don’t have a whole lot going for me at Shujin.”

He nodded at the survey. “I’ll get you a properly filled out form, Kawakami-sensei. Just don’t share it with the other teachers. They’ll probably just laugh at the idea of me thinking of my future.”

Kawakami blinked, feeling a pang of sympathy for him. “...Alright. Thanks, Amamiya-kun. And it’ll be between us, then. ...About the other night…?”

Ren sat down to fill out a new survey. “You never had anything to worry about. We’re all forced to do things to get by, aren’t we?”

“...Thanks.” Kawakami said. “I’ll be at the faculty office.”

The teacher left, considering the situation of Ren Amamiya. He certainly wasn’t as advertised. And he was right - she, like every other teacher at the school, had written him off from the start. From her perspective, at least all she had done was be uninterested in him. That was all she had the energy for, anyhow. Other teachers were worse: At the first faculty meeting, some of them, led by Ushimaru and Kamoshida, had even resolved to ‘put Amamiya in his place’, as if it was somehow his fault for being assigned to Shujin as part of his probation. And even that was odd - Shujin wasn’t supposed to be a school for project children.

She shook her head, thinking. And somehow, Ren had risen above it all. His assignments and homework were always on time, with excellent grades. His exam score spoke for itself. And aside from knocking Kamoshida out, he had largely flown under the radar.

And now, he was completely uninterested in blackmailing her, even if he had no reason to hold back.

_ ‘...He really could use an ally, here, couldn’t he…?’ _ She thought. _ ‘But the last time I got involved in a student’s life…’ _

She nearly ran headlong into Chouno-sensei.

Chouno put a hand out, stopping Kawakami from entering the faculty office. She scrutinized the younger teacher with eyes heavy with eyeliner and mascara.

“Chouno-sensei. Can I _ help _ you?” Kawakami asked, already feeling mounting irritation. Chouno had been on her case ever since she started at Shujin. Kawakami had committed the cardinal sin of being younger and prettier than her - sleep deprivation or not.

“I was more wondering if I could help _ you _ .” She said, her red lips curling into a sneer. “You’re always looking so _ tired, _and running out of here as quick as you can after school. I can’t remember the last faculty meeting you’ve made it to…”

The woman crossed her arms, looking down her nose at Kawakami.

“We all need to be careful about getting caught up in more scandal here. Didn’t you watch the news? I imagine a young thing like you could be doing all _ sorts _of things with your spare time.”

Kawakami quietly grit her teeth. _ ‘Don’t talk to me about scandal, you used up hag. Wasn’t it only last year you were seen with that recently graduated boy…’ _

“...so if you don’t want me looking more into what you’re up to, then—“

“Sorry to interrupt, Chouno-sensei, Kawakami-sensei.”

Kawakami looked up, seeing Ren. His normally crooked smile replaced with something charming, bright.

“I wanted to hand this survey back to you before you left, sensei. Thank you for spending so much time getting me up to speed.”

Kawakami blinked, hesitating. _ ‘...! Oh!’ _

“Of course. It’s no problem! You are our top second year, after all.” She smiled.

Chouno looked skeptically at the two. “If he’s the top, then why does he need the extra help?”

Ren looked at Kawakami, nodding his head at her as if to say, _ ‘say anything!’ _

“I… uh… I was helping Amamiya-kun work on an application to start up a new club. A boxing club. Because he doesn’t have any extracurriculars!” Kawakami said, nodding.

Ren’s smile faltered, just slightly. “Yes. Of _ course _.”

Chouno frowned, but nodded. “Ah. Right. You are that… handsome young lad who knocked down Kamoshida, after all. Carry on, then. I look forward to seeing the new club in action.”

She left.

Kawakami looked at Ren, who had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his face in clear irritation.

“Seriously, sensei?”

“It was all I could think of! Especially after what you said…”

Ren shook his head. “Whatever. Fine. Let’s hope she doesn’t actually follow up on it. I’m not going to start any club.”

“Don’t you like boxing?”

“I do. But the last thing I need is to be the convict boxer of Shujin, starting my very own gang of boxing delinquents.” He turned, walking away. “You’re welcome, by the way. Don’t try to pay me back any more than you have.”

The bitter words struck Kawakami. She caught up to Ren. “Hey. Hold on… I’m sorry.”

“Like I said, don’t worry. Just don’t expect me to actually start a club—“

“No. I’m _ sorry _. About before, when we first met.”

Ren turned. “...oh. Well. Don’t worry about that, either. Things have worked themselves out.”

“Well, if they ever don’t. Here’s my work number. This way, there won’t be any record that you’ve called me.” She said, handing him a piece of paper. “If you ever need anything.”

Ren started at Kawakami. “If I ever _ need anything _?” He raised an eyebrow.

The teacher blushed. “Not _ that _kind of anything! Anything that a teacher could help you with.”

>>>

June 8th, 20xx 

Makoto sat in the student council room after school. Once again, her subordinates had left early, leaving her to finish the work off. This time, she welcomed the solitude. It allowed her to look into her _ other _ work, the task assigned by Kobayakawa.

She had her laptop in front of her, with a USB drive loaded with the records on every student enrolled in the past year - both current and those who had transferred out. She had met Kobayakawa earlier. This time, the man was clearly growing more desperate for answers, for some reason. He had provided her information that she shouldn’t have had _ any _ access to.

For the third time today, she poured over the files of Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, and Shiho Suzui - finding nothing suspicious in their past files, or in their grades. Ryuji was barely passing and had on his file the noted assault on Kamoshida - although this had _ finally _ been changed to acknowledge that Ryuji had been the victim. Ann and Shiho’s files were clean.

She sighed. She clicked on a separate subdirectory entitled ‘canceled transfers’, out of sheer desperation and boredom.

The girl blinked in surprise. There were files named as ‘Suzui’ and ‘Takamaki’, as well as files for ‘Sakamoto’, ‘Amamiya’, and ‘Mishima’.

“This is…” Makoto murmured. She read the files for the boys, first. These were the canceled expulsions. All signed off by Kamoshida, but with the school board’s stamp missing. That made sense. But for the girls…

“...Transfer request, for… ...But this is post-dated, and signed off by Kobayakawa, too. And not signed by either students’ family.”

On a hunch, she opened the files of other students - ones who had been on the volleyball team. Specifically, girls. Several of them had been transferred out as well. Most of them to different schools, some she recognized. And for some of the players she recognized, the transfer dates seemed to always fall a little after they had been cut from the volleyball team, or at least demoted from the starting line up.

“...Oh my God…” Makoto murmured. “This… this can’t be.”

She frowned, recognizing _ some _ of the schools. One name came up three times, though, for a school she had never heard of.

“Takabe Academy…? That doesn’t sound familiar.”

She jotted down the address.

>>>

June 9, 20xx 

By the time the school trip to the TV studio came around, the relationship between Ann and Ren was essentially the Phantom Thieves’ worst kept secret. The only thing keeping it a ‘secret’ was the memory of what Ren had done to them at ASOBIBA the last time they had pried. The two snuck off at every opportunity at school to spend time together; even when they were in the public eye, they were just a little closer, a little happier.

But today at the studio, Ren’s mind was wandering despite the presence of the blonde girl walking beside him, as close as she could be without taking hold of his arm.

“...Ren? Ren.” Ann said, now touching his forearm.

Ren blinked. “Hm? Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about that notice that the school posted. The one asking anyone with information about Kamoshida or other ‘incidents’ to report to Niijima.”

Ryuji, on Ren’s other side, frowned. “Yeah. That’s kinda messed up. Makes you wonder if they’re trying to cover up everything that happened, especially with Madarame. People are seeing the connection between the calling cards… We’re gettin’ famous!”

Mona hissed. “Ryuji! Careful!”

“You be careful. You’re supposed to be out of sight, man!”

“It sounds like they’re getting desperate for information. Putting out a notice like that is overplaying their hand. I suppose I should expect Her Excellency to make another appearance in my life.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “_ Another _ appearance?”

“She’s been following me.” Ren said. “She tries to be sneaky about it… It’s pretty funny. Heh. The last time, I got her with a tripwire and some paint cans…”

Ryuji snickered. “Nice.”

“Anyway…” Ann said, casually bumping her shoulder against Ren’s. “You should focus on the tour. Kawakami’s going to get mad. She’s looking at you.”

“...Yeah. That’s why she’s looking.” Ren said.

Ann stared at Ren. “...You’re hiding something.”

“What makes you say that?”

Ann reached, poking his nose. “You have tells. Your nose wrinkles a bit.”

“That’s because you keep poking it.”

“That’s because it’s cute.”

“My nose, or you poking it?”

“Yes.”

Ryuji rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He didn’t want to have his shotgun stuffed down his pants again.

The four of them passed the day in varying degrees of boredom, completing the tour of the studio. The next day seemed more promising, with some audience participation. But the best part of the school field trip, it seemed, was the shorter day coupled with being dismissed directly from the studio.

Ann looked down at her phone. “Ah! Shiho’s group is done, too! We should go do something fun, guys!”

Mona poked his head out of Ren’s bag. “I vote pancakes! There was a sign for all-day pancakes on the way here!”

Ryuji looked thoughtful. “Hm… That would be Stella’s. Hey, you know, that’s close to Dome City, an amusement park. You guys wanna go?”

“Haven’t been to one in years.” Ren mused. “So, why not?”

“Oh, wow. You only live an hour out of the city, but you’re really a country boy, aren’t you?” Ann said, affectionately.

“Yeah. Unsophisticated and _ rough _.” Ren replied, casually. He met Ann’s eyes directly.

Ann blinked, averting her eyes as her face grew a little hot. Thus, she was the first to see Goro Akechi round the corner, with his shaggy hair, blazer, and strangely, gloves - in this weather. And to top it off, a briefcase with monogrammed ‘A’.

“...Yeesh. Douche alert.” Ryuji mumbled.

“Ah. Hello there. You must be those Shujin students touring the studio? I hope you’re having a good time. They always treat me well, here.” He put on a charming smile.

Ryuji eyed Akechi askance. “We’re doing alright, random stranger…”

“Oh? Right, where are my manners. My name is Goro Akechi. I work with the police from time to time when they need my help with cases. Provided I can get time off from school, of course.”

“...Right. You’re the one who questioned Shiho.” Ann said.

Akechi turned to her - again, that charming, manicured smile. “Oh? You must be Takamaki-san. I hardly questioned Suzui-san, though. I was merely at the station at the same time that she delivered her statement to the prosecutor. It was terribly late, and I didn’t think it was right to just leave her there.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Ann said. There was a time when Ann might have been taken in by that smile. A time before Shujin and Kamoshida, where she learned what kind of depravity the friendly smile of a stranger could conceal. Now, she just crossed her arms, waiting.

Ren kept his hands in his pockets, remaining silent. Akechi turned to him.

“And you are…?”

“Ren Amamiya.”

“Oh! The one who talked Suzui-san down off the roof. That’s quite the accomplishment. And that means you must be Ryuji Sakamoto.”

Ryuji gave a stiff nod.

Even Akechi’s trained smile started to falter under three pairs of suspicious eyes. “Er… ...so, please enjoy your time here. Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow in the audience? They’re going to be interviewing me on television.”

Another silence; Akechi’s statement hung in the air as if he expected the team to be impressed.

“...Maybe. Let’s go find Shiho, guys.” Ren said, turning.

“Ah… goodbye, then. Enjoy your cake!”

“Excuse me?” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“..Oh. I could have sworn someone said something about pancakes? Ah, no matter. I should be going. See you all tomorrow, I hope.”

The four Phantom Thieves watched him go.

Ryuji shook his head. “Just had to get the last word in. I hate that type…”

Ann shrugged. “If it weren’t for him questioning Shiho, I could maybe see the appeal? If you like the boyscout kinda thing…”

Ren watched Akechi disappear around the corner. He shook his head. “He rubs me the wrong way. We should go, anyway.”

Mona, in Ren’s bag, frowned. _ ‘I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who mentioned cake…’ _

>>>

“Ah, man. I don’t think I have any appetite for cake of any kind after that…” Ryuji groaned. Ryuji and Ann had just taken a tour on some of the thrill rides around Dome Town; Ren and Shiho had remained behind to keep Mona company.

Mona chuckled. “Toooold you.”

“Oh, shut it.” Ryuji grumbled.

Ann seemed no worse for wear. She beamed at Ren and Shiho; she gave a particularly longer look at Shiho. “Should we go for that cake, now?”

“Actually, I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to head home. Why don’t Ryuji and I get Mona home for you, Ren? You and Ann can hang out some more.”

Mona blinked. “Hm? Wha? But we have a big day tomorrow. We should _ all _ get to bed, don’t you think-- Wait, Ren! Ryuji’s taking the bag! Help--mmph!”

Ryuji waved, stuffing Mona into the bag as he walked off with Shiho.

“There go the two best wingmen in Tokyo.” Ren said, chuckling.

Ann linked her arm through Ren’s. “I’d say so. So, Ryuji knows?”

“I didn’t tell him directly, but I think he gets the picture. He was the first person I told, you know. That I had a crush on you.” Ren said.

Ann clung just a little harder to Ren’s elbow, smiling up at him warmly. “Really?”

“Mmhm.” Ren started walking. “Over a bowl of ramen. I told him about how my unrequited love would have to go unanswered, that me being associated with you wasn’t good for your career. I had this whole idea how I’d pine away alone, and be satisfied with admiring you from a distance.”

“What changed?”

“Have you _ seen _ you?” Ren asked, wryly. “Good sense didn’t stand a chance.”

Ann giggled, squeezing his arm in a hug. “I’m glad. Honestly, though… You wouldn’t have been unrequited for long. Not if I had anything to do with it.”

“Well, you _ did _ kiss me first…” Ren said, smirking.

“Don’t get such a big head, Wildcard. You might have gotten me to fall for you, but you haven’t even taken me out on a date yet.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Ren stopped, in front of the park’s ferris wheel. A cab was already waiting; the door wide open. “I was busy, while you and Ryuji were on thrill rides.”

Ren led Ann into the cab; there was a covered basket in the cab, with a light meal inside. Shaking her head with a smile, Ann sat down, snuggling up against him.

“You… you’re almost too smooth, sometimes.”

Ren shook his head. “Reiko said the same thing, once. Does it worry you?”

“Not really. I know where your heart is.” Ann said. “...Though, we’re doing this all out of order. Kiss, drama, the other night… and now the first date. We haven’t even said ‘I love you’, yet.”

“Well, _ you _ did.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“What? No, I did..n’t…”

_ ‘There, right there! Oh my God, I love you, Ren!’ _

Ren grinned.

Ann turned bright red. “..Th… ...that doesn’t count!”

“Then it was just me who’s said it, then.” Ren said, shrugging, looking out at the night and the lights of the city.

“You’ve never said it, though.” Ann protested.

“I did, actually. Remember when we were studying for exams? When we wanted to take a break and went to Inokashira Park? Then you joked about ‘training our hearts’?” Ren asked.

“...You said ‘I love you’ just to rattle me, didn’t you?” Ann asked, confused. “Don’t tell me you meant…”

“I meant every word, Ann.” Ren said, as the cab came to a stop at the apex. “I think it started from that first encounter in the rain. I couldn’t - I can’t - get you out of my head.”

She smiled at him, turning to him as they closed their eyes, doing one thing that couples do…

Ann’s cellphone rang just as she started to deepen the kiss.

“Ah… sorry.” Ann glanced at the caller ID. “Oh! It’s the agency. Hang on… ...Hello? This is Takamaki. Oh? Right now?... I’ll head on over!”

She hung up; Ren looked at Ann curiously. She smiled apologetically. “There’s an emergency at a shoot nearby; one of the girls didn’t show. Want to come see me at work?”

“Hm? Oh. Sure…”

“...are you _ pretending _ to look disappointed? So I’ll feel compelled to make it up to you?”

“Is it working?”

“A little…” Ann stroked Ren’s cheek. “Lucky you, we have a bit of time before the cab gets to the ground, don’t we?”

She kissed him, her blue eyes bright in the dim cab.

“I love you, you know?”

>>>

_ ‘I don’t care that you think it’s below you, Ohya. Get your ass down to Suidobashi! You’re covering entertainment and lifestyle now. Mika has a shoot down there, so move it!’ _

Ichiko Ohya grumbled, thinking of her editor’s words to her as she had started to protest her latest assignment. She didn’t know why she bothered. She wanted to cover the Phantom Thieves story, but she had known there was no way her editor would agree. Not after making the mistake of letting her start to look into that scandal around Shido’s party. The only way he’d agree would be if she had something concrete. But she couldn’t get something concrete unless he allowed her to look. It was a catch-22.

She muttered, standing near the shoot in Dome City. She watched as Mika and some blonde girl posed for the cameras, smiling. They did look good, though - especially the blonde. Ichiko smirked from a small feeling of schadenfreude, watching as Mika seemed to get increasingly vexed. The blonde girl was starting to steal the show.

_ ‘Tough to be run out of your profession, isn’t it girl? I know the feeling…’ _

As the shoot ended, Ichiko prepared to step forward to ask the new girl some questions. She paused, though, as the blonde was joined by a dark haired boy. Tall, lanky, but broad-shouldered. Athletic. Good-looking. And, more importantly, familiar.

She blinked, recognizing the Shujin uniform. _ ‘...Isn’t that where the first calling card was delivered? But more than that, he’s…’ _

She frowned, remembering an article that her friend at _ Monthly Boxing Fan _ had written a few months ago. About some scandal in Kamakura, involving the prefecture’s high school champion.

_ ‘...That’s right. That’s Amamiya. And he’s familiar with that model…? Very familiar, it looks like. And from Shujin. I… I could use this…! But should I?…’’ _

>>>

June 10, 20xx 

“Well, I’d be interested to hear some more detailed opinions on the Phantom Thieves.” Akechi said, smiling again for the camera.

Ren tried hard not to roll his eyes. _ ‘And now for the thinly veiled audience participation, so you can tell us what _ ** _you_ ** _ think without looking too preachy, and seeming like you care what we say…’ _

“Let’s ask this student, here.”

Ren frowned. _ ‘Figures.’ _

Mona hissed quietly. “Stand up! You have to act like a normal student would.”

Ren stood, sighing.

“What are _ your _ thoughts on the Phantom Thieves, if they’re real?”

“It doesn’t have much of an effect on my life.” Ren said, shrugging. “I don’t have time to speculate about things like that.”

_ ‘Just like that. Keep my mouth shut, let the dipshit go on and keep himself happy with the sound of his own voice.’ _

He started to sit.

“Ah, but what if your friend sitting right beside you had a sudden change in his personality? Wouldn’t you worry now that someone was responsible for it? And that’s the point I was really getting at.” Akechi said. “Their actions so far _ seem _ to have been for the public good. But their very existence is a threat. They should have left these things to the police. In _ due time _, the police and I would have--”

Ren paused. _ ‘...Fuck it.’ _

“In _ due time _?” He interrupted. Kawakami shot him an alarmed look. “What do you mean by that?”

“Hm? Oh, well, if the victims had just reported the crimes of Kamoshida and Madarame, we would have--”

“...Are you an _ idiot _ ?” Ren shot back. “You’re telling me that you think it’s as simple as that? People _ did _ try to report. Both Kamoshida and Madarame were men in positions of power. They had every capability of silencing their victims, and they used that ability _ liberally _.”

“Yes, but if I had been on the case, I would have listened. I would have…” Akechi started, holding his hands up placatingly.

“Hindsight’s really easy, isn’t it? ‘If I was there’. Please.” Ren sneered. “Tell that to the victims. I’m sure it makes them feel _ so _ much better. What you’ve basically said is that all of us should have just sat there and waited for _ someone _ from the police to notice what Kamoshida was doing and in the meantime, just taken his abuses like good little children. We’re lucky that the Phantom Thieves noticed. They do a damn sight more than the cops.”

Silence.

Akechi smiled.

In that moment, Ren paled; he sat down, silent.

The rest of the interview passed. Afterward, several of Ren’s male classmates congratulated the boxer, laughing. Several of his female classmates gave him baleful, angry looks. Some of them, the girls considered ‘rougher’ or ‘wild’ gave him considering little smiles.

Ann shot glares at both variety of girls, standing just a little closer to Ren.

“Ren? Are you okay? You just clammed up mid-rant.”

Ren shook his head. “Just a bad feeling. Let’s just get out of here.”

_ ‘I was being baited. Just like before my hearing, in Kamakura…’ _

“Ah, sure.” Ann paused, feeling her pocket. “Oh! Left my phone on my seat. Hang on…”

“And I gotta pee.” Ryuji said. Mona rolled his eyes, and then vanished as Akechi approached.

“Ah, Ren-kun! I’m glad I was able to catch you.” He said, smiling as he offered his hand.

Again, Ren felt an automatic aversion. As he let Akechi’s offered hand hang, he observed that part of his discomfort was that the smile was a mask - it often was, but in Akechi’s case, more manufactured and trained than most. And fresh on his mind was the look Akechi had after Ren’s response. He had provoked him intentionally.

“Akechi.” Ren said, both the use of his surname and lack of honorific serving to set the boundary.

Akechi continued, unfazed. “I must say, it was rather refreshing to meet someone my age who can carry on an interesting discussion. My role as the ‘Detective Prince’ means that people usually don’t want to speak their minds in front of me. I think lively discussion is invaluable. As Hegel said, there cannot be thesis without antithesis.”

“Uh huh.” Ren said.

“I’d love the opportunity to speak further with you.”

“Pass.” Ren said, turning as he saw Ann approaching.

“Er… well, I noticed that you work at Leblanc? I saw you there the other day as I passed by. Perhaps I could come in during one of your shifts and we could chat then?”

“Do whatever you want. Some customers are chattier than others. And it’s Fichte, by the way.”

Akechi blinked, his head tilting. “Excuse me?”

“Hegel never once said the terms ‘thesis’ or ‘antithesis’. He used the terms concrete, abstract, and absolute. The concept of the thesis-antithesis dyad was Johann Fichte. And it was actually thesis-antithesis-synthesis, where the two conflicting ideas are reconciled to form a new proposition.”

“Oh. ...Uh, well…” Akechi mumbled, for once at a loss.

“Though I suppose thesis-antithesis will do. I don’t see us doing much synthesizing.” Ren waved a hand. “If you’re going to name drop to look smart, drop the right name. See you. Or not.”

>>>

June 11, 20xx 

“Man, _ fuck _ that guy.” Ryuji muttered, kicking the vending machine. “I’m glad you put him in his place, though.”

“I’m not.” Ren said, shaking his head. They were hanging out at the vending machines in the courtyard, waiting for Ann and Shiho to join them for lunch. “He baited me, Ryuji. He wanted to provoke a response from me, and he got it. I don’t know how much he suspects.”

Mona meowed. “Mm. It would be really bad if they were watching us. It would completely limit our movements.”

“Yeah. It just _ sucks _. I mean, it’s not like we had any choice when we started this Phantom Thief thing! We’re just helping people--Ow!”

Ann walked up, casually chopping the back of Ryuji’s head with a knife-hand strike as she passed by, sitting beside Ren on the bench. “You’re _ way _ too loud.”

Shiho followed a second or two later. “She’s right. I could hear you shouting from around the corner, Ryuji.”

“Doesn’t make it not true! I mean… whatever it was that I was saying…” Ryuji mumbled.

Ren yawned, reaching over to steal Pocky from Ann. She half-heartedly slapped his wrist.

“...It makes me wonder, though. Should we continue with this? I mean, after Akechi, and all the bad press…”

-_ Click- _

The group looked up at Makoto. She stood there, with her phone.

“You guys always look like you’re having so much fun. Makes me jealous.” The student council president said, looking strangely smug.

“You’re welcome to join the delinquency any time, Your Excellency. After school, we’re going to walk around wearing surgical masks and holding baseball bats.” Ren paused, adding in a conspiratorial whisper. “And then we’re going to go to a furniture store and try out all the chairs and sofas _ without _ buying anything.”

“What are you doing walking around snapping photos of people, anyway?” Shiho said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s creepy, even for _ you _.”

“I’m _ not _ creepy.”

“So what do you call taking pictures of students trying to eat lunch?” Ann asked.

Makoto put her phone away. “I wouldn’t have to be so vigilant if people would come forward with information about Kamoshida. And now with another calling card incident…”

“It’s a real shame you weren’t more vigilant when Kamoshida was actually still here. You’re the student council, aren’t you? You’re telling me you had no idea what Kamoshida was doing?” Ann said, angrily. “You could have helped people.”

“...You’re Suzui-san’s best friend, are you not? What did _ you _ do to help?”

Ann’s eyes widened. “I... I couldn’t…”

Shiho walked over to Ann, standing between her and Makoto. “_ Real _ classy. What kind of student council president are you?”

“I had no idea about Kamoshida!” Makoto snapped. “As far as the student council was concerned, he was a good teacher, right up until the day--”

Shiho’s slap was sudden. It wasn’t hard, but certainly enough to sting. Makoto rubbed her face, looking shocked.

“I shouldn’t have to explain to you why I did that.” Shiho said, firmly. “Feel free to tattle if you want. Just make sure you tell whichever teacher you cry to what you did to deserve it. Come on, guys.”

Shiho left, followed by Ann and Ryuji.

Ren stood, stretching. He paused, standing beside Makoto. “Wow. You go from suggesting that Ann deserved to be targeted to implying that Kamoshida was a good teacher when he was trying to rape Shiho. Are you _ trying _ to make enemies, or have you really just never spoken with anyone your age before?”

Makoto turned, nearly hissing. The second comment stung.

“Oh. Sensitive subject.” Ren said. “Guess I struck a nerve.”

He glanced at her clenched fists.

“Like I said, Your Excellency. Anytime, anywhere.”

He followed his friends.

>>>

June 13, 20xx 

“That’s _ all _ you have? I told you to look into the Phantom Thieves, and you’re researching students who have already transferred out of Shujin Academy?!” Kobayakawa shouted.

_ ‘...He looks afraid.’ _ Makoto noted, frowning. “Not just any students, Principal Kobayakawa. Students who were transferred to Takabe Academy, which _ doesn’t exist _. I went there. It’s just an empty lot! And on top of that, our own students are being targeted by criminal elements in Shibuya. After you posted that notice, people approached me asking for help. I want to--”

“Enough! Do you have _ anything _ on the Phantom Thieves?”

She almost said yes, on reflex, fingering her phone in her pocket.

“...No. Not yet.” She said.

“Then get out of my office!” Kobayakawa said. “And don’t come back until you have something!”

Biting her lip, Makoto stood, leaving.

_ ‘I have to make a move…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I have to say thanks again to everyone for reading. The hits/kudos/comments are humbling, especially coming from authors that I've been reading/anxiously waiting for updates from.
> 
> Secondly, these 'aftermath'/'intro new arc' chapters are always hard to write. Tend to be dialogue and exposition heavy, so bear with me as I figure out how to make them flow better. Also had to plant multiple seeds for later
> 
> Sae Niijima - In canon, I felt like she was one of the worst prosecutors ever. In this version, I've tried to make her at least suspect Akechi of knowing too much/being too conveniently placed.
> 
> Akechi - It probably shows through in the writing, but I really hate the way this character is handled in P5. I know a lot of it is due to limitations of the game - he has to be involved, etc. But I hate how the game basically forces the MC to have relatively positive answers to him, when I wanted nothing more than to tell this idiot to screw off. Even before I knew who he was/what he was doing. I'm still not completely sure how I'm going to handle him later on.
> 
> Ren's reaction to Ann in hoody and little else - In his one other intimate relationship, Reiko was never quite like that. She was more demure/typical. Hence the shock at seeing Ann in broad daylight like this
> 
> Ren's airsoft pistols making loud noises - Gas blowback airsoft guns are awesome. The slide actually racks back and makes a great sound. Nothing like a real gunshot, but still awesome.
> 
> The word 'smirkening' - Apologies for the neologism, but I just loved it too much. I was trying to think of a way to say 'smirk gets more sassy/snarky/self-satisfied', and 'smirkening' captured it best.
> 
> Sojiro is what happens to bros when they grow up.
> 
> Ryuji/Yusuke/Mishima/Mona would never challenge Ren like that, normally - unless he provoked them. Which he did. Because he was being an ass for funsies :D And yes. Ren shoved the shotgun down the back of Ryuji's pants after zap strapping his hands. And then he fired repeatedly.
> 
> Mishima - Ren's coming around.
> 
> Inokashira - It goes without saying, but I'm not writing every single little hangout/confidant level in this. Would be way too long/boring, and also break up the flow. You can safely assume most things are happening out of sight of the viewer (IE, Ren's training with Ryuji/the others, he's learning about the new coach of the track team..) Things that help the story at large/develop characters nicely, I'll mention.
> 
> Makoto - Easily irritated by Ren. The 'Your Excellency' moniker is a bit of a callback to Han Solo. She doesn't mean to be terrible. She's just completely out of her depth. More on this next chapter.
> 
> Shiho - Dayum girl. You go.
> 
> Ren and Ann advanced relatively quickly. I think it was appropriate, the way I wrote them (Ren experienced, Ann not incredibly shy, both of them _really_ into each other). And, opportunity existed (Ann's place, no supervision). This is at the risk of letting the story 'jump the shark' of course (See Castle, Bones, basically any show where the 'will they/won't they?!' couple get together)


	14. Bobbing and Weaving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Boxing isn’t all about punching. Bobbing and weaving is a basic defensive tactic that moves the head beneath and/or laterally from an incoming punch. This technique is important for nearly all boxers, but doubly so for those who have a shorter range and are forced to take the fight to a bigger opponent. A fighter effective at this defensive tactic will be able to get inside the range of their opponent without losing good body position and leaving themselves in prime position to counter while weathering a storm of punches._

June 13, 20xx

Ann sighed, taking her seat for the last class of the day. Japanese, with Kawakami. She glanced up, returning Ren’s smile as he walked back into the room. It was a friendly smile, at least. He sat down, looking out the window as usual.

She sighed again, feeling a flash of disappointment.

_ ‘...After the weekend we had, he’s just like that?’ _

After the confrontation with Makoto on Saturday, Ann and Ren had spent most of the weekend together. Yui had been away again, and the two had taken _ full _ advantage. Ann smiled a little in recollection. Ren was… attentive, to say the least. By Sunday night, it had gotten to the point where a simple kiss made her think of all the _ other _ things he could do with his lips, his tongue…

But at school, as they had decided, they kept it somewhat quiet. Ren didn’t want to deal with the added gossip, and Ann still wanted him all to herself.

_ ‘...But he could act like it bothers him more!’ _Ann thought, sighing again.

Something clattered to the floor; a pen rolled to her foot. She turned back and leaned down to collect it, automatically.

_ ‘...Isn’t this like when he caught my wrist? To apologize?--!’ _

She only caught the glint of his glasses and a little smirk before feeling his lips on hers - a split second, almost as if it never happened. But it left that lingering warmth, that electricity that shot across her skin.

He was back in his chair and staring out the window again, kiss stolen successfully.

Ann turned crimson. “...Wh… What the HELL!?!”

Kawakami jumped, the chalk breaking on the board. “Takamaki! What’s wrong!?”

“I… er…” Ann stammered, smoke nearly coming out of her ears. “I ah, forgot my keys again! That’s all. Aha… ha…”

Ann glanced behind her.

Ren’s eyes flitted to meet hers for a moment. Again, that little smirk. Ann huffed, whipping out her phone.

**AT: WTF**

Annoyed bunny.

Ren replied with an innocent looking, confused penguin. Holding a question mark sign.

**AT: You’re totally going to pay for that**

**RA: Ready and willing.**

**AT: Way to keep this quiet**

**RA: Did someone see?**

**AT: Well, no, but seriously**

**RA: I heard you sigh a bunch. You looked lonely, so I fixed it.**

**AT: I was ** ** _not_ ** ** lonely!**

**RA: Sure you weren’t. I didn’t think after a weekend like that, you’d still be so greedy. Not that I mind.**

Ann felt her face grow even hotter. She started to text back.

“Amamiya-kun. Takamaki-san. If you don’t put those phones away, or at least do me the decency of _ trying _ to hide them, I’m going to read those texts out loud.” Kawakami said, sternly.

Ren just put his away calmly, returning to space. Ann shoved hers in her desk, stammering an apology.

“Good. And Amamiya-kun, I’ll need to have a word with you after class anyhow.”

The usual whispers happened.

“Ooooh. Trouble for the smart convict…”

>>>

There was indeed trouble. Ren was glad he had handed Mona off to Ann; this was almost too embarrassing to see.

Kawakami stood in front of Ren, her palms together and elbows out in the universally accepted gesture for ‘please, just do this one thing’. She looked up at Ren through her lashes, cringing as well.

Ren rolled his eyes, his arms crossed. “Don’t you _ know _ who I’m dating? She’s like the ultimate immunization against cute looks and manipulation. I’m not doing it.”

“_ Please _! I’d never ask, but…”

Chouno had called her bluff. She had ‘helped’ by giving Kawakami a mostly-filled out application for a boxing club. It was preapproved, too - it just needed the signature of the advisor (Kawakami), the club president (Ren), and four additional members.

“Just tell her I flaked on you. I’m some delinquent, remember?”

“But she’s still going to ask what I do at night, and…”

“Figure it out. I don’t care.” Ren said, turning. “We’re even, remember? I don’t owe you anything, and you don’t owe me anything further for giving up on me. Just teacher and student.”

He left the room, shaking his head.

_ ‘I can’t believe she’s turning this into my problem. Does she know what she’s asking me? I just barely became okay with using the heavy bag and shadow boxing again…’ _

Ren left the school. He had agreed to meet the Phantom Thieves at Jonathan’s. He was distracted enough by his conversation with Kawakami that he nearly ran headlong into a group of tough looking Shujin students.

“Ah. If it isn’t the convict bookworm.” The leader sneered. He had slicked back, black hair. And, unlike Ren at the bread line, he stood with an _ unironic _ delinquent slouch. While Shujin was a prep school, it was a given in any situation where there was a teenage social hierarchy - there was always going to be someone who traded on violence and intimidation.

“Oh. Ah… … you… are…” Ren frowned, racking his mind.

“I’m the guy that kicked your ass in the alley a few weeks back, shithead!”

“Oh! Right!” Ren said. “Keitaro Yamagi.”

“KENtaro YamaDA.”

“Oh, sorry.” Ren said, smiling. “Kenichi Yakatori. Got it. Hey, I’m late. See you around.”

He moved around the boy, heading for the gate. Ren caught the movement in the corner of his eye, slipping the telegraphed punch.

“Not so fast, convict. What’s this I hear about you getting so close to the hottest girl in the school?” Yamada sneered. “Some guts for a guy who I kicked the shit out of.”

“I don’t really see how those things are related.” Ren said, shrugging. “Is that everything?”

“No, it’s not. Here’s how it is. I’m going to shit-kick you every day until you stay away from her.”

“Ah, I see. That doesn’t really work for me, Yakatori, so--”

“It’s Yamada! Yakatori’s not even close!”

“Sorry. Yamada. Anyway, that doesn’t really work for me.” Ren said. He put his bag down, though, seeing that this was going to turn into a fight. “I should warn you, though.”

“Oh ya? About what?” Yamada scoffed, putting his own bag down.

“I don’t really have a reason to let you beat me up, this time.”

A circle formed around the two; Yamada took his stance, launching himself at Ren. Yamada was big; he was Ren’s height, but had already put on some adult weight. His punches certainly had power and he had full intent to injure behind each of his swings. His huge, wide swings.

Ren slipped them effortlessly, even staying clear of Yamada’s cronies who were eager to push or trip the boxer up.

Eventually, Yamada stood facing him, panting. It was hard to swing constantly and be a smoker, too.

“Are we done, here, then?” Ren turned to the circle; he picked up his bag, and walked to the edge. A cold look from the boxer made the two gang members blocking his way step aside, to Yamada’s irritation.

“We… we ain’t done! If you don’t fight me proper, then I’ll have to go and pound that blonde bitch of yours instead! And I don’t mean a fight, you fucking poser.”

Ren halted.

Yamada blinked; there was a change in Ren’s body language.

Ren turned back, taking his glasses off. He smiled. “I think you should apologize for that.”

His smile was different, now. Different from the placid expression from before. It was subtly unsettling, now - like he knew how Yamada had to respond in front of his cronies in order to save his reputation. Like he knew what it would lead to. It was a _ predatory _ smile.

Yamada didn’t want to lose face in front of his gang, though. Against his better judgement, he continued.

“Fuck that. If you don’t like me insulting your slut, then you’d better fight me.”

Ren put his bag down again, stepping forward. He raised his fists.

Yamada resumed his assault; Ren slipped punches yet again. But this time, whenever the opportunity arose he would casually bump or push Yamada into one of his gang members, even once parrying a haymaker into the cheek of another boy.

“Nice right. He didn’t see it coming.” Ren said. “Ready to apologize?”

“Don’t fucking kid yourself! You can box, but you pretty boys don’t know how to _ scrap _.” He moved forward, kicking at Ren’s knee.

_ ‘Why does everyone think boxers can’t handle telegraphed kicks…?’ _

Ren simply lifted his leading leg, letting the kick fly by. It was forceful enough that Yamada spun halfway around, exposing his flank.

Ren stepped forward, driving his already-raised foot into the back of Yamada’s knee, forcing him to the ground. He pushed down on the bully’s popliteal fossa with firm, painful pressure. Yamada felt his leg start to go numb.

Yelling, the gang stepped forward. Ren forestalled their motion, calmly reaching down and grabbing Yamada from behind, by the chin with his left. He raised his right, prepared for a hard strike to an opponent in a very vulnerable position. They all froze in place. This had gone from schoolyard scuffle to something different.

“Urk... ! That’s... that’s enough!”

Ren shook his head, still with that unsettling smile. “You threatened one of mine. If I let you go now, I’ll win this fight. If I do just a little more, I’ll win all the fights to come, before they even start.”

“Just _ what _ is going on here?!”

Chouno-sensei rapidly approached. Ren looked up, startled. He released Yamada.

She shook her head. “Amamiya and Yamada. I should have known. Both of you are in a _ lot _ of trouble. A fist fight on school grounds? When your probation officer hears about this…”

“Ah! Chouno-sensei, I’m sorry!” called Kawakami, approaching as well. “This was just a demonstration! Amamiya-kun was just trying to recruit members for the club.”

“Oh. _ Really _.”

“Yep! He needs four more members, after all. And he _ needs to sign _.” She smiled at Ren, holding up the form. Now on a clipboard.

Ren shook his head. _ ‘...Seriously…’ _

He signed. Kawakami smiled at him. “Great! We’ll look into securing a club room for you. There’s an old multipurpose room that’s just taking up space. It should fit that ring pretty well, too… Come on. I’ll show you…”

Ren sighed, following.

>>>

June 14, 20xx 

Ren, Mona, Ann, and Ryuji headed for the large multipurpose room that Kawakami had prepared for Ren’s new ‘club’. The teacher, eager to cover up her part time job for the maid service, had worked fast.

“I can’t believe you got roped into this.” Ann said, sighing. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so. I think as far as Kawakami’s concerned, the club just has to exist. And since my founding members so far are you, Ryuji, and Shiho, it’s not like we’ll actually need to _ do _ anything. Just need to find one more.”

“Mishima?” Ryuji asked. “He’d help in a heartbeat.”

“He would.” Ren said. “I’ll bring it up next time I see him.”

Ann giggled. “You’ll probably have to wear earplugs for when he accepts the offer. He’ll be really happy.”

Ren rolled his eyes, pushing the door open.

He nearly shut it again upon seeing Makoto Niijima sitting on the apron of the ring.

“Ah. The president of our newest club.” Makoto said, smiling faintly. “I’m glad you chose to sign the application. I have to admit, I was surprised when the form crossed my desk for approval. You know the student council has to approve all clubs, right?”

Ren nodded, cautiously, unsure where this was going.

“Of course, I thought you’d be reluctant to take it on. Pretty interesting turn of events at the school’s gate yesterday.” Makoto said, vaguely.

“...Wait. It was _ you _ . _ You _ sent Yamada there?!” Ren asked, eyes widening.

“Oh, please. I didn’t _ send _ anyone anywhere. Not really.” Makoto said, fishing a form out of her bag. “I just mentioned offhandedly to someone that you _ might _ be spending a lot of time around Takamaki lately. Then I told Chouno and Kawakami that I _ might _ have seen Yamada trying to track you down.”

“Why would you…” Ann murmured, her eyes going to the paper.

“I wanted the _ Phantom Thieves _ tied to me.” Makoto said, holding up the form. _ She _was the fourth founding club recruit. “You’re required to meet at least once a week when you have a club, so there's no avoiding me, now. And, don’t try to deny who you are…”

Makoto played the recording of Ryuji’s voice, from near the vending machines. She then showed them pictures of all of them together with Yusuke.

“You _ bitch _.” Ann seethed. “You don’t give a damn when Kamoshida’s having his way, but now you go to these lengths to trap us! You turn a blind eye to rape, suicide, assault…”

“It’s not like I _ want _ to do this!” Makoto snapped. “Kobayakawa, he… He wants to know who you all are.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “And yet, here we are, talking. To you, not the police or Kobayakawa. You want something from us.”

Makoto nodded, tightly. “I… discovered things. People are still targeting our students in Shibuya. And three of the girls who transferred out after Kamoshida raped them were sent to a school that doesn’t exist. And as far as I can tell, the girls and their families are completely off the grid, too.”

Ryuji blinked. “...You… you want us to help! You want us to change someone’s heart!”

Makoto looked at Ryuji, raising an eyebrow. “So. You’re not saying it’s impossible… It’s true. Not Kobayakawa, though. That wouldn’t help the students in trouble right now. Rumor has it, there’s a yakuza boss who operates in Shibuya.”

“Do you have a name?” Ren asked, quietly.

“No… I’ll have to investigate further. And now, so will you. Prove to me that you really are for justice. That like you said, you do more than the police. Or… or I really will turn you in.” Makoto said, walking past the team.

Ann shook her head. “I _ almost _ feel sorry for you. You’re just being used by Kobayakawa. But now you’re happily turning around and blackmailing us. All for some recommendation letter.”

Makoto bit her lip. “...say what you want. Those are my terms.”

She left.

Ren watched the door swing shut behind her.

Ryuji swore. “Damn it… she’s really got us. Sorry, guys…”

Mona sighed. “You really blew it, Ryuji.”

“Ann was recorded too!”

Mona sighed. “But we can recover! She hasn’t turned us in, yet.”

Ann shook her head. “Sorry, guys. Ren… this could be really bad for you. ...Ren?”

He was _ smiling _. Ann blinked in surprise.

“Well played…” He shook his head in disbelief and some admiration. “I thought she was relatively harmless. I walked right into this. She’s really sharp, isn’t she? I probably shouldn’t have taunted her so much.”

He sighed. “This is on me, too. Come on. We should go break the news to Yusuke.”

>>>

A few hours later, Makoto arrived at the apartment in Setagaya she shared with her sister after finishing up at the cram school she attended.

“I’m home…” she said automatically, to the empty apartment. She hadn’t seen Sae in a few days. Makoto knew she had been around, though - the prosecutor had taken her share of the meals that Makoto had made, and in turn left her with her allowance.

She sighed. _ ‘It’s like I have an employer rather than a sister.’ _

Makoto once again fixed herself something to eat, putting a plate together for Sae as well. Normally, now, she’d eat while going over her notes from cram school. Her notebook was empty, though, save for a few half-hearted scribbles.

She hadn’t been able to concentrate. Ann’s words from Saturday and today still bothered her.

_ ‘It’s not like I really knew about Kamoshida.’ _But she had suspected.

_ ‘And he was kind to _ ** _me_ ** _ .’ _She felt his eyes on her ass and legs every time she walked away from him.

_ ‘I… it’s just really important for me to get into college.’ _It really was, wasn’t it? But then why the blackmail? The terms?

Why not just turn them in? That would fix things. And that would put Amamiya right in his place.

_ ‘Anytime, anywhere, Niijima.’ _ Makoto shook her head, recalling Ren’s words. The boxer was frequently on her mind, lately. He was… irritating. He acted like he didn’t care about _ anything, _but he clearly cared for his friends. And it was highly likely he was involved with Takamaki…

That was annoying, too.

_ ‘It’s like she doesn’t even have to try. And he doesn’t, either. No one expects them to be anything…’ _

As always, that was what it boiled down to for Makoto Niijima. Expectations. Every day had expectations, everything she did had standards set by others. The best part of her week - rather, her month - had been when she had orchestrated the encounter between Amamiya, Yamada, Chouno and Kawakami. Because, it was completely contrary to what anyone thought she could pull off. Because, it was completely, utterly liberating. The most fun she had had in ages.

Growing up with her father and sister, things had been different. Even when her mother had walked out on them, things were still… different. Her father worked hard, but never expected either of his daughters to do anything other than do their best at whatever they chose. For Makoto, it was aikido, taihou-jutsu, and memorizing the lines of whatever the latest police action movie was out so she could recite them with her father when they had a chance to watch them together.

Things were... different.

As she pushed the last piece of daikon around her plate, the walls of the apartment felt increasingly stifling. Makoto glanced at the time - 2100. Still early enough to go out for a walk, to try to get her head straight.

She stepped outside and started walking in the direction of the Sport Science University, dressed in graphic t-shirt and shorts, with sneakers. It was an odd outfit for her, but the chances of her actually running into anyone from Shujin was small. She wasn’t so much worried about the embarrassment as it was, again, meeting expectations. She wasn’t supposed to dress like this. She was the respected student council president. 

_ ‘Your Excellency.’ _He would say, with that annoying smirk.

Makoto grumbled. _ ‘Who am I kidding? No one respects me. He’s the only one decent enough to be up front about it.’ _

She heard the sound of footfalls coming from behind. Regular, with paced breathing. _ ‘Someone out for a jog?’ _She stood aside.

She blinked, seeing the familiar face of Ren Amamiya, without his glasses, running by. In shorts and sleeveless tee, his hands wrapped up. He had headphones in, not noticing the girl at all. She watched as he came to a stop some distance down the road, across from the university. He keyed a code into a door, unlocking it and stepping inside.

Curious, Makoto followed. She paused outside the door.

_ ‘Shinoda Boxing…?’ _

She pushed it open, now hearing clearly a series of sharp sounds, impacts. Leather against leather. She watched, mesmerized as Ren worked the heavy bag. His form was perfect; his physical fitness obvious. As usual, his practice was as much footwork as it was hands, moving around the bag and laying into it with lefts and rights. He slipped imaginary punches, bobbing and weaving as he attacked and defended simultaneously. He was the only one in the gym; he had just the faintest little smile on his face. It struck Makoto how handsome he was when he wasn’t being a sarcastic ass. His smile wasn’t that sardonic smirk, the mocking grin. It was joy.

The reason why the past was ‘different’ came crashing down on the girl’s shoulders, now.

She was _ happy _, back then.

Makoto bit back the grief, the wash of tears that threatened to come. By all accounts, she was successful. She was going to get into a good university; she could even follow her sister into law if she wanted - her grades were good enough.

But she hadn’t been happy in _ years _.

And here, this boy on probation… This convict transfer student. He was _ happy _. He had friends. Probably a girlfriend. From what she had read in the file, a family, and from what she had seen at Leblanc, a man who at least acted like a friendly uncle to him.

_ ‘...What… what have I been _ ** _doing_ ** _ …?’ _

She turned to leave. It was too much. It was only then, she realized she was already halfway across the gym and directly under a light.

“...Niijima?” Ren’s voice froze her in place. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Makoto bit her lip, her fists clenched.

“It’s not enough that you stalk me everywhere and blackmail my team, but now I can’t even have a single god damn moment of peace _ here _ ? This is _ mine _. You’re just as bad as the rest of the piece of shit adults who’ve tried to take this away from me. First the bullshit with the club, and now--”

“Shut up! Just… shut up!” Makoto spun, tears now clearly streaming down her face.

Ren froze, mid rant. Makoto was showing him an expression he never expected to see.

Her face was contorted with rage and frustration. “You don’t get it! None of you do! All of you think it’s _ so easy _ to be in my position! Do you have any idea what it’s like?! To have everyone holding you to ridiculous standards!? Do you think I _ wanted _ to follow you around? I don’t… I don’t even… I can’t…”

_ ‘I don’t even know what I want. I don’t even know why I’m here.’ _

She let out a choked sob, unable to say a single word more.

Gloves thudded to the ground in front of her.

She blinked, picking them up. Boxing gloves. “...What…?”

Ren sighed. “You look like you want to hit something. Put them on before I change my mind.”

“I… I’m not going to fight you!”

Ren rolled his eyes. “Please. It wouldn’t be much of a fight, Your Excellency. Get in the damned ring.” He held up hitting mitts rather than gloves, and then climbed into the ring. “I’ll just be giving you targets.”

Uncertain, Makoto climbed into the ring. She tugged the gloves on.

Ren held up the mitts. “Go on.”

“This is stupid.” She reached out, tapping one with her left.

“...Seriously?” Ren raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? I thought you knew how to fight, from the way you postured after you annoyed me and Ann at the diner. I know you’re some pasty bookworm, but really..”

Makoto narrowed her eyes. A harder right.

“That’s a bit better.” Ren said, yawning. “Still pretty fucking sad.”

Instinctively, she fell into old habits, the stance she had taken when she practiced with her father. His variant of taihou-jutsu had mostly been a mix of shorinji kempo and aikido. She started striking the offered targets.

“Oh? Your Excellency has some guts after all. Come on! Is that it?!”

Makoto struck harder, faster. She grit her teeth.

“Is that it?!” Ren shouted, goading her. “Aren’t you _ pissed _? Don’t you want to hit me?! I don’t respect you! I think you’re a fucking kiss ass! A sell out! Come on!”

“Shut up!” Makoto screamed, starting to let loose. Her fists struck home with certainty now, her stance tightening up as she started to close off the openings. She could almost feel her father’s hands on her shoulders, adjusting her position for her.

“Then _ shut me up _ , Niijima! You’re tired of living up to others’ standards!? Then fucking _ do something about it _!”

With a wordless kiai, she shifted her weight, pivoting on her leading leg as her right came up in a hard roundhouse kick.

Ren’s eyes widened. The kick was a perfect _ mawashi geri _, heading straight for his face. He barely got a mitt up in time; it sailed into the air with a loud crack.

Makoto panted, her hands on her knees. She had a fierce grin on her face.

“...Jesus, Niijima.” Ren mused. “Hell of a kick.”

“...Thanks. ...I feel better.”

“Good.” Ren said. He collected the other mitt, before heading back to the heavy bag. He put his own gloves back on. “You know the way out.”

He got back to work.

Makoto climbed out of the ring. “...Why… ...why did you do that?”

Ren answered without looking, making minor adjustments to his jab. “Ann taught me that not everyone can be brave all the time. Ryuji taught me that you should always take time to blow off steam.”

“No. I mean, why did you help me?”

“Maybe I don’t like seeing girls cry.” Ren said, punching the bag in a quick 1-1-2. “Maybe I’m trying to show you that the people you’re blackmailing are _ people _ . Or maybe I felt so sorry for you in that ridiculous _ Buchimaru _ shirt that I wanted to do something for you.”

Makoto blushed faintly. “It’s an old shirt! I wasn’t expecting--”

“Whatever. See you, Your Excellency.” Ren said.

Makoto headed for the door. Ren’s voice made her pause again.

“By the way. You looked good. You should smile like that more often.” Ren said, speaking between rapid fire combinations.

Makoto’s face turned more than a faint red this time as she hurriedly made her way home.

>>>

June 17, 20xx 

Ren trudged his way home from the station, feeling dead tired. He had just spent his Friday afternoon in Mementos with Yusuke. The investigation into the yakuza had reached a complete standstill. They knew _ what _ was happening, more or less. It seemed that the yakuza were coercing students into becoming mules. Either for drugs, weapons, or money. Always small packages, to avoid arousing too much suspicion and to ensure the loss wouldn’t be great if one student was caught. It made them more… disposable.

But, they still didn’t have a name. The closest they came was when Ren and Makoto had been approached by a suspicious looking man with an ‘easy job’. Unfortunately, the man had been spooked by Makoto’s aggressive questioning - first he had threatened her, and then Ren had stepped in, threatening _ him _…

And so they had nothing. It was frustrating to the point that Ren felt going to Mementos with Yusuke to help ‘inspire’ the artist was actually relaxing.

Ren smiled. Oddly enough, it had been. Yusuke’s only real passion was painting. The artist had been surprisingly candid about his feelings for - rather, about - Ann.

_ ‘I think it was a momentary infatuation, Ren. It became clear to me that she was just one representation of what I was looking for… a _ ** _type_ ** _ of the beauty I want to find. I’m not certain it’s something that can be tied up in one person, or one place. And I must admit, now that I’ve gotten to know her, somewhat…’ _

Ren smirked. Ann _ could _ be a bit bossy. And excitable. And impulsive.

Not that Ren minded.

He walked into Leblanc. “Hey, boss.”

“Oh, Ren. There’s a letter for you.”

“Really? From home already? We’re still working through all the fish that oya-ji sent…”

“No, it isn’t more fish. It’s an actual letter. No sender on it, though.”

Ren took the envelope, opening it as he went up the stairs. He started to greet Mona, but the words died on his lips.

_ ‘It’s interesting how the fallen star of Kamakura is now with the rising star of Vague. Could be interesting news. Or not, depending on you. Come to Shinjuku. Crossroads. Any time this week.’ _

“Fuck.”

>>>

June 18, 20xx 

Ren stepped out of the station in Shinjuku. Although he had been in Tokyo for months, now, he still found himself rooted to the spot by the bustle, the lights. The noise.

Unfortunately, staring like a country yokel, coupled with his youthful looks, made him look like a convenient target.

A woman wearing a tight dress seemed to materialize at his side, instantly reminding him of the Succubus that resided in his heart.

“Oh, honey. You look lost. Want to come with me? I can show you around a little…”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. Thanks.” Ren replied. He started walking.

She giggled, clinging to his elbow. “Oh, come on. You’re such a _ cute _ young thing. I can introduce you to my friends, too…”

Mona popped onto Ren’s shoulder, hissing with a wild, crazed expression in his eyes.

“Ah! Holy shit-- what kind of weirdo carries a cat around like that?!”

Ren sighed. “...Thanks, Mona.”

Mona smiled, headbutting Ren affectionately. “No problem! Just because you’re my rival in love doesn’t mean you aren’t my friend!”

“Your rival…?”

“Er, nevermind.” Mona said, thinking of the pillowcase.

“I thought so.” Ren said, smirking. He walked down the street, doing his best to look purposeful, intent. He eventually found the bar; a little hole in the wall named Crossroads. He opened the door, walking down the stairs.

It was a classy joint. An aged, but clearly loved polished hardwood bar. Chairs and decor that hailed back to 1920’s Shanghai - jazz era, an eclectic mix of East and West. And, best of all, the Yamaha baby grand piano in the back. Ren hadn’t touched a piano in _ months _. As Reiko had always said, he never practised enough. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss it.

His attention turned to the bar, though, at the sound of a chipper falsetto voice.

“Hello, cutie~.”

Ren, to his credit, only raised his eyebrow slightly at the heavyset man(?) behind the bar, wearing a yukata and a _ lot _ of makeup.

“I’m Lala Escargot. Welcome to Crossroads! Now, come here, let me have a look at you…”

Ren stepped forward, the letter in his pocket. What else could he do?

Lala looked at him carefully. “...Hm. How old are you, exactly?”

“...I’m not here to drink.” Ren said. “I got this letter, here--”

Lala snatched it away, reading it. She(?) looked _ furious. _ He(?) yelled in a voice now considerably deeper. “Ichi-chan! Get your ass up here! What the _ hell _ ! You ask for my advice, and then you just go and do whatever the fuck you want anyway?! Blackmailing a minor! What’s _ wrong _ with you?!”

‘Ichi-chan’ stumbled to the bar. She was, apparently, in the unpleasant space between hungover and drunk. She glanced at the letter; the color on her face drained. “Oh. Shit.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. She was a young woman, wearing over-large sunglasses on her head, a graphic tee, and skinny jeans. She had a notepad in one pocket, and a camera case sat at the end of the bar.

Lala rolled her eyes. “Kid. This is Ichiko Ohya, and right now, she’s going to apologize to you or never set foot in this bar again.”

“...Er, yeah.” Ichiko scratched the back of her neck. “I… Sorry. I saw you with that model, Ann Takamaki, and I recognized you from a colleague’s article in Boxing Fan. I thought you might be a source to get access to information about the Phantom Thieves. Your school’s administration isn’t giving me a thing… I didn’t want to blackmail you, I swear.”

Ren sighed. “Then why send the letter?”

“I… ...kinda got drunk, and then accidentally mailed it instead of throwing it out?”

“...For the love of.. I’m going home.” Ren said, turning on his heel, shaking his head. He paused. “...Why do you want that information, anyway?”

“I’m a reporter.”

“...What do you cover, exactly?”

Ichiko perked up at the change in Ren’s tone. Perhaps a deal could be struck…?

“All sorts of things, kid. Amamiya-kun, right? You sound like you want to talk a bit. I’m Ichiko Ohya. Lala, can we use a table at the back?”

Lala sighed. “Fine. But I’m telling you, Ichi-chan, if you get a cute little thing like that into trouble… Miyaya, what’ll you have? Non-alcoholic.”

Ren stared blankly until he realized that she(?) was addressing _ him _. With a ridiculous nickname. “...Miyaya…? I’ll have a Coke. Zero or diet, either one.”

Ren allowed himself to be led to the back. He sat down, accepting the Coke Zero that was offered.

Ichiko looked at Ren. “So? You want information, don’t you?”

“Have you heard anything about yakuza targeting students in Shibuya?” Ren asked.

“...Maybe. That’s a dangerous outfit though, Amamiya-kun. What do you want to know?”

“A name. Who’s in charge?”

Ichiko frowned. “I can help with that. But, this isn’t blackmail, and it isn’t a gift, either. What can you offer me?”

The door burst open. Mishima charged in.

“Amamiya! Be careful! There’s a really scary looking woman in here, and a _ really _ drunk woman! Don’t let them get your hands on you--...”

Ren was sipping his drink. He raised an eyebrow. “...Apparently, I’m a popular guy this week. Mishima, what the _ hell _ are you doing here?”

“And what do you mean _ scary _, honey?” Lala asked, smiling. That didn’t help matters.

Mishima explained - he had seen Ren getting on the line to Shinjuku. He had figured Ren had never been there before, and might be seen as a target. So he followed - carefully. Then, he had seen him enter Crossroads, where he had seen both Lala and Ichiko go in before. Lala looking like Lala, and Ichiko being drunk and extremely grabby with both men _ and _ women…

Ren shook his head, smiling in amusement. “So you threw caution to the wind and burst in here…?”

“Er.. ...yeah.” Mishima said.

Ren laughed. “...Mishima. No, Yuuki. It’s the thought that counts.” He grinned. “You know, there _ is _ a way you can help.”

“...What? Really? Anything!”

He motioned; Yuuki sat down beside Ren eagerly.

“This guy here knows all the ins and outs of what happened with the Phantom Thieves at Shujin. If he spends some time with you, will you give me the name?”

“Will he do it?” Ichiko asked, smiling slightly in amusement as well.

Yuuki looked at Ichiko; she was older than him, certainly. But, not _ much _older. And she was just slightly buzzed, now, not frighteningly plastered… With that faint, alcohol flush on her cheeks, and the dim light of the bar…

“I’ll do her-- it! It!”

Ren coughed to hide his laugh. He looked at Ichiko. “So? Deal?”

“Deal.” She wrote the name on a scrap of paper, sliding it to Ren. He glanced at it.

_ ‘Junya Kaneshiro…’ _

“Don’t even say it out loud in public, Amamiya-kun. Especially not on his turf.” Ichiko said. “He’s not some low level foot soldier or even _ shateigashira _. He’s got multiple gangs at his beck and call.”

“Thanks, Ohya-san.” He stood. “I’ll be in touch if I need more.”

“Sure.” Ohya said. “Just remember, a cat for a hat, or a hat for a cat.”

“But nothing for nothing.” Ren finished, nodding. He headed for the door, leaving Yuuki to Ichiko.

Lala stopped him. “You sure you don’t want to play a little, honey?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m flattered… ...uh, are you a miss, or a mister?” Ren asked, politely.

“The fact that you’d even be polite enough to ask me makes me like you even more, honey. Miss. And while you’re cute, you’re way too young for me. I meant _ play _.” Lala gestured at the piano, smiling. “You’ve been eyeing the Yamaha like it’s that blonde model Ichi-chan says you’ve been spending time with.”

Ren shook his head. “I… I haven’t played in ages. I can’t ask--”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Consider it a thank you. I haven’t seen Ichi-chan this interested in her work in awhile.”

Ren nodded his assent. “Alright, then… Sorry for the racket.”

He headed to the piano, sitting down. Tentatively, he tested a few keys. It was perfectly in tune. He warmed up with some scales, before thinking of what he wanted to play. _ Paper Moon _ was probably off limits, now, he thought…

Ren brightened. He started playing Chet Baker’s _ But Not For Me _, starting slow and mournful, before getting into a jazzier, brighter arrangement. By the end, he was smiling sincerely. He closed the cover for the keys, looking up at the applause from the three people in the bar.

Lala grinned. “Bravo! … That wasn’t bad, actually. Say, Miyaya… Want a job?”

>>>

June 19, 20xx 

“Well. When we guessed ‘bank’ and ‘all of Shibuya’, I never would have guessed _ this _.” Joker said, wide-eyed.

The team had gathered in Shibuya on a Sunday to try to figure out how to infiltrate Kaneshiro’s Palace, eventually guessing the correct keywords. The district had warped and faded. Kamoshida’s Palace had been dark, lit only with red and pink lights. Madarame’s Palace had been brightly lit in the night sky, a glitzy museum.

This place was day-time lit. The tall buildings of Shibuya had vanished, replaced with ramshackle looking wooden buildings with boardwalks in front of them. The skyscrapers and buildings in the distance had been replaced with flat prairies on one side; rolling hills on another side, with the hint of rocks and boulders, possibly canyons. They heard the distant whistle of a stream engine train.

And in front of them was a citadel. A wild-western fort, with massive gates and battlements. Multiple exhaust pipes were scattered along the walls and towers, occasionally letting out clouds of steam. And, topping it off, a massive sign in playbill font - ‘BANK OF KANESHIRO’.

“We’re in a western, now…? Or a steampunk western...” Panther mused. “And he already sees us as threats, apparently.”

Joker nodded. They had all automatically been put into their thief attire. “Let’s have a look around, then.”

They advanced down the street toward the fort, guns drawn.

“All the buildings here are poorly maintained, except for the fort…” Yusuke said, softly.

Mona nodded. “It must be how Kaneshiro sees Shibuya. He doesn’t care about the city at all… Just for his own place.”

Ryuji frowned. “But shouldn’t there be people, here?”

“Movement, 10 o’clock.” Joker said, moving to cover. The thieves spread out, watching as some...thing… stumbled out from behind a run down saloon.

It was a human-shape, but it moved awkwardly. Stiffly, as if it had no joints beyond the hips and shoulders. Its skin was made out of paper, as was its clothes, and the ridiculously large cowboy hat. It seemed to be trying to move away from the fort.

A single shot rang out - the human-shaped thing _ exploded _, cut in half by the shot - and a cloud of money flew into the air.

Ann recognized the reference immediately. “It’s… It’s a pinata! Is… is that how he sees people?!”

A gang of guards, looking like bandit cowboys, rode up on gaudy looking horses, dressed with gold saddles. They dismounted, collecting the money.

Another pinata-human stepped into the street, zombie-like. The bandits attacked immediately, ruthlessly beating the pinata until it shattered, money spilling into the street.

“Beating the money out of people… Running them down until they’re broken with nothing left.” Ren said, watching. They waited until the gang was gone, and then approached the fort’s gates.

“Does anyone see a way in?” Ren asked. The gate and walls looked like wood, but there were no handholds or footholds. “Let’s look around.”

The team split up, searching, but finding nothing but more pinata people. Some of them missing limbs, leaking cash. Every one of them despondent, resigned. They discovered as well that the gangs of bandits only paid attention to the customers, ignoring the Phantom Thieves. They regrouped at the gates.

“We could try knocking?” Ryuji asked, hopefully. Ren shrugged, motioning. Ryuji knocked on the gate with the butt of his shotgun. Nothing.

“Or we could try waiting here until that gang comes back to get in…” Yusuke mused.

Mona shook his head. “I don’t think so. Those Shadows just materialized, remember? I don’t think they need to use the gate.”

Ren sighed. “At least we found the Palace. There must be something we’re missing. Let’s leave for now, and see if we can’t figure something out. Maybe Niijima’s found something.”

“Do you really think we can rely on her?” Ann asked, crossing her arms. She had noticed a change in Ren’s attitude toward her in the past few days, and wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. Ren _ had _ told Ann immediately about the encounter at Shinoda’s; he had read far too much shoujo manga to believe that concealing it would lead to anything other than trouble for him.

It hadn’t stopped Ann from becoming somewhat jealous, though.

Ren thought back to the other night at Shinoda’s. “...I think she’s tougher than we give her credit for. She might surprise us.”

>>>

June 20, 20xx 

Makoto quietly wandered through Shibuya, keeping her head up enough just to avoid running into someone. School was long-since over, and she didn’t have cram school today. But, she was in no rush to go home. After her ‘argument’ with Sae last night, it didn’t really _ feel _ like home.

_ ‘You’re eating away at my life!’ _

She shivered, slightly. Sae had apologized immediately after, but in that moment, it felt like the last vestiges of the sister she knew had vanished. And with it, any sense that the apartment was still a home for her had vanished as well.

Makoto felt utterly, completely alone.

As she thought this, though, she sighted the Phantom Thieves, gathered on a covered walkway above the street she was on. She headed up; ostensibly to check in on them and the investigation, but in reality because she was lonely. And Ren Amamiya, for all of his sarcasm and disrespect, was the closest thing to a friend that she had.

Makoto approached. Yusuke was in the middle of saying something, but the boy stiffened up the moment he saw her.

_ ‘...I guess that only makes sense.’ _ Makoto thought. _ ‘Even Amamiya just took pity on me. He did stand up to that thug for me, though…’ _

Ann followed Yusuke’s gaze, sighting Makoto. She rolled her eyes.

“What do _ you _ want?” She asked, a little more venom in her voice than she intended.

Makoto looked at Ren. “Nothing. I just saw you here…”

Ann took a step closer to Ren. “And so what? You decided to just check up on us?”

Makoto shook her head. “No. But, how is the investigation going?”

“Fine. Just fine.” Ann said, crossing her arms.

“But you’re just standing here. You seem to be having quite a bit of trouble…”

“What do _ you _ know about it?!” Ann shot back. “You might be the student council president, but when it comes to what we do, you’re _ useless _.”

Makoto froze. “...useless?”

“To be frank, yes. We need to find out more about Kaneshiro, and short of contacting him, there’s not much else you can do.” Yusuke said.

“So just piss off and watch. Or do you want to stand there and eavesdrop? Or stalk Ren some more?” Ann said, glaring at Makoto.

Makoto closed her eyes; there was a sharp indraw of breath.

“...Ann, Yusuke. That’s enough.” Ren said. Makoto's expression and stance was starting to look similar to how she had been at Shinoda's, before Ren had tossed the gloves at her feet. Only this time, there was no such opportunity to distract her.

“...Fine, then. I’ll help you make contact with Kaneshiro, then.” Makoto said, turning on her heel.

They watched, as Makoto stalked off.

Yusuke frowned. “Does that mean she has some idea of where Kaneshiro could be…?”

“...Son of a _ bitch _.” Ren said, suddenly, taking off after her.

Ryuji blinked. “What?”

Ann finished for Ren, starting after Makoto. “She had the same look that Ren gets when he’s going to do something _ stupid!” _

>>>

“N-no! Let go of me! Don’t!” Makoto’s voice came through on the phone, her bravado replaced by real fear.

“Shit! Come on!” Ren shouted. Ren cold-cocked the doorman, his fist catching the man in the jaw. The team barged past, bursting into the room.

Makoto was pinned down on a gaudy-looking sofa by one man standing behind her, holding her wrists. Another was unbuttoning her shirt while an overweight, sneering man in a suit looked on with an equally gaudy looking woman clinging to him. The man had his phone out, taking pictures.

Ren moved in, slipping a punch from one gang member. He horse-collared the man working on Makoto’s shirt, hauling him off the girl; Ryuji elbowed the one holding her wrists in the face, sending him stumbling back.

“We’ve got to go, _ now _!” Ren shouted. He hauled Makoto to her feet, turning to the door.

A flash of the camera halted him; his heart sank, instantly recalling how Kamoshida had gotten them.

“Good timing. Looks like I got all of you in that shot.” Kaneshiro said, laughing. “And the booze and cigs, and the drugs. And the student council president slash sister of a prosecutor, hanging all over the boy with her shirt open. Perfect.”

Kaneshiro laughed as Makoto hurriedly buttoned her uniform back up.

“You idiots are my bread and butter… Hey. You.” He pointed at the man who was elbowed by Ryuji, and then the man who had been hauled off by Ren. “What’s the damage?”

“My nose is broken, I think.. Ugh..”

“And he ripped my shirt…?”

Kaneshiro made a show of looking thoughtful. “And you knocked out the guy outside, too. I’d say that looks like… about three million yen worth of damage. Would that make you boys feel better? One million per each?”

“! You bet it would boss!”

“Great! Then, here’s how it goes. All of you dumb shits owe me three million yen. You have three weeks. If you even _ think _ of telling the police, this picture goes all over the internet. _ And _I’ll go after your families. If you don’t get the money in time, then the same thing happens.”

His cronies stepped in, forcibly taking the gang’s student IDs and taking pictures of each of them.

“Now I know where you live, and your names. You kids are so fucking dumb. Did you think you were gonna be heroes? That ain’t how the world works. It’s the fucking Wild West. The biggest guns and baddest guys win. Get the fuck out of my sight.”

>>>

The team, plus Makoto, stood what they thought would be a safe distance away from Kaneshiro’s hideout.

Ren was hot. He faced down Makoto, his finger pointing at the girl. “What the _ fuck _ were you thinking?!”

“I… I just wanted…”

“Do you have _ any _ idea what could have happened to you _ and _ Ann in there?! We owe a fucking yakuza three million, and I’d say we _ got off lucky _!”

“I’m sorry! I just… I just didn’t want to be useless…” Makoto said, downcast.

“You sure as hell have an interesting way of showing it.” Ren snapped. “You put yourself in danger, you put my team in danger. I…”

Ann put a hand on his forearm. “Ren… Blinking twice.”

“...Right. Right.” Ren breathed. “...Sorry, Niijima. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. I know what it’s like to not be able to think straight because of… well, _ everything _.”

Makoto rubbed her face. “...I just let what my sister said get to me. She called me useless. I’m just a child, still, and a burden to her.”

Ryuji looked on in disbelief. “You _ sister _ said that? That’s fucked…”

“It’s true, though. And Takamaki-san was right, too. I can’t do anything but fit the role of the student council president that Kobayakawa set up. I just do what the adults tell me too. I’m even aiming for university because it’s what they told me to do. I… I have to apologize, Takamaki-san. I’ve found some evidence that the school covered up what Kamoshida did. I honestly didn’t know. But I _ suspected _. And I didn’t do anything to help… I really am a selfish, terrible person.”

Ann shook her head. She stepped forward, putting a sympathetic hand on Makoto’s shoulder. “...A real selfish person would never say that. I… I was wrong to lose sight of some things. I even told Ren once…”

“...that not everyone can be brave all the time, right?” Makoto asked.

Ann nodded. “...Right.” She had mixed feelings about that. What _ had _ Ren done for her? “Anyway. What should we do from here?”

Makoto shook her head. “Forget it. This is my problem. I’ll take care of the money, somehow.”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Ren said.

Yusuke nodded. “You’re like us, aren’t you? You have a place you’re staying, but nowhere that’s home.”

Makoto looked at the artist, shocked. He had hit the nail on the head.

Ryuji crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. “If only we had a way into the bank…”

Mona hissed. “Ryuji!”

Makoto tilted her head. “Bank…?”

Mona murred. “Hm. Actually… Banks open for their customers, don’t they? And now, Makoto is a _ very _ distinct customer in Kaneshiro’s mind.”

Ann’s eyes widened. “Are… are you crazy? We’d be putting her in danger!”

Yusuke frowned. “She _ is _ responsible for our current situation…”

“Can we really trust her in there…?” Ryuji said, eyeing Makoto.

Mona looked at Ren. “It’s your call.”

Ren looked to Makoto. “...What do you think, Makoto? Do you want to help us deal with this? It could be dangerous.”

Makoto didn’t hesitate, nodding once. “I do.”

“Good. Then, let’s go.” Ren turned, taking out his phone.

“Go where? And were you all talking to your cat? Am I going insane, or…”

The world warped. A tumbleweed rolled by Makoto’s feet. She gasped, looking at the Phantom Thieves. “What… ...what are you all _ wearing _?”

“Welcome. This is Kaneshiro’s heart.” Mona said, nodding.

“...A monster cat?! I _ am _ going insane..”

“I’m _ not! _ And people _ still _ keep saying that! At least, Yusuke didn’t…”

“Hm? Oh, no. I thought it was a clear sign I was going mad.”

Mona sighed. “Anyway. Call me Mona. I’m the team’s guide, in here. This is a manifestation of Kaneshiro’s heart, corrupted by his twisted desires. In here, we can change things. We can make him confess his crimes and let us go!”

The team explained the process, everything they knew.

Makoto looked thoughtful. “Interesting. It’s like the application of optical illusions in social cognitive psychology…”

Ren was about to disagree, but paused. “...That’s actually pretty correct. Application is right, though. Things that happen in here can hurt us. Possibly even kill us. We haven’t seen it happen yet, because we’ve been careful. And we’ll have to be even more cautious, now.”

Makoto shook her head. “You’ve seen me. You know I can fight.”

“This is different. I know you don’t want to be called useless, but in terms of combat ability, that’s what you are in here.” Ren said, gently. “You’ll need to stay back if it comes down to it.”

“...Fine.” Makoto said. She eyed Ren, his outfit. How he seemed just a little more _ alive _, now. “Let’s… let’s go. The gate should open now, right?”

They approached the gate of the bank, weapons holstered. As they got close, the fort’s gates swung open. Armed guards holding rifles at the towers aimed down at the group, but didn’t fire.

Makoto approached the main bank building located in the center of the fort. Two guards stepped up.

“Hold it right there.” The faceless shadows stood in the way, hands on the revolvers at their hips. “Identify yourselves.”

Makoto shoved her way to the front. “Bring it--”

Ren put a hand over her mouth from behind. “We’re customers. Especially her.”

The guards seemed to stare at them, as if comparing their appearances to a memory in Kaneshiro’s twisted mind.

“Very good. Come right in. President Kaneshiro will receive you in the conference room.”

They were led into the bank building. Ren cased the building as they moved.

_ ‘Heavily guarded. Extremely heavily guarded… All centered around that vault door to the left. The rest of this looks like a standard bank. Tellers there… probably nothing of real value up here.’ _

Overall, despite the western motif, there didn’t seem to be many holes in the defenses. They entered the conference room. There was a map on the wall. And, more impressive, a massive stack of cash was on the table, along with several gold bars. Ryuji let out a long whistle at the sight.

“Damn…”

“Glad you like it, scum.” Kaneshiro said, from the door. He was flanked by two guards, each brandishing a rifle. The man was as portly as on the outside, but had a thin moustache and wore a white suit with a bolo tie. “It’s the closest you’ll ever get to _ not _ being pathetically poor.”

He leered at Makoto. “My. I have to thank you all for bringing to me such valuable goods. The sister of Sae Niijima, the beautiful prosecutor for the SID. I wonder what she’ll give to us when she finds out her little sister is in trouble…”

“Sae has nothing to do with this!” Makoto snarled.

“Oh, but she will. If you can’t get me the money. Don’t fret, though. If you can’t make the payment, I’m happy to give you an extension. Just ten percent interest per day…”

Ren shook his head, drawing his guns. “That’s 300,000 yen per day…”

Kaneshiro laughed. “It _ is _ a bit steep, isn’t it?! That’s probably why most of our customers prefer the other option.”

He jerked his head at Makoto. “You can sell your body to clients of my choosing. They’ll gladly pay for a crack at the young, untouched type. Though, you won’t be untouched for long… Guards. Kill the others. Keep Miss Niijima alive, and unscarred.”

A small cylindrical object rolled to the foot of one of the guards.

“What…?”

Ryuji smiled, holding up a pin on a ring.

“Oh, fuck--”

Kaneshiro shoved the guards forward into the way of the explosion, simultaneously running out. The fragmentation grenade shredded the guards; the Phantom Thieves and Makoto were hot on the heels of Kaneshiro.

“We need to take him out _ now _ !” Makoto yelled, her eyes flashing. _ ‘He threatened Sae… She said some terrible things… but she’s the only family I’ve got!’ _

“Niijima! Now is _ not _ the time!” Ren called, running after her. Faith and Vengeance were in his hands as he looked for the guards. It was too quiet.

They entered the main lobby, nearly running headlong into Kaneshiro and his cadre of guards. All armed with six shot revolvers or lever rifles, trained on the team of thieves.

“Hahaha… You don’t stand a chance in here. Finish them off!”

Makoto stepped forward. “No! They have nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can still get something out of you. You’ll survive. You and that sister of yours.” Kaneshiro licked his lips. “I think I’ll get her to pay the three million by turning into my personal fuck doll..”

“You… not to Sae…”

“If you don’t want it, then you’d better start taking customers as soon as possible. Just be a good girl and make it fun for them, and you’ll earn that money in no time. At the low cost of your dignity and future!” Kaneshiro cackled. “It’s all you’re good for, anyway! Just do as you’re told, idiot!”

His words were like dumping ice water down her spine. This again. Yet another adult forcing his way into her life, wielding his power and greed like blunt objects. The worst part was, that Kaneshiro was probably the most honest one of the bunch - at least he didn't hide his twisted desires and expectations behind the guise of 'doing what's best'. Makoto closed her eyes, clenching her jaw. The rush of emotions broke down the last of the walls she had built up within herself, the walls that had started rising the day her father died.

Kobayakawa was greedy, ambitious, and cowardly. And he was using Makoto as a tool to further his own goals. All under the guise of justice.

Kamoshida claimed to be the pride of the school, the only thing bringing Shujin any relevance. He sneered at the students and teachers, calling them pathetic while having no shame about his depravity.

And, even Sae... Even Sae expected her to grow up and stop being a burden. Even when Sae was prone to childish outbursts, taking out her frustrations on Makoto at the drop of a hat.

Makoto’s shoulders trembled. Kaneshiro incorrectly assumed it had been fear.

“You just keep going on. And on. And on… You. All of you piece of shit adults, pushing your rules, your expectations, your desires on me…”

_ ‘Then shut me up, Niijima! You’re tired of living up to others’ standards!? Then fucking do something about it!’ _

“ ...Shut your fucking mouth, you money-grubbing asshole!” Makoto yelled.

“...What?!”

_ ‘Have you decided to tread the path of strife…?’ _

“Yes. Come to me.” Makoto said, firmly. Not a hint of hesitation or fear.

_ ‘Very well. Let us proceed with our contract at once. _

_ I am thou _

_ Thou art I _

_ You have found your justice _

_ And with my guidance, you will burn forever toward it, keeping it always within reach _

_ Today marks the day you discard your false self forever!’ _

Makoto screamed, looking up. A mask of crude riveted metal covered her face and yellow, glowing eyes. Doubling over in pain, she tore the mask from her face in the explosion of blue mana and power that, as always, gave Ren a sense of _ rightness _.

A roar of an engine and the shattering of chains was heard. Makoto sat astride her Persona, a spectral sport bike. She wore tight leathers and spiked pauldrons.

“I feel it... Finally. The ‘me’ that has been buried for so long. ...Johanna! _ Gun it! _”

She shot forward, braking and skidding, the bike slamming into multiple guards as it moved in an arc. She stepped off Johanna, drawing her weapons from her back.

Makoto stood poised, twin tonfa gripped in her hands backhand, the metal shafts lining her forearms. 

“I still don’t know why I’m here. What I want. But I won’t let _ anyone _ tell me what to do with my life anymore! I am _ done _ playing nice!”

She spun the tonfa, falling into a fighting stance that felt natural, hearkening back to a time where her heart was free and unclouded.

“Let’s go Johanna! Full throttle!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting into the next arc more firmly, now.
> 
> The big question - why go with the Western motif? UFO didn't make much sense to me.. And there's a time honored heist trope that I wanted to do.
> 
> The boxing club - Just a way to give the gang another hangout, and to give Ren something to do/worry about.
> 
> Kawakami - Don't worry. 'Becky' will make appearances also.
> 
> shateigashira - Gang leader, in charge of single gang of underlings
> 
> Makoto's melee weapons - Done mostly so there would be less overlap with Ren. Also seems to coincide nicely with Makoto's taihou jutsu/kempo training and her father's job when he was alive.


	15. Like Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Bruce Lee is often held up by the lay public as the ultimate kung fu practitioner. It is more accurate, however, to call him an example of a warrior-philosopher, who paved the way for modern mixed martial arts. Lee’s legacy was Jeet Kune Do - not so much a style as it was a philosophy. ‘The way of the intercepting fist’ was not fixed or patterned, instead simply having guiding ideas. It borrowed heavily from several other disciplines: including boxing._   
_Lee spent hours studying boxing tapes, often practicing the footwork of Muhammad Ali in the mirror. He would hold marathon viewings of recorded fights, distilling from them aspects of fighting that he incorporated into his own style. It is an important lesson for any martial artist - while it is important to understand where you come from, you cannot be so stuck in your ways that you refuse to change._   
_As the man said, ‘empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless - like water.’_

June 20, 20xx 

Sae unlocked the door to the apartment she shared with Makoto, opening it slowly and peering inside.

_ ‘She’s out…’ _ Sae thought, with some relief. The prosecutor wasn’t heartless. Ever since their ‘argument’ the previous night, she had felt waves of guilt. Makoto hadn’t even really been trying to argue - she had just asked Sae what their father would have thought about the Phantom Thieves. And Sae had snapped - she spent the entire day thinking about the Phantom Thieves, talking about the Phantom Thieves. Getting _ nowhere _ with the Phantom Thieves. And to further add insult to injury, the lack of progress in the case had prompted the SID Director to further involve Goro Akechi.

The office gossip was now that the _ ‘Prosecutest’ _lawyer, the term that they called her behind her back, needed the help of a pretty boy highschooler to do her job.

It had been a relief when Sae was able to take a break by doing some work on a more conventional case. They were working on the case of Junya Kaneshiro, the yakuza boss currently running Shibuya. Ever since the arrest of Madarame, there had been an uptick in coercion of minors in Shibuya into running errands for the yakuza family there. From the few arrests the PD had made of these students turned mules, it seemed that with Madarame gone, the yakuza had changed their money laundering operation to more conventional methods. In this case, ‘smurfing’ - breaking down the money and drugs into hundreds of small parcels and having the money circle back to Kaneshiro gradually.

She and the PD toyed with the idea of sending some of the students back out there as bait, to see where they would get picked up by the yakuza. It was a tempting gamble, certainly… high risk, but high reward. In the end, they had opted not - the public relations fallout would be too much to deal with, if it was ever discovered.

Sae looked at the plate Makoto had left for her.

_ ‘...At least she still cooked. That’s something.’ _

She frowned. The meal was at least thirty percent natto. Sae hated natto. She smiled in resigned amusement. _ ‘...She’s still pretty mad.’ _

She reached into her purse, fingering the Buchimaru cell phone strap she had found on the way home from work. She thought about leaving it on the table, with a note.

Stubborn pride stopped her. _ ‘She probably doesn’t even collect these anymore.’ _

She took the plate to heat it up, wondering where her sister was. _ ‘Probably cram school. She’s reliable, at least. I can’t imagine her getting up to anything dangerous.’ _

>>>

Ren’s eyes widened at the sight of a steel-toed black boot flying for his face, a perfect _ mawashi geri. _He bobbed, slipping the kick and letting it sail over his head - where it slammed into the face of an approaching guard, knocking the cowboy hat off the shadow and sending it stumbling. It screeched as it started to morph into a Sui-Ki demon.

Ren barely had time to appreciate the view as Makoto spun on the follow through, her leather pants showing clearly that the girl didn’t skip out on doing squats in her workouts.

The demon’s screech was cut off by a blast of nuclear energy, nearly vaporizing the tails of Ren’s coat as he immediately followed up with a brutal uppercut, impaling the demon’s head on his blade like a pike. With his free hand, he drew Faith, taking down another guard before leaping back, narrowly dodging a rifle shot.

He ended up back to back with Makoto.

“Hell of a kick, Your Excellency. Nearly took my head off.” He parried a sword slash heading for Makoto; she immediately followed with a tonfa jab and a crushing axe-kick.

She ducked as Ren aimed over her head, firing with both Faith and Vengeance in a sweeping arc.

“If you had been hit by that, then you’re not even half the fighter I imagined you’d be.” Makoto said, scoffing. She charged forward, leaping into the air as Johanna materialized below her. With a roar, the spectral motorcycle swung in a huge arc in the direction opposite from Ren’s gunfire, taking out another group of guards.

“I’m on your mind that much? I’m flattered.” Ren stepped inside the range of another Sui-Ki demon, striking with several body blows from in tight. His left blade extended, slashing through the demon’s heart.

Ryuji slammed his mace into the gut of an Oni. The demon keeled over with a gasp, but didn’t take much damage. The red beasts were resistant to both melee attacks and gunfire, it seemed. But by now, Ryuji had adapted. He forcefully shoved a grenade into the demon’s mouth before planting a boot on its chest, kicking it away.

Ryuji ignored the explosion as he glanced over his shoulder at Ren and Makoto, the two of them still fighting side by side. “Wow. The boss and the prez seem to get along pretty well…”

A flaming whip nearly took Ryuji’s head off, before slashing through several more guards. Ann smiled at Ryuji. “What was that?”

“!! Jesus! Nothing!” Ryuji said, laying down suppressing fire with his SPAS-12. He sweat slightly from the heat, but mostly fear as Ann laid waste to more approaching guards, her Persona staring down haughtily at the flaming corpses. Ryuji shook his head. Ann seemed to be growing in power rapidly, and occasionally, Carmen would look just a _ little _different, as if the spectral being was just a little out of focus...

Yusuke cut a demon down with diagonal slashes, first up, then down in _ kesagiri _, before looking over at Ren. “Joker! There’s no end to them!”

“Agreed!” Ren said. “Panther!”

Ann turned, evaluating the situation quickly, and understanding immediately what Ren wanted of her. “Carmen! Tentarafoo!”

The guards around the team were immediately afflicted with the confused status, attacking each other, or wandering aimlessly.

“Shiki-Ouji! Mapsi.” Ren said, with a cruel grin. The psionic energy ripped through the confused guards, killing some outright, knocking down the others.

“Let’s move!”

“No! We need to get Kaneshiro! I’m going to kill that son of a bitch!” Makoto yelled. She was still clearly feeling the high of her Awakening.

“Niijima, he’s already gone! He’s disappeared through the vault. We need to leave; we’re getting overrun!”

“Tch. Fine.” Makoto scoffed.

Mona looked around in a panic. “They’ve sealed the exits! We’ll need to find--”

He dove out of the way as Makoto shot by on her bike.

“Follow me!”

The doors out of the bank splintered. A nuclear blast blew up the steam powered mechanism that was starting to close the gates to the fort; Makoto flew by, with Mona trailing right behind in his bus form. The gatling guns on the towers trailed them with hundreds of rounds, the ground exploding behind them as they fled.

>>>

The team reappeared in Shibuya; thankfully in an alley out of sight from the public. Makoto stumbled, gasping in surprise from the backlash of fatigue. Ren caught her.

“Th… thanks.” Makoto said, looking up at him as she leaned on him.

Ren just nodded, focused on looking down the alley. “I don’t think anyone saw us.”

Ann gently pulled Makoto away from Ren, smiling. Just a _ little _ tensely. “Here, Niijima-senpai. You can lean on _ me _.”

“Right… Ugh. I haven’t been this exhausted in _ years _.” Makoto groaned.

Yusuke nodded. “That seems to be the commonality upon awakening to your Persona.”

“Persona…” Makoto said, with no small amount of wonder. She shook her head. “To think I’d end up joining the Phantom Thieves I was investigating. Sae would have a heart attack.”

“Sae… That’s your sister, right? Kaneshiro mentioned. A prosecutor?” Ren asked.

Makoto nodded. “She’s actually investigating the Phantom Thieves…”

“...Wait. Isn’t that trouble?! To have you on the team, then?!”

Makoto shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry. There’s no way a normal investigation would take them to the Metaverse. And if I’m around, I’ll hopefully be able to keep us one step ahead of her. She wouldn’t suspect me.”

“You aren’t nearly as reserved as you appeared to be, initially.” Yusuke said.

“Mm. You looked like you could rip off someone’s arm and beat them to death with it in there…” Ann said, warily.

“She _ does _ have a mean roundhouse kick.” Ren said. “Both in the Metaverse and out here.”

Makoto, despite her fatigue, chuckled. “Oh, stop it… ...It was good to let loose, finally. I understood when I heard Johanna’s voice. I’ve been stuck for so long, just letting people tell me what I should consider success, what I should want out of my life. I’m done with that. I think… I think my father would be happy with me. He was a police officer, but believed not only in the law, but _ actual _justice.”

She looked at the gathered thieves. “So, I want to say… first, I’m sorry I doubted you all and got you into this mess. As you said, Amamiya-kun, I endangered myself and your entire team.”

Ren looked like he was going to say something in addition to that, but sighed as he waved a hand. “It’s… fine. As Yusuke said, you’re really one of us. An outcast, a misfit. Just one that’s been forced to blend in for too long.”

The team relaxed. It seemed that lately, Ren had been a little faster to forgive. He was still frightening on the battlefield, but he seemed a little more focused, now. More _ stable _.

As Ann watched Makoto smile a little at that, she couldn’t help but be annoyed at Ren’s progress, for once. _ ‘You could have held a grudge for just a _ ** _little_ ** _ longer…’ _

Makoto stood up on her own, now, nodding gratefully to Ann. “Thanks. So… What should our next move be?”

Mona spoke up. “I think we should all get some rest and meet up again tomorrow to make plans.”

“That’s right.” Ann said. “We need to secure an infiltration route, still. And then the calling card…”

Mona nodded enthusiastically. “You guys are getting into the swing of things, now!”

“Right. Let’s go, then.” Ren started to turn. He paused, as Ann took hold of his elbow.

“Walk me home?” She asked, her cheeks a little pink. It was the first time she had done this in full view of the others. Ann wasn’t oblivious - she knew that Shiho knew, of course. And Ryuji probably had an idea. She cast a quick glance at Makoto, who averted her eyes in some mild embarrassment.

Ren refrained from teasing her. He just nodded.

With a sigh, Mona hopped down from the bag.

Makoto watched them go, quietly. Ren was the first person in a long time who had shown her kindness without an ulterior motive. In fact, at the time, it might have been more to his advantage to leave her alone to struggle with her issues. It would have been an effective distraction from the Phantom Thieves.

Instead, he had taken the time to help her work some of her frustration out in the ring. Ren hadn’t planted the seeds of rebellion in her, she knew - it was the lessons of her late father that gave Makoto her connection to her sense of justice and right. But, the leader of the Phantom Thieves had put the light on that seed, allowing it to grow.

And, he had shown her that little smile as he worked the heavy bag. He was definitely more than a sarcastic, disrespectful transfer student. It was a very similar smile, she realized, to the one he was showing Ann as they walked away. He had turned to Ann to say something.

He said something sweet, it seemed. Ann looked a little surprised, but then very pleased as she clung to his arm a little harder, almost too close for them to walk properly.

Makoto now remembered the one upside to studying all the time and being alone.

She never felt jealous of the books.

>>>

June 21, 20xx 

Makoto was normally a very diligent student. She was probably the last person in Shujin who actually turned her phone off for class. Not today, though. Her eyes flickered down to the screen of the iPhone 4, biting her lip in frustration as the older model device took _ forever _ to display the messages from her new… ...allies.

_ ‘...Friends? That would be nice…’ _

**RA: Can’t meet at my place this week. Akechi’s been showing up almost every day to ‘have a pleasant discourse’ with me.**

Makoto tried not to giggle at the stamp of the frustrated, pouting penguin that Ren used. He favored penguin-themed ones, but in particular Badz Maru.

**RS: That’s gross… didja tell him ur not interested??**

**RA: Of course. ...Wait. Are you mixing up DIScourse with INTERcourse?**

**RS: ...no. not NOW anyway**

**RA: lol**

**AT: Grow up, Ryuji!**

A laughing bunny. It really did look remarkably like Ann.

**YK: Where should we meet, then?**

**RA: Yusuke, can you make it to Shujin? We can use the club room.**

**YK: Very well. I shall see you there**

Makoto hesitated, and then searched through her set of stickers, selecting a black cat with reddish-brown eyes, like her own. It had an oddly determined look on its face, with the words ‘OK!’ under it. She sent it.

There was a long pause.

**MN: ...Er, did that go through?**

**RS: ...holy shit, the prez uses stamps**

**YK: That is… unexpected.**

**AT: Guys! Don’t be mean! Niijima-senpai, it’s ** ** _really_ ** ** cute.**

**RA: It is. I didn’t expect them to make custom-colored ReLife stickers. Aren’t the eyes of the cat normally green?**

**RS: ...ReLife?**

**RA: It’s a manga and anime that Kana-chan really liked.**

**RS: Right. That ** ** _Kana-chan_ ** ** liked.**

**RA: Shut it, Sakamoto. Club room. After school.**

“Er, Niijima-san? Did you do the homework?” Ushimaru asked, confused.

Makoto looked up, turning red. “Ah! Yes. Sorry, Ushimaru-sensei.” She hurriedly put away her phone and stood up, going to the board.

The teacher, more confused than upset, frowned. “It’s not like you to be on your phone.” She was the legendary Makoto Niijima, after all. The ‘Robot President’ who never failed anything, who always did as expected.

Makoto tried not to react at the hypocrisy. Ushimaru had a tendency to spend more time checking his day-trading than he did teaching. And even when he did teach, he was well known to play favorites. Before, she might have just had a stiff upper lip, or apologized again. Instead, she thought of Ren, and thought of a news story that had come up on her feed that she happened to glance at.

“Ah, my apologies, sensei. I normally have it off, but I neglected to do so today. So a newsfeed regarding stock prices of multiple software companies dropping suddenly caught my attention.” She bowed politely before starting to write on the board.

Ushimaru looked visibly ill; he kept glancing at his own phone on his desk.

Makoto kept her smile from turning into a smirk. She tried to, anyway.

It was one failure that she didn’t mind at all.

>>>

After school, the gang gathered in the boxing club’s room, sitting down in the old boxing ring that had been moved there. Ren locked the door behind them and drew the shutters down on the windows before climbing into the ring as well. He sat down between Ann and Ryuji, nodding at Yusuke.

“Thanks for making the trip, Yusuke.” Ren said. “It’s a shame we can’t use Leblanc for a little while. At least until the Detective Douche figures out that I’m not going to be his buddy.”

Yusuke shook his head. “It is hardly a problem, Ren. It’s actually a shorter distance from Kosei, and I blend in well enough with this spare uniform you lent me. Though, I will miss the Boss’ coffee.”

“Got you covered.” Ren produced a large thermos and several disposable cups. “Help yourselves, guys.”

Mona flicked his tail, moving to the center of the group. He puffed himself up a little, wanting to show off for the newcomer. “Right. So, let’s get started. Ann-dono - how are we on gear?”

Ann nodded. “Everything’s upgraded and ready to go from that standpoint.” She nodded at a small satchel she carried. “I even have some things that should work for Niijima-senpai.”

Makoto blinked, raising her hand. “A-actually… You can drop the honorific, if you like. It would be odd to go on like that, with all of you on a first name basis and me the only odd one out.”

Ryuji blinked. “Hm? What should we call you, then?”

Ren shrugged. “I was going to stick with Your Excellency.”

Makoto glared at Ren, feeling a mix of irritation and relief that he was persisting in mocking her. And then irritation that she felt relief at the mockery. “Oh, shut up.”

Yusuke laughed. “A ha. Leave it to Ren to drag out the side of you we saw in the Metaverse. What _ should _ we call you, then?”

“...Ah, Makoto… would be fine.” She said, anxiously. Hopefully.

Ann, despite feeling cautious of the girl, felt some sympathy for her. She didn’t like the way she always seemed to look to Ren, but she was still a fellow Phantom Thief, now. _ ‘She’s probably really lonely… Especially with her sister.’ _

“Makoto, then.” Ann said, smiling. “We’re all friends here, after all.”

Makoto looked up at Ann, surprised. She then smiled. “Ah… ...Thank you.”

Mona, a bit annoyed at the interruption, flicked his tail again and turned to Ryuji. “Great. And Ryuji, do you have something for Makoto, then?”

Ryuji grinned, immediately brightening up at any mention of guns. “Well, after you mentioned your dad was a cop, I thought of this. He pulled an odd-looking revolver out of his bag. It was modeled in matte silver and black, with wooden grips and dual triggers. And, for some reason, it had red LEDs along the barrel.

“This is--”

“An M2019 PKD Detective Special?!” Makoto gasped. She impulsively reached over, taking it out of Ryuji’s hands. “This is _ amazing _ ! It’s the gun from Blade Runner! How did you _ find _ this?! It’s Rick Deckard’s gun! I watched the movie with my father…”

“I… uh..” Ryuji stared at Makoto in shock.

“Careful, Makoto. Ryuji’s falling in love.” Ren said, smirking.

Makoto nearly dropped the revolver at Ren’s use of her given name. Not since elementary school had a boy outside her family used it. “Ah.. ...haha. Right. So, now what?”

Mona stood up on all fours, turning his head to the door. “We head in! Let’s go!”

The team started to stand.

Makoto blinked. “Wait, what?! Just like that? No further planning, no further discussion?”

“...Not usually.” Ren said. He sat back down. “What do you suggest?”

“Hold on. You’re telling me you find a Palace, and then just… dive in? How do you plan your thefts?”

“Well, we…” Ren and the team explained how Kamoshida and Madarame’s heists had gone.

There was silence as Makoto processed it all.

“So what you’re saying, is that you’ve all been _ extremely _ lucky.”

“Hey!” Mona said, fur bristling. “No one could have predicted things like Madarame’s pocket realm, or Kamoshida’s trophy!”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “Ann and Ryuji - how do you know we’re ready, in terms of equipment?”

Ryuji frowned. “Well, I’ve restocked my grenades, and our guns are all in good shape…”

Ann nodded. “And all of our accessory type things seem to be alright, too…”

“So it’s based only on maintenance.” Makoto said. “Didn’t you all notice? During the last fight, a good portion of the guards were only vulnerable to Johanna’s nuclear attacks and one of Ren’s Personas - that ribbon-like one. And while we were inside for the battle, we have no idea if we’re going to be in tight quarters, or long range… In fact, the only time you’ve all considered that was during the Madarame heist, where you at least gave Yusuke a scope.”

She sighed. “And the most lucky thing of all is that you all split up and nearly pulled off the Madarame heist _ without _ a radio or other means of communicating with each other… Other than Ann burning down a wing of the museum as a signal.”

Mona, now really bristling, hissed. “Cell phones won’t work in the Metaverse! There’s no signal!”

“You didn’t say anything about two-way radios.” Makoto said, firmly. “We need to try that out. And we need to do some scouting - to feel out the defenses, and to look for probable entry _ and _escape routes. If the Palace is underground, we need to be able to escape it before it collapses, don’t we?”

“You can’t just walk in here and change everything! Who do you think--”

“Mona.”

The team looked at Ren. He was the de facto leader, their commander in battle. He looked quite thoughtful. He sighed, taking off his glasses.

“She’s right. We have to make changes. ...This is on me. Sorry, guys.” Ren said. “The last two heists, I was… distracted by various things. We got by on luck. People nearly died against Madarame.”

“That’s not true, Ren, you saved us against Madarame--” Ann started.

“Again, by luck. If we just charge in, we’ll get ripped apart. Those were just the guards they had on hand this time. They’ll be ready and waiting. We need to be smarter. We’re lucky we have Makoto.”

Makoto smiled shyly, nodding. She reached into her bag, taking out a large paper that had been folded multiple times. She carefully unfolded it. It was the map that had been up in the conference room of the bank - rather, on more careful inspection, it was an elaborate architectural plan.

“I was surprised he just had this posted. I don’t think he ever expected anyone to get out alive, or to be able to get a copy of it.” Makoto said.

“...How did you grab that? We ran out of there in a hurry.” Ren said.

“I just had to look at it for a little while.” Makoto said. “I reproduced this from memory.”

A shocked silence settled over the group.

Ren shook his head in awe. “...You have an eidetic memory, don’t you?”

Makoto nodded. “Once I study something or read something, I don’t forget it. When I want to recall it, it’s like I can see the afterimage scanning across a page. I just have to trace the lines.”

“Holy shit…” Ryuji mumbled.

Yusuke stared at Makoto in complete envy. “If… If I had that…” He sighed. “Clearly, Makoto is ideal as our advisor, from here on out.”

Makoto frowned. “I don’t care for titles. I just want us to get in and out as safely and quickly as possible. So, I’m thinking…”

Makoto pointed out key points of the fortress. The majority of the building was underground, impossible to access through the fort itself except for the vault door that Ren had spotted - the heavily guarded one that Kaneshiro had escaped into. It was highly likely that it would be crawling with guards, now.

“But, if you look here…” She indicated six rail lines heading into the complex, like spokes on a wheel. “It looks like there’s rail access to the underground, with six separate gates all around half a kilometre from the fort’s walls. It looks like they’ll take us within striking distance of the main vault, which is where I’d assume the Treasure will be. I can’t say how many guards we’d find once we’re underground, but this _ might _ be our way in.”

Ren leaned over the map. He traced a finger on the eastern-most one. “...This one. This would be the best one.” He tapped the rail line; it headed through a canyon. “The canyon would give us cover from prying eyes while we hijack the train. We have to assume that if we’re seen, they’ll just shut the train tunnel down.”

Makoto nodded, peering over the plans. “That’s true. We need to do some scouting, though. We don’t know anything about the schedule, or where or when these trains come and go… If we split up and go here and here, we should be able to get a good vantage point on all six routes…” She leaned over, bumping into Ren.

Ren didn’t seem to really notice, just looking down at the plans with interest.

Makoto felt a bit warm at the proximity. She quickly backed away. “Er, anyway. I think we don’t need to charge in tonight. We need to get some things, first. The main priority would be radios. The second thing would be some binoculars. I have one at home, for those.”

Ryuji nodded. “I have one too. For uh, _ bird _watching.”

Ren, still looking at the map, nodded. “So that’s what you call the woman who lives across the alley from you. Not very nice.”

“?! Bro! How did you know?!”

“Lucky guess.” Ren looked up, grinning.

Ryuji reached over to flick Ren’s forehead; Ren grabbed his hand.

Makoto smiled slightly, amused as Ryuji got the upper hand, pulling Ren into a figure-four leg lock. “How _ are _ you all funding this, anyway?”

“Ah. Well, we do sell the things we find in the Palaces…” Ann said. “But it’s not usually enough.”

Ren tapped out; Ryuji let him go. “I work a few part time jobs. And Ryuji works at Untouchable, too.”

“...Wait. How _ many _jobs are you working, Ren?” Makoto asked, suspiciously.

>>>

Ren sighed, as he and Ann walked away from Shujin.

“I didn’t think she’d tear that much of a strip out of me.” Ren said. “But at least now Yusuke’s going to get a job. And Ryuji’s going to actually ask for _ pay _ at Untouchable, instead of just gun parts.”

“You _ were _working too much, Ren.” Ann said, concerned. “Why didn’t you tell me? And why are you trying to do everything?”

“Well… I want to make sure we’re equipped well. You’re all important to me, and it would kill me if I saw any of you get hurt. _ Especially _ you. And I’m still trying to send money home to my parents.” Ren said. “As for not telling you, I didn’t want to worry you.”

“...But you told Makoto.” Ann said, looking away.

“Well, she _ asked _ \--...” Ren blinked. He noticed Ann clutch his elbow just a little harder. She was pouting a little. “...Are you _ jealous _?”

Ren grinned.

Ann scoffed. She let go of his arm. “_ Please _. As if.”

“You’re not fooling me. You’re pouting.”

“I’m _ not _.” She pouted more.

“You are. And it’s _ adorable _.” Ren said, laughing. He poked Ann’s cheek.

Ann started smacking his arm. “Don’t be so cocky, Wildcard! Can’t you see it?! She nearly had an aneurysm when you called her by her given name! She can’t look at you without blushing. If you weren’t mine, even _ I’d _ find it cute!”

Ren fended Ann off, still chuckling. He smiled a little as she stopped. “...I _ have _noticed. You’d have to be an idiot not to.”

“Then why aren’t you saying anything?!”

“Honestly? I don’t know what to say.” Ren said. “It’s not like I see her that way. It’s just an awkward thing to bring up… Actually, I was going to ask _ you _ what I should do.”

Ann blinked, taken aback. “...This is totally not how I thought this conversation would go. Aren’t you supposed to get all defensive and offended that I’d even worry? And then we’re supposed to not talk for a week while you and Makoto get even closer.”

Ren shook his head. “I’ve… I mean, Kana-chan’s read too much shoujo manga around me for me to go that way. My life’s too complicated for another love triangle.”

Ann let Ren’s obvious affinity for shoujo go for now. “Well... “ She sighed. “As much as I’d like you to blow her off, the truth is, I kinda get it. You were probably the first person to show her any kindness in a long time. And when you aren’t being a cocky ass and _ actually _smile... Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were her first crush, actually.”

“I _ am _ pretty lovable.”

“Not right now you aren’t.” Ann rolled her eyes. She sighed. “I think… I think right now, you should let her have her feelings. She’s probably trying to figure them out, herself. I can’t imagine how long she’s been burying everything. I’ll… I’ll bring it up with her when the time’s right.”

Ren nodded. “That’s partly why I couldn’t just leave her alone at Shinoda’s. She seemed as trapped as I was. As you were.”

Ann sighed. “Still. Seeing you boxing at your best, with that little smile of yours. I wasn’t ready to share that with _ another _girl.”

“Hm. How about if I give you something else?”

“Don’t be crass. Bachan’s home.”

“Hah. That’s not what I meant. Let’s go to Shinjuku. Let me show you the job I’m going to keep after quitting the Beef Bowl, the 7-11, and flower shop.”

>>>

In Tsukishima, Ryuji dragged Yusuke, Makoto and Mona along for some team building.

“Seriously, you guys are gonna _ love _ this! It’s the best monjayaki you’ll find! And cheap, too.” Ryuji grinned, checking his phone. “Shiho and Mishima are already there!”

Makoto frowned, recalling her last encounter with Shiho. “Are… are you sure it’s okay if I come?” 

Ryuji waved a hand. “I texted Ann, she texted Shiho. It’s all water under the bridge! Come on!”

They walked in; Ryuji sighed the two at a booth. He waved enthusiastically, already shouting his order before even sitting down. The staff laughed, quite familiar with Ryuji’s antics.

As Makoto approached, to her surprise, Shiho stood up.

They both faced each other - and bowed deeply.

“Suzui-san, I’m sorry for everything!”

“Niijima-senpai, I’m sorry!”

They blinked, standing awkwardly for a moment before breaking into relieved laughter, sitting down.

The group started chatting and eating as the food came; Ryuji and Yusuke ran the grill, arguing good naturedly about the best ingredients.

Makoto smiled, happy to be included. But she glanced at the entrance from time to time.

“Makoto?”

The brunette looked at Shiho, seated beside her.

“What’s up? You keep looking at the door.”

“Ah… I was wondering if we should call Ren and Ann…” Makoto said.

“Oh. Don’t worry about _ those _ two.” Shiho said, laughing.

“So… it’s true, then? They’re dating?” Makoto said, unable to keep all the disappointment out of her voice.

Ryuji laughed, his mouth full. “Worst kept secret in our group. They don’t even really hide it anymore around us.”

Mona sighed. “Ren doesn’t even bother coming up with believable lies anymore for when he isn’t planning to come home. He just says something like ‘there’s a sale’ or ‘I need to return a DVD.’ He doesn’t even have a disc player!”

Makoto’s eyes widened; her face turned red. “He doesn’t go home?! Are.. are they… but they’re students!”

Ryuji shrugged. “RenRen won’t say. And if we try to ask…”

The boys all shivered.

Shiho just smirked a little. “Do you really think that Ren could keep his hands off of her? And that Ann could keep her hands, teeth, and whatever else off of _ that _?”

Mona sighed. “Ann-dono…”

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Please. What does he have that I don’t? Or Yusuke for that matter. I mean, he’s not _ that _ great, he—“

“He’s an amazing fighter!” Makoto said, heatedly. “He’s kind, too, when he’s not being a sarcastic ass. And he cares so much… …about all of us…”

She trailed off.

“A...Anyway. I need to use the restroom. Excuse me.”

Makoto stood up, heading to the bathroom. Inside, she stood over the sink, splashing some cool water on her face. _ ‘This is just an infatuation. He’s my first friend in years. He treats everyone well; Ann especially, because…’ _

She shook her head, murmuring. “It’s not fair…”

The door opened as she spoke. Shiho walked in, coming to stand beside Makoto. “Hey. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just needed to freshen up a bit.” Makoto smiled uncertainly, turning back to the mirror. She took out the one cosmetic-like item she had; lip balm.

“Mm.” Shiho turned to the mirror, making a show of checking her own hair and makeup. “You know, Mako-chan, you’re pretty cute.”

Makoto startled, fumbling it. “Wh-what?!”

“You’re pretty cute. That’s why I’m calling you Mako-chan.” Shiho said, smiling. “You have this _ massive _ crush on the champ - I mean, Ren - and you’re trying to hide it. Only failing at it. _ Badly _.”

“I… I _ don’t! _”

“Yep. That confirms it.” Shiho said. “...Don’t worry. I won’t tell Ann. But you need to understand - she probably knows already. She probably knew before _ you _ knew. She’ll be too nice to say anything, though…”

Shiho sighed. “But don’t expect her to give Ren up for you. And don’t expect him to give _ her _ up, either. The only reason you see the Ren there is now, is because of Ann. He was in a bad place, and she hauled him out of it. Even tried to give him space to recover from it. But they’re just… drawn to each other. I don’t think either of them was ready, really. But the heart wants what it wants?”

Makoto looked at Shiho. “...I’m… I’m not even sure what this is. I’ve never even had time to _ think _ this way before.”

“...Yep. Adorbs.” Shiho grinned, poking Makoto’s cheek.

Makoto blinked. “You’re… you’re not going to threaten me? Tell me to stop? To stay away?”

Shiho shook her head. “That’s just stupid. Like I said, the heart wants what it wants. And it’s hilarious to see you trying to hide it. So long as you’re straightforward about it… If you decide you want to clear the air or get it off your chest and tell him, fine. Do it and accept the result.”

“...And if I’m not straightforward?”

“You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Shiho smiled. “I hope you don’t do that, though. I think Ann and I could use another friend that isn’t a dude.”

Makoto smiled. “Right. Thanks.”

The girls left the bathroom. Ryuji and Yusuke were already at the front, waiting for them.

Makoto paused, hearing a familiar voice. She put a hand on Shiho’s shoulder, halting her before they came out from behind the half-wall separating the bathroom from the booths.

“Now that Kamoshida’s gone, I have a real chance…”

_ ‘Yamauchi-sensei…?’ _

At the mention of Kamoshida, Shiho narrowed her eyes. She took out her phone, recording the conversation.

“Really? What are you planning to do?”

“Heh. Well, you know how the track team fell apart because of the shit Kamoshida pulled? What if a caring new advisor stepped in and resurrected the team? It’ll be great. I’ll even hire an actual track coach who answers to me, but I’ll make sure I get all the credit…”

“Nice. And without any other real sports club, you’ll have no concern about funding.”

“That’s right. Kawakami started a boxing club or something, but it’s full of misfits. The president is even that transfer, the convict.”

“Well, that convict topped his grade during exams…”

“True. It’ll be fine, though. All I need to do is clean the team of troublemakers and discontents, like Nakaoka, and then I can work on cleaning out the competition. Kamoshida did it before, I’m sure I can pull it off too. The new kid I’m grooming for captain, Takeishi, his mom’s loaded and on the PTA. All I need to do is suggest that the boxing club is unnecessarily drawing funds, or even intimidating the poor track team…”

“You’re gonna look like a hero!”

“I know, right?”

Makoto and Shiho exchanged glances. Quietly, they made their way to the boys, recording in hand.

>>>

Ann followed Ren into Crossroads, a little before the post-dinner crowd. There was no one in the bar other than Lala.

Ann didn’t even blink an eye at Lala, giving her a friendly wave. The model apparently had already met all sorts of people in her short career.

“Hello! I’m Ann Takamaki, Ren’s girlfriend.”

“Oh! You’re the blonde model that Ichi-chan mentioned. The one who was ‘probably’ dating Miyaya, here.” Lala looked Ann up and down. “...Wow, kid. I hope you lock this one down.”

Ann grinned, nudging Ren. “Miyaya? That’s _ adorable _.”

Ren sighed. “It’s _ something _.”

Lala laughed. “Anyway. You’re a bit early for your set, kid. Want a drink or something?”

“The usual, Lala. Do you mind if I get started a little early?” He glanced at the blonde girl at his side.

Lala understood immediately. “Not a problem. You can get changed in the back.”

Ann blinked. “Changed…?”

“Just have a seat at the piano over there, Ann. This is the job. I’ll be providing some live music for Lala. I’m not great, but… for what it’s worth, I’d like you to be there for the first song on the job?” Ren said. “First time I’ve actually performed in over a year in any kind of setting… Audition for this job notwithstanding.”

She beamed at him. “Sounds great!”

She sat at the piano, running her fingers over the smooth keys. Ann didn’t play; she sang a bit, though. Part of her training at the agency. While she had no interest in becoming an idol or next Rise Kujikawa, she knew that such skills made her look more appealing for jobs in general.

She heard Ren step out from the staffroom, turning to look. “That took awhile, what were.. ..oh. Oh, wow.”

Ren smiled, looking a little bashful. He wore a black suit and white shirt, complete with skinny tie. “Lala insisted I look the part. How is it? I don’t actually own a suit of my own, so I have no clue.”

“I… ...piano. Suit. Clothes words.” Ann said, half-serious, half-making fun of Ren’s reaction to her in his hoody and nothing else.

Ren laughed. He sat down, checking if the piano was in tune and warming up again.

“Any requests, Ann?”

“Mm-mm.” She shook her head. “Whatever you think.”

Ren nodded. He started playing the notes to _ Fly Me to the Moon _.

As the first verse started, Ann looked at Ren with anticipation, but frowned, as he didn’t sing. “...You don’t sing?”

Ren kept playing. “Nope. It terrifies me.”

“Really? Are you _ that _ bad?” Ann asked, amused. 

“...No? I don’t know. I just… don’t like doing it in front of people. Reiko caught me, once. I shut up immediately and never did it around her again.” Ren said.

“Ah. That’s too bad…” Ann said. She smiled, eyeing Ren sidelong. In the dim light of the bar, in that suit, he was a different kind of handsome. An old-world good looking. He was just missing the cigarette. She leaned against him, waiting as the song came around to another verse.

Ren missed a note as Ann started to sing. He barely recovered, trying to concentrate on the keys as he listened to her.

_ Fill my heart with song _  
_ And let me sing forever more _  
_ You are all I long for, all I worship, and adore _  
_ In other words, please be true _ _  
_In other words… I love you

She didn’t look up, feeling a little embarrassed. She glanced down the bar; Lala was respectfully minding some glasses and bottles facing the other direction.

Ann looked up at Ren, hearing nothing but silence from him. “Ren? Was I that bad? I mean, I’m not trying to be the next Rise, but.. ..”

He was staring at her, blankly. As if he was looking at her for the first time again. Befuddled and bespectacled, like the day under the awning.

She let out a soft giggle, a blush forming on her cheeks.

“Did I make you fall in love with me again, Wildcard?”

“You do that every day, Songbird.”

“...Songbird? You know, only boy birds sing.”

“Misconception. In 71% of all songbird species, the girl sings, too.”

“Mmhm.”

“The reason why isn’t fully understood, though. In males, they do it to attract mates, but for female birds…”

“Ren?”

“..Yeah?”

“You should kiss me, now.”

“...Right.”

>>>

June 25, 20xx 

On Saturday after school, the Phantom Thieves sat around the spread out architectural plan in the club room. It had now been thoroughly annotated. The team had been busy. They had found out that the two way radios did indeed work. They also managed to learn that the fort around the bank would indeed be suicidal to assault; the towers were bristling with gatling guns and spotlights and the battlements were crawling with guards.

They had also learned as much as possible about the trains without actually boarding one. The rear was defended by a heavily armored caboose that contained only guards and guns. The eight cars after were either cash or ‘goods’ of some variety. After the freight cars were a passenger car that seemed to hold the conductor in charge of the train, and then the steam engine itself.

There was, however, one problem.

“There’s _ no _ schedule.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “There’s no way we can guarantee which route is going to be in use at any given time.”

“So… all that work… it’s been for nothing?!” Ryuji said.

“Not for nothing.” Ren said. “If we have to improvise and hijack whatever train is going, we can at least get on board with the equipment we have. The issue is going to be if we’re seen. They’ll just not open the gate for the train, and we’ll be sitting ducks.”

Ann sighed. “And that’ll be our only shot, anyway. Once Kaneshiro knows we’re targeting the trains, he’ll be ready for another attempt.”

“That’s right.” Ren said. “Basically, we have to secure our infiltration route on a single attempt.”

Yusuke frowned. “If only there was a way to force Kaneshiro to use the route through the canyon.”

“Hrm. Well. We can’t make _ Shadow _ Kaneshiro do that. But if we can change Kaneshiro’s cognition..”

Ren waved a hand over the routes. “Well, we did figure out that these routes all correspond to specific alleyways around Kaneshiro’s hideout. If we can somehow block off the alleys in reality, and make him aware of it…”

Makoto shook her head. “Too dangerous. We’re all known to him, now.”

Ren frowned. “What other option do we have? I think if I get there late at night, I should be able to take care of it--”

Both Ann and Makoto rounded on Ren, yelling in unison. “_ No! _”

The girls looked at each other. Awkward, for a moment. And then a shared, resigned smile.

Ren raised his hands. “Right, fine. No crazy, stupid, quasi-suicidal ideas… Let’s all sleep on it. Relax a bit, and try to figure something out.”

The Phantom Thieves adjourned, collecting their notes and gear.

Mona, now without even asking, followed Makoto out. She had become the cat’s other place to stay when Ren was ‘out’. Sae was rarely home, and seemingly didn’t care about the occasional furry guest.

Ren shrugged, looking at Ann. “At least he doesn’t say something snide, anymore.”

Ann sighed, crossing her arms. “It’s a little weird that they all pretty much know now.”

“Hm. Did you want me to _ not _ stay over, then…?” He gave her a knowing smile.

Ann rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky you’re as pretty as you are cocky. But aren’t you even a _ little _ embarrassed?”

“A little. But they won’t talk about it.” Ren said. “The guys, at least.”

“I _ still _ don’t know what you did to them.” Ann said, laughing.

They left the club room, exiting the school’s main building shortly after.

“Nothing, really. Just taught them some manners.”

“Right. So _ manners _ is why they all shiver when they think about what happened…” Ann said, looking up at Ren. She blinked. He looked grim, suddenly.

“Ann. Stop.”

Ren held an arm out, stopping her.

In front of the two Phantom Thieves, stood Kentaro Yamada and his gang of delinquents.

“Yamada. How can I help you?” Ren asked, cautiously. There were no teachers in sight. There were six boys in front of him, all fairly rough looking. And on top of that, Ann was there.

So far, Ren had managed to avoid actually punching anyone, other than the doorman he sucker punched outside Kaneshiro’s hideout. It was something he was actually grateful for - using his fists to hurt someone in the real world outside of the ring, even in self-defense, felt like it was crossing yet another line.

But if they went after Ann…

Ren tensed.

Yamada stepped forward… and dropped into _ seiza _, bowing. The other five followed suit, speaking in unison.

“Aniki!”

“...Uwah!?” Ren exclaimed, startled.

Yamada looked up at Ren, eyes shining. With admiration. “Please! This gang is yours, now, aniki! You beat me, fair and square… And the way you looked down at me, like you were going to finish me off just to prove a point… _ That’s _the kind of ruthless badassery that we aspire to!”

_ ‘...Badassery? Seriously?’ _

Ann started laughing. “Oh my _ God _. You really are a delinquent now. It’s the start of Yankii-Ren, the Kamakura Killer--”

“Anesan, I’m glad you’re here, too! I wanted to apologize for things I’ve said. Please, punish me however you want!”

“...Anesan?”

Ren looked at Ann. “The title given to the wife of a gang leader. Congratulations, _ dear _.”

Ann turned bright red. This was _ not _ how she had imagined married life with Ren. “No. This is _ not _ happening. Listen, you idiotic, knuckle dragging…”

As Ann berated Yamada, grabbing him by his collar, Ren counted the gang members again.

_ ‘...Six.’ _

“Ann? Don’t be mad...”

The blonde looked up. She had just slapped Yamada; the teenaged tough was actually _ thanking _ her for it.

“I think we can now safely do something stupid.”

>>>

June 26, 20xx 

_ Route 1 _

One of Kaneshiro’s men, a bald, skinny man, stepped out of his car, blinking blearily. It was early in the morning, but they had their first couriers due shortly, carrying freshly washed cash. He stepped into the first of the six main routes they used, a small alleyway that eventually led to Kaneshiro’s hideout. stretching with a deep yawn.

He promptly retched and gagged. The alleyway was _ filled _ with rotting, dead fish.

“Oh.. oh my God. That… that smell can’t be allowed. Is… ...how can fish be _ that _ rotten? Holy… ...urk. Gotta call the boss… Holy _ shit _…”

_ Route 2 _

At another route, this one going through a small park, another man rolled his eyes, reading a text.

“Freaking Baldy… it’s just fish. What’s the big deal? Whatever…”

“Hey! Hey, watch where you’re walking!”

He blinked, nearly walking into an elderly woman performing tai chi. One of _ many _ elderly women and men. They filled the entire park, making it nearly impossible to pass through without drawing a lot of attention.

“..H-Hey! You guys can’t be here!”

“Calm down, sonny. You should join us!”

“No, I’m fine-- Hey, where do you think you’re touching? Oh, fuck. We can’t force this many old people out of here. I gotta tell Kaneshiro…”

_ Route 3 _

Two couriers looked helplessly down the alley at Kaneshiro’s sentry. Their shoes were a few metres behind them, glued to the ground. Their feet were now glued to the ground. Shaking his head, the henchman took out his cellphone.

_ Route 4 _

Raccoons. So. Many. Raccoons.

_ Route 5 and 6 _

Yamada frowned. The garbage truck had broken down at the exact wrong moment - they were unable to block off the last route completely. He took out his cell phone as he ducked behind a corner, hearing Kaneshiro’s man yelling at the driver in the background.

“Aniki! It’s as you predicted. The first four were easy, but we couldn’t get number five. The one right beside six.”

“It’s no problem, Yamada. You and the boys did well. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes, aniki! Let us know when you need us again!”

>>>

On the walkway above Shibuya, Ren hung up with his trademark smirk. He looked at the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

“We’re on. Yusuke, we’ll need you and Mona. As expected.”

Makoto shook her head. “I still can’t believe you got them to pull that off. What did you even tell them?”

“I just looked mysterious and told them, ‘you don’t want to know why’. They were suitably impressed, took the pay, and performed.” Ren said, shrugging. “I could get used to this…”

Ryuji grinned. “From Kamakura face-puncher to leader of your very own yankii gang.”

“You sure you don’t want to join?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’d fit right in.”

“Oh, really? I’ll just make sure it’s fine with anesan--Ow!”

Ann gripped Ryuji’s ear, smiling pleasantly. “Shall we?”

“You bet, Songbird. Come on, you rogues. It’s showtime!”

>>>

A short time later, a steam engine barreled down the track of Route 5, headed for Kaneshiro’s bank and fort.

Ren watched through binoculars alongside Makoto, at the top of the canyon that Route 6 ran through. He tapped the radio headset he wore on his ear.

“Fox. It’s Route 5.”

“Understood. Stand by.”

>>>

Over a kilometre away, Yusuke lay prone on a hill, staring down the scope of the extra rifle Ryuji had provided for this specific purpose. It was an M24, kitted with a bipod and long range Leupold scope. Morgana stood beside him, also holding binoculars, with Ryuji and Ann waiting at the bottom of the hill.

Yusuke held his breath, focusing in the same way he did when he painted. He let the world around him disappear. When he painted, there was only the brush, the canvas, and the subject.

Now, there was only the rifle, the target, and his heartbeat.

It was so distinct, so regular, that it seemed obvious to him - he should hold his breath, and fire between heartbeats to minimize the vibration to the gun.

“Mona - _ now _.” Yusuke said, his finger squeezing the trigger.

“Zorro!” Mona cried. His Persona appeared, creating an _ absence _ of wind between Yusuke and the target.

The shot rang out - moments later, there was a distinct ‘ping’ as the bullet struck the rail switch, little bigger than a dinner plate. It flipped, diverting the train towards Route 6.

“Nice shot! Let’s move!” Mona yelled. “Joker! We’re en route!”

Mona ran down the hill, Yusuke close behind. The not-a-cat transformed into his bus form, the three thieves getting in. The cat-bus sped off in hot pursuit of the train.

>>>

Ren looked at Makoto. “They’ve done it. Train’s on the way to Route 6. Why so nervous?”

Makoto blinked. “Hm? Oh. Just… worried. So much of this plan is based on the map I found. If I missed something, or if something changed…”

Ren smiled, reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this. If things change… We’ll adapt. Having a plan is good, but we can’t predict _ everything _.”

Makoto averted her eyes from that smile. “R-right.”

Her worry was _ part _ of it. The other part was that soon, she’d be astride Johanna, with Ren on the Persona slash bike, _ right _ behind her. Probably holding onto her. She didn’t know whether to be happy or mortified or guilty.

The sound of a roaring engine and gunfire distracted her from that line of thought. Ren looked through the binoculars, following the tracks to the train. Just behind the train, dust flew up behind the dark shape that was Mona. The cat-bus swerved erratically, avoiding gunfire and explosions.

>>>

“How did we get stuck in this role?!” Ryuji yelled, leaning out the side door of Mona as he fired his new USAS-12 automatic shotgun. The blasts sounded like a jackhammer as he opened fire on the guards in the caboose, who were forced to take cover from the spray of pellets.

“Oh, you know. Something about how the shotguns and grenades you use aren’t the greatest thing to have near a steam engine!” Ann shouted, firing her UMP.

“Ah. _ Right _ . It has _ nothing _ to do with your tendency to light everything on fire!”

“That was _ once _ . I swear to God, a girl lights _ one _ guy on fire, and then just a _ little _ museum wing…”

Yusuke swerved. “Panther! You’re up!”

“Right!”

Ann agiley swung out the window of the moving cat-bus, perching on the roof in a three point stance as Ryuji laid down suppressing fire. The shadow guards peeked out over cover, taking aim with their lever action rifles and revolvers. A wash of flame forced their heads down again.

Yusuke accelerated within dangerous range of the caboose, and then slammed on the brakes.

Ann leapt into the air.

The suppressing fire gone, the guards looked back at the cat-bus, now out of range of their weapons. The red-latex clad vixen was no longer to be seen on the roof of the bus, either.

“Hi, boys.” Ann’s voice came from above, now. Carmen hovered behind her, arms crossed. Ann wiggled her fingers, winking as a blast of flame shot through the caboose, incinerating the guards within as the metal car was turned into an oven.

Mona drove up, matching speeds with the train as Ryuji disembarked. He whistled, looking inside the caboose. “_ Damn _, Panther. That’s hot.”

“I see what you did there.” Ann said, smirking. She swung down into the car. “Ready for Phase 2?”

Ryuji cocked his shotgun. He stepped forward, kicking open the door to the next car. “Let’s make some noise!”

>>>

Ren watched as Mona peeled off, heading away towards the fort.

“Queen. We’re up. We’ve got a train to catch.”

Makoto couldn’t help but smile at the codename. When they had asked her what she wanted, all she had to do was think of how she felt when she had Awakened. Powerful. In charge. Fearless.

And, coupled with Ren’s use of ‘Your Excellency’, it seemed perfect.

At least, she felt powerful and in charge when Ren _ wasn’t _ this close to her. She squeaked, as Ren got on behind her, his arms going around her waist. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Let’s go! Ann and Ryuji are going to draw the guards to the back, but we have a limited amount of time to take the engine!”

“R-R-R-Right!” Makoto got out, her face on fire. She was glad Ren couldn’t see. She gunned it, Johanna roaring as they shot along the top of the canyon edge.

It was going to be easy, in theory. Go at full speed, along the top edge of the canyon. Ride _ off the edge _ of the canyon. Land on top of the train barreling along at something like 150 kilometres per hour. That’s all she had to do. With the boy she had a crush on clinging to her, his arms around her waist in a way that she had occasionally allowed herself to think about before bed. 

_ ‘Yep. Easy.’ _

“Queen… We’re running out of canyon already!”

Makoto frantically looked down at the train, and at their remaining ground. It would be enough. _ Barely. Maybe. _

She swerved, aiming at the longest portion of the cliff remaining.

They shot over the edge; Makoto wanted to close her eyes, but couldn’t. She stared down at the train as it rapidly grew larger, along with the ground on either side of it. It was such a thin target. Maybe 3 metres. As the world grew quiet around her, she idly thought of trivia she had heard, once.

_ ‘...The width of a railroad track is actually similar to a Roman horse chariot…’ _

“Arsene!”

She was suddenly scooped off of Johanna, who vanished back into Makoto’s mask. The fall was suddenly slowed, as Ren gripped Arsene’s hand with his left, the spectral thief’s perpetual grin wide as his black wings carried them softly to the top of the train.

Makoto clung to Ren, arms around his neck as he still held onto her waist. They landed on top of the train. Hurriedly, she separated herself from him, glancing at him self-consciously.

He was all business. He glanced back down the train, a look of concern crossing his face before Arsene vanished, the mask reappearing. He drew Vengeance, looking up toward the engine.

“Come on. Skull and Panther are waiting for us.”

>>>

Ryuji and Ann took cover behind stacks of gold bars; a hail of gunfire from the gatling guns held by the guards in front of the reinforced door blocking them from the final car before the steam engine.

“What do you think’s keeping Joker and Queen?” Ryuji asked, as he pulled the pin from a grenade, throwing it over his shoulder. There was an explosion and a gratifying yell as the shadows were finished. In a few moments, though, more materialized out of the ether.

Ann turned, lashing out with her whip, the flaming weapon blazing through and bisecting an approaching Oni.

“He’s got this. He and Queen fight well together.”

“Yeah, they do look pretty good together-- Hey! Watch your fire!”

“There was a shadow _ right _ there.”

“Sheesh…”

The guards vanished; the reinforced door suddenly unlocked.

Ann and Ryuji cautiously moved forward, their weapons at the ready. The two blondes came to a stop, training their weapons on a shadow dressed in a blue conductor’s uniform, complete with the hat.

They looked past him.

Ren and Makoto walked through the door into the car from the engine.

The conductor laughed. “Ah. I wasn’t aware we were taking passengers. Do you have your tickets…?”

The laugh was ominous. More shadow started to gather at the feet of the humanoid being. The lights in the car started to dim.

Ren cocked his head, as if listening to something. He then smiled. “Our ticket’s right outside that window.”

“...What?” The shadow conductor drifted over to the window, looking out.

A shot rang out, shattering the glass - and perforating the head of the conductor.

The lights in the car returned to normal as the shadow dissipated, and the train finally exited the canyon. Ren tapped his radio.

“Hell of a shot, Fox. Mona. Status?”

“You’re clear, Joker. The fort’s quiet, no sign that they know you’ve taken the train.”

“Good. You guys ready for your part, then?”

A shot rang out over the radio, followed by the sound of Goemon using an ice spell. And then, Fox’s voice.

“Already started, Joker. We’ll continue harrying the guards on the battlements up here. Hopefully it will draw more guards out of the underground citadel.”

“Right. Nice work.” Joker looked up at his team. “That goes for all of us.”

Ann walked up to Ren, smiling in relief. She pushed her mask out of the way and took hold of his coat, smoothing out his lapels. “It figures that any plan you come up with would make sure that taking on a caboose full of armed guards in a cat-bus _ isn’t _ the craziest part. Glad to see you survived riding off the edge of a cliff.”

She glanced over at Makoto, and then spoke in a lower voice, just for Ren. With that little pout that she knew he loved. “Though, I’m a little sad. I thought I’d be the only girl you _ fell _ for.”

Ren smirked at her. “If it makes you feel any better, I missed you. Risk of combustion and everything.”

Ann stood on her toes, her lips brushing his cheek. “I lit you on fire _ once _.”

Ryuji coughed.

Ren and Ann just shrugged, heading to the engine room.

Ryuji sighed, looking at Makoto. “They’re the worst in the Metaverse. We’re all less inhibited, I guess… ...Makoto? You alright?”

“Hm? Oh. Fine. Just _ fine _.” Makoto said, following the two.

They stood in the engine, looking ahead - a massive metal gate, built into the ground, loomed. It creaked open and the train shot through, bearing the Phantom Thieves underground.

The infiltration had finally started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really wanted to write a train heist as being part of this. That was probably the main reason why the shift to a Western motif. It also works well for the cognition of money laundering/smurfing (more on this next chapter). Lots of fun to write.
> 
> Prosecutest - I can't take credit for this one. There's a hilariously cute comic where Ren calls Sae this.
> 
> Mawashi geri - Roundhouse kick. I keep using this term instead of 'roundhouse kick' because it reminds me of one of my favorite manga, "Say I love you", where the protagonist meets her love interest by kicking him in the face. Literally. No, this doesn't mean I'm going NTR here. ShuAnn lovers relax.
> 
> Speaking of Makoto - she's a bit of a mixed bag in terms of emotion/character. She's organized, together, and smart - but she hasn't had the chance to develop socially. Sort of like a medical/surgical resident (you spend all of high school studying your ass off. Then undergrad. Then medical school. And then, finally, residency - you're still short on time, but you can _maybe_ start putting together the rest of your life). So... she's immature/uncertain in other areas.
> 
> Giving her the Detective Special from Blade Runner seemed perfect. Dystopian future gun, dystopian future armor... bingo.
> 
> Ren and Shoujo - He's a complete, closet dork for this stuff. If it exists, he's read it.
> 
> 7-11 exists in Japan. Go figure
> 
> Raccoons - I'll let your imagine run wild there


	16. Cutman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Aside from the chief second, another important member of the corner is the cutman - the person responsible for treating the physical damage done to a fighter between rounds. The cutman will treat lacerations, swelling, and nosebleeds. A good cutman is essential to victory, especially in an extended battle. This was a decisive difference in Tyson v. Douglas. Mike Tyson, the heavily-favored undisputed heavyweight champion, lost to the unheralded Douglas. Tyson’s corner had anticipated an easy victory: they didn’t even bring ice packs._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor P5R spoilers. (use of announced characters/features)

June 26, 20xx 

The club that served as Kaneshiro’s hideout in Shibuya was on high alert. To an outsider, this would have been strange. The sabotage of four of the six typical routes for the exploited students/mules was annoying, but it wasn’t a disaster. The initial concern was that it was a harbinger for some kind of attack on the hideout. But, given the nature of sabotage, it seemed more like a harmless prank, just an attempt to waste some of the gang’s time. A minor irritation.

“You don’t know_?! _Someone had to have seen! How were there no witnesses to someone releasing thirty raccoons into a fucking Shibuya alley?! What the fuck do I pay you for?!”

There was a sound of shattering glass and spilling liquid as a yakuza henchman had a beer bottle shattered on his head.

To Junya Kaneshiro, there were no such thing as minor irritations. The man wasn’t gifted with intelligence or physical strength; he wasn’t even wealthy to begin with. He had risen to his position in the yakuza by being more ruthless, quicker to resort to violence, and faster to ‘cut the fat’ (be it underperforming businesses, equipment, or people) than anyone else. In short, Junya Kaneshiro was prone to such irrational and deadly rages that even stronger, smarter men were scared of him.

Kaneshiro seethed, as the man who had dared to report to him was dragged away bleeding and covered in stale beer.

“Round EVERYONE up. Tell all the mules to stop coming for today, get all of our men here. This is an attack until proven otherwise!” He screamed.

“_ No one _ fucks with Junya Kaneshiro!”

>>>

“Man, fuck Kaneshiro.” Ryuji grumbled. “How does such a small, fat asshole have such a huge Palace? We’ve been walking for like hours.”

The train had stopped partway down the track; to Makoto’s estimate, about three quarters of the way into the complex.

“Makes you really wish Mona was here…” Ryuji continued.

Ren’s lip quirked in a half-smile. “For you to say that, you must be pretty tired of walking. It’s only been fifteen minutes, by the way.”

“Well, it feels like it’s been forever.” Ryuji said, sighing. He held his shotgun over his shoulder.

Ren glanced down the long railway tunnel; it was still dark and quiet, no sign of the end. “You’ve been a bit irritable, Ryuji. Something going on?”

“Ah… ...well…” Ryuji said, frowning.

“We found out that Shujin’s track team is at risk of being taken advantage of the same way the volleyball team was.” Makoto said. “By Yamauchi-sensei.”

Ren looked at Ryuji. “And you didn’t tell me, because…?”

“Ah… y’know, man. You’ve got enough on your plate already.” Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to just throw things at you.”

“Hey, Ryuji. You can always tell me anything. I’m not going to automatically charge in and do stuff.”

Ann, at Ren’s side, rolled her eyes. “Riiiight. That’s totally why you _ aren’t _ helping Takemi-sensei with experiments. And why you _ aren’t _ treating Shin-chan like he’s the younger brother you always wanted. And why you _ aren’t _helping Iwai out with his son…”

Ren laughed. “Point taken. I’m probably going to go and make this my business. Maybe even go and punch another teacher.”

Makoto shook her head. “You won’t have to punch anyone. We already took care of it. I recorded a pretty incriminating conversation he was having with another teacher and we sent it anonymously to the current captain’s mother, an influential PTA member. She won’t be happy to learn that her beloved son is only on the team for her money. And, that Yamauchi plans on using him for his own benefit. Ryuji’s feeling irritable because now we can’t do anything but wait.”

Ren nodded approvingly. “Nice. Your idea?”

Ryuji nodded. “Shiho recorded it, but Makoto had the idea to send it on. I wanted to go find the asshole in Mementos, but she figured out a way to take care of the problem without us actually risking ourselves in there.”

“Glad you’re here to look out for us, Makoto.” Ren said. He looked up as Ann interrupted; she sounded just a little irritated.

“Joker.” Ann said, quietly. She raised her weapon as they rounded a curve, finally reaching the station. There were no guards in sight. The team approached cautiously.

“Fox and Mona must be causing enough trouble up top to keep them occupied.” Ren said, climbing up from the track to the platform.

Makoto nodded, getting up alongside Ren. “Hm. Or the stunt you pulled with Yamada’s gang has altered Kaneshiro’s cognition enough that he’s no longer operating his couriers. You were right. We only had one shot at using the trains. We should clear the station carefully and look for some indication of what to expect next.”

“Right.” Ann said, touching Ren’s forearm. “Joker and I will take the left.”

She moved on without another word; Ren followed, raising an eyebrow.

They started checking their half of the station. Ren looked at Ann curiously.

“...Sorry, Wildcard.” Ann said, shaking her head quickly. Like she was trying to clear it. “Sometimes, when I look at you and Makoto near each other, Carmen doesn’t have very… _ nice _… things to say. To quiet her down, I had to get you away from Makoto. Carmen’s been getting harder to ignore.”

“I know what you mean.” Ren said, pushing a door open to a small utility closet. “At least in the real world, we can’t hear our other selves. I just get these _ feelings _ . Like when I do something Arsene approves of, it feels… good. Or _ right _. Like when the plan with Yamada’s boys worked. It was clever subterfuge, and he liked it.”

“Mm.” Ann said in agreement. “For Carmen, it’s like when… ..”

“Ann?” He looked at her as she trailed off. To his surprise, her face was red, her eyes averted from Ren.

“...usually it has to do with you.” Ann said, quietly. Her tone of voice and blush told him exactly _ what _ about him Carmen approved of.

Ren tried not to laugh as they kept going. He turned as he heard Ryuji’s voice.

“Hey! Joker, Panther! You should come and see this!”

Ann and Ren headed to the other side of the station into what looked like a dispatch office. Makoto and Ryuji stood at the desk, looking through a logbook.

“Joker… look at the names in the book.” Makoto said. “The trains. This one’s called the ‘Iida Express’. And the ‘Takanashi Line’. They’re all named after people, and a lot of them seem to be Shujin students.”

Ren nodded, grimly. He ran his finger across the page as he read. “Makes sense. And you were right. There isn’t any real schedule to it. It just… …”

Ren froze, his hand stopping over the final column of the table. The color drained from his face.

“...Ren?” Ann asked, concerned.

“Son of a _ bitch _ !” Ren snarled. “God _ damn it _!”

“What? What is it!?” Ryuji exclaimed.

Makoto looked at Ren, wide-eyed. He looked as angry as he had seemed when she first confronted him and Ann outside the diner and insulted his friends.

“Look. Look at the dates.” Ren said. “Beside each of the trains. They come and go at random times, but there was a sudden increase in both the number of trains as well as the number of trips on May 28th. The day we took down Madarame.”

“That’s a huge coincidence…” Ann said, slowly.

Ren shook his head. “No. Not a coincidence. Kaneshiro was probably one of Madarame’s clients. We shut down Madarame’s money laundering, so Kaneshiro targeted more students to make up for it. He needed more mules so he could break up his money and goods into small packages, to launder his money and make his profits less traceable.”

He slammed the book shut. “He’s forced more students into debt, labor, and prostitution, and it’s our fault.”

>>>

One hundred meters above Ren and company, the town surrounding the fort that housed the Bank of Kaneshiro was dead quiet. The ‘real’ Kaneshiro’s cognition had certainly changed; Shadow Kaneshiro was trying to make moves to fortify the bank in the same way that the man was trying to fortify his hideout in the real world. A steam-powered wagon drove through the town at a fast clip. The shadows guarding it had no faces so to speak, but still somehow looked nervous.

They came to a halt in front of an overturned cart, in the middle of the street.

One of the guards jerked his head at his subordinate. “Move it out of the way. And hurry.”

The guard nodded, anxiously. Moving in a low crouch, the shadow stepped forward, struggling to flip the heavy cart right side up. There was a loud -_ crack- _as one of the iron bolts on the cart gave way, the wood breaking.

The guard looked back and forth to see if anyone had noticed the sound. He turned back to the wagon in short-lived relief.

The first guard, the one who had given the order, slumped down to the ground, bleeding from the hole in his head before vanishing into nothingness.

The guard at the broken cart drew his revolver, starting to shout a warning to the guards in the back of the wagon.

A shot through his brain stem silenced him as a black shape scampered out from under the wagon, running into cover. Morgana waved up at Yusuke, dozens of metres away from the high vantage point of a building further down the street. The cat-bandit grinned, and then pressed a button on a detonator.

The wagon exploded.

Shortly afterwards, Mona and Yusuke met up at a new vantage point overlooking the dusty town around the fort.

“This is going well.” Yusuke said, peering through the scope of his rifle at the surrounding streets before refocusing on the fort. The yard was crawling with shadows in the form of humanoid guards carrying rifles and revolvers. Other than that, there was just the single bank building they had escaped earlier in the middle of the wide open space.

“They keep sending guards out of the bank to try to look for us. I must say. This rifle is perfect for this task. Ryuji did well.”

“That ape has to be good at _ some _thing.” Mona said, smirking.

“You are terribly hard on him…” Yusuke said. “I hope things are going as well inside as they are out here.”

“Me too. I’m worried about Ann-dono…”

Yusuke glanced sidelong at Mona. “Are you still planning to pursue her?”

“Why not?! The only thing you and Ren have on me is that you’re already human! The moment I fix that, I’ll…”

“I’m no longer interested in Ann. As a model, or romantically.” He paused, looking up from the scope. “...I’m not certain I ever really was truly interested romantically.”

“What do you mean?”

Yusuke shrugged. “Once I learned where Sayuri came from - the product of my mother's love - it occurred to me that using Ann as a model would be unlikely to result in the painting I’m trying to create. And after discussing things with Ren, I realized that a masterpiece like Sayuri is a work of a lifetime. A culmination of all of my experiences and skill. How can I expect to produce something like that when I haven’t really lived, yet?”

“Wow. Ren said all of that?”

Yusuke shook his head. “I believe he said something like, ‘Dude, do you think I expect to be able to move like Ali or punch like Manny already? No fucking way. I’ve got a hell of a lot more boxing to do’...”

The artist laughed at his own imitation of Ren. “For such a clever man, he can be terribly crass.”

Mona nodded. “See? That’s why when I become human, Ann will fall for me right away. I’m a true gentleman! I would never say things like that. I would treat her with respect, would take care of her every need, and make sure that she’s…” Mona went on with an increasingly cringeworthy description of placing Ann on a pedestal.

“If I may interrupt.” Yusuke said, quietly.

Mona blinked, his hand posed in the air dramatically. “But I was just getting to the part where I become rich and famous, and make sure Ann-dono doesn’t have to work again for the rest of her life…?”

“What do you like about Ann?”

Mona blinked. “W-well… She’s _ beautiful. _ And.. … and _ pretty _. And…”

Yusuke looked back through the scope of his rifle. “So, Morgana, your interest in Ann is really no different than what mine was.”

“What?! No! It’s completely different! You just wanted to paint her, because she’s… pretty. And… ...beautiful.” Mona finished, awkwardly. As he started to realize Yusuke was right, he doubled down on indignation. “Well, my love for her is _ way _ different! And she’ll see it one day, too!”

“That’s not good.”

“So you _ are _ against me!”

“No.” Yusuke pointed at the fort. “That’s not good.”

The guards in the fort were pulling aside tarps that had been covering hatches on the ground around the bank. Apparently, the space around the bank was wide open for a reason.

>>>

Back in the underground, the infiltration team was discovering that while Kaneshiro’s Palace had a distinctly wild west theme, the technology wasn’t entirely 19th century. Joker paused at the beginning of a long, conspicuously empty hallway just beyond the safe room they had rested briefly at. Through his Thief’s Eye, he saw that the entire floor was lined in a red glow. Ann looked at Ren; her concern from the dispatch office hadn’t abated. Since his reaction to the logbook, he had seemingly calmed down, but was pushing the pace hard. Their rest had only been a few minutes.

“Joker? What do you see?” Ann asked. By now, they had gotten used to his unique ability to ‘see’, even if he still wasn’t completely comfortable explaining how he had come by the Thief’s Eye.

“The hall’s trapped… Some sort of pressure device; sophisticated. Technology I wouldn’t have expected here, and it’s unavoidable.” Ren said, grimly. “The entire floor’s rigged.”

Makoto frowned. “We should try to find another way around, then. There may be a vent, or a…”

Ren stepped forward, tensing to sprint. “I’ll spring it. I should be able to avoid whatever happens. Panther, Queen - just be ready to heal me. It should be safe to follow after me.”

“No.”

“Right, so-- What?” Ren looked at Ann in some surprise. His orders were meant to be followed. He looked up just in time to see Ann’s whip enter his vision as she put it around his neck, hauling him back. He just managed to get his hands between the leather and his neck.

“Urk-- Ann?! What are you doing?!”

She dragged him back to the safe room, shoving him inside as she let go of the whip. She tossed her head angrily, looking at Ryuji and Makoto. “Figure something out about the trap. I’m going to _ talk _to Joker.”

She slammed the door shut behind them, locking it.

“Ann, what the hell are you doing? We need to get the infiltration route down today, we can’t afford to screw around--”

“We can’t afford to lose you. _ I _ can’t afford to lose you.” Ann said, approaching him. “You’re starting to act the same way as you did in Kamoshida’s Palace, Ren. You’ve been fighting hard,. That’s fine. You’ve been making us fight hard with you, that’s fine too. But you were about to run headlong into a trap, alone, without even knowing what it could have done to you.”

“Every second we waste, Kaneshiro’s could trap another student.” Ren said, stubbornly. “This is on me. I have to push us on.”

“Not everything is your responsibility, Ren.” Ann said, equally stubborn. “We all decided unanimously to go after Madarame. This is on all of us. Together. And that’s how we’re going to finish this, too. This is exactly what I told Reiko, when she was here and asking me how you were doing. You always do this! You carry everything, you put everyone’s burdens on your shoulders.”

Ren sat down on one of the chairs of the room, pushing his mask up and rubbing his face. “...Yeah. Yeah, Ann. I know. It was just a shock. We all thought we were big goddamn heroes, but we caused others to get hurt.”

Ann sighed, relaxing as she saw his barriers come down. “...I know. How do you think I feel? Thinking that because of what we did, there’s girls who… ...who’re being forced to do what I was almost forced to do. But, Ren. You have all of us, remember? You have me. You’ll get through this.”

Ren looked up, a weary smile on his face. “...I promised you, didn’t I?”

Ann nodded. She sat down on his lap, laying her head on his shoulder. “You did. And the guy I love keeps his promises.”

Ren hugged her. “...You know, you didn’t have to wrap the whip around my neck.”

Ann nuzzled his neck, a little like a cat. “Mm… Carmen thought it would be a good idea.”

“...Is Carmen also telling you it’s a good idea to do this?” Ren asked, his eyes automatically closing, his head tilting to allow Ann to continue, feeling light kisses along his skin. He felt a pleasurable chill rattle down his spine as she kissed his ear, the contact making a sound that always took him back to nights alone with her.

“Yeah. She did mention to me once that there wasn’t anything to gain from restraining myself. _ You _, though…”

“We should go. Ryuji and Makoto are waiting.” Ren said, regretfully.

“Remember what I said? Carmen’s getting a lot harder to ignore.” Ann murmured, tugging at his collar. She flicked open the top buttons of his waistcoat, putting her teeth on his collarbone.

“Come on, Ann…” Ren said, smiling at her insistence.

“No. I haven’t had enough yet.” Ann said, pouting.

“I’m a giant sucker for you, but we have a job to do, Songbird.” He kissed her, carefully helping her to her feet as he stood up himself. “...Thanks.”

“Hm. Not accepted. You can thank me properly later.” Ann bent down to adjust a boot, intentionally in Ren’s line of sight. She looked up at just the right moment to catch him ogling her cleavage. Her lips quirked in a smirk.

They both looked up at an exuberant yell and the sound of an explosion outside. They exited the safe room, to see Ryuji standing on Captain Kidd’s spectral ship alongside the pirate captain. The bottle blonde had his palm against the metal beam reinforcing the length of the hallway ceiling; sparks and smoke exploded out from the multiple gatling turrets that lined the hallway, previously hidden.

Ryuji dropped down, grinning. “Woo! Worked like a charm. Thanks, Cap’n!”

“You just shorted the trap?” Ren was impressed. Doing this required not only raw power, but also incredible control over Captain Kidd’s abilities.

“Yep! Easy!” Ryuji said, grinning broadly.

“Your control over your abilities is getting pretty impressive, Ryuji.” Ren said. “It’s _ shocking. _”

Makoto, Ann, and Ryuji stared at Ren in varying amounts of disapproval.

Ann sighed. “I guess I should be mad at myself for choosing you…”

Ryuji broke into a huge grin. “_ There’s _ the lame bastard I know. You know we all got your back, right?”

“Right. Thanks, Ryuji.” He looked at Ann. “I just need a reminder, from time to time.”

Ann smiled at him. “Anytime, Wildcard.” She moved forward alongside Ren.

Makoto waited a short distance before following, glancing at Ryuji. “She really knows him, doesn’t she?”

Ryuji nodded. “Yep. She’s the ‘easily provoked face puncher whisperer’. Even before they were really together.”

“Oh…”

He shrugged. “I’m his best friend. Best male friend. But she sees right through him…”

They exited the hallway into a large warehouse-like room, filled with stacks upon stacks of cash, shrink wrapped and placed on wooden pallets. They were stacked nearly to the ceiling, forming a literal maze of money. It was walls of green, interrupted only by the occasional pallet of gold bars.

“Holy…” Ryuji muttered, eyes wide. “I could get Chef Wakiya’s ramen every day for the rest of my life…”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Seriously?! The first thing you think of is ramen_ . _”

“It’s only served in New York!” Ryuji said, defensively. “And the guy’s an Iron Chef. The ramen is like twenty thousand yen per bowl.”

A voice from above drew the attention of three of four of the thieves. It was a voice that brought to mind hand-rolled cigarettes and boots dragging through gravel.

“Well, well, well… Some sneak thieves in after the boss’ loot…”

A figure dressed in black stood on a balcony overlooking the warehouse area. The majority of his face was covered in shadow, with only iron grey stubble on a square chin visible. Red eyes glowed from under the brim of the black cowboy hat he wore. Strangely, the dark color of his shirt was broken up by two silver slashes, crossed on the front like bandoliers. The warehouse somehow grew more silent, except for a single voice.

“Seriously? Twenty thousand yen? How does he justify that?” Ren asked, outright ignoring the man dressed in black.

Ryuji blinked, looking at Ren. Ren looked back at him expectantly. Ryuji slowly grinned.

“Oh. Well, there’s Kobe beef, and white truffle oil…”

“Really? And they just dump that into noodle soup…”

“‘Noodle soup’? Bro, come on. It’s more than that.”

“You don’t think it’s a waste?”

“I haven’t even gotten to the part about the edible 24 karat gold leaf he puts on there…”

“Alright, here. Tell me the name of this guy again, I’m going to look this up after--”

-_ Bang- _

A pinpoint gunshot went through the screen of Ren’s phone. Ren peered through the hole, and then looked up at the mysterious stranger.

“That phone was barely a year old, you walking stereotype! What the hell!?” Ren said, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

“That’s what you get for bein’ rude to the boss’ right hand. The name’s Loveless.”

“...Loveless? Not helping the stereotype thing.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow in mockery.

Ann started to raise her SMG - Ren shook his head slightly to stop her, his voice now taking a serious tone.

“Did anyone see him move his arm or draw his gun?” Ren asked, quietly.

Another shot rang out following a blur of motion, the bullet striking the ground just centimetres in front of Ann’s toe.

“Your leader’s sharper than he looks, sweetheart. I wouldn’t move an inch more, or there’s gonna be a non-anatomical hole in that pretty little head.”

“What do you want?” Ren said. “If you wanted us dead, you’d have done it by now.”

Loveless laughed. “Well. That ain’t any fun…”

His arm blurred again - three more shots in all, followed by metallic clinks on the floor, like loose change hitting the ground.

Ryuji watched as one of the three iron bolts rolled to a stop at his feet.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad, right, Joker? ...Joker?”

Ren’s eyes weren’t on the bolts. He looked up, watching as three of the shelves supporting the stacks of cash started to list, tilting towards the group of four. His eyes wide, he turned to his allies.

“Move! MOVE!--”

There was a deafening crash followed by silence.

>>>

A gauntleted hand burst out of a pile of cash. Makoto groaned, dragging herself out of the pile. She spotted a pink-gloved hand trying to do the same. The brunette ran over, skidding and slipping on the piles of paper and occasional gold brick, grasping Ann’s hand and hauling her out as well. The two girls were still dazed, sitting on the money and panting.

“...How… how did we survive that?” Ann said, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. She looked up - the majority of the ‘money maze’ still stood, with a veritable wall of collapsed shelving blocking the way backwards. And, as he heard Ren’s voice, blocking her and Makoto from their allies, too.

“Ann! Ann?! Answer me! Are you there?!” He sounded nearly frantic.

“Joker! Ren… We’re fine. Me and Makoto, we’re fine!”

A pause. A sigh of relief. “...Good. It looks like Loveless made it rain to separate us. Most of the maze is still standing. Keep your radio at hand. Me and Skull will try to find a way out from our side. You do the same.”

“Right!”

Ann looked at Makoto. Thankfully, Carmen didn’t seem to have a problem with the girl by herself; just when she got near what her Persona felt belonged to Ann. “Which way, Makoto?”

Makoto frowned. “Your guess is as good as mine. The plans only had this as an empty room with two cargo rail lines at the end.”

“So at least if we find the rails, we’ll know we’re close?” Ann asked, hopeful.

Makoto nodded.

Ann pointed. “Let’s try this way, then.”

The two Phantom Thieves moved carefully through the maze, weapons drawn. They ran into the occasional shadow, dispatching them quickly. Makoto attacked and defended simultaneously with twin tonfa, forming a barrier of whirling strikes and hard jabs. It was the perfect complement to Ann, who incinerated enemies from behind this wall of steel or else lashed through the gaps with her whip and SMG. The two girls, awkwardly silent through most of the exploration, developed a genuine respect for each other. 

Ann rounded a corner, coming to a halt. Instead of more pallets of cash, there were human-sized wax statues in glass boxes. They were all young, the vast majority of them female. And they were all dressed provocatively. Makoto moved past Ann, reading the information posted on each container.

“...Akane Hayashi. Sourced from Takabe Academy. Fumiyo Sato. Takabe Academy… ...Ann. These are former volleyball team members. The ones who disappeared after being ‘transferred’ to Takabe, the school that was an empty lot.” Makoto said, looking ill. “Kaneshiro… Kaneshiro was involved, somehow. They sent the girls who wouldn’t be silent to _ him _.”

“Makoto…” Ann mumbled. She raised a hand, pointing at the final two dolls.

Makoto joined her. The first was Sae; the second, Makoto herself. Thankfully, both still fully dressed. Both labelled as ‘incoming new product’.

Makoto clenched her jaw. “We’re going to end this.”

Ann nodded, touching Makoto’s shoulder. “We will. We will…”

They continued on.

>>>

“So…” Ryuji started, as he and Captain Kidd gestured, making Ren’s gun spark with electricity.

“So?” Ren asked, sighting down Vengeance before squeezing the trigger, the hypercharged round firing out with more than double the velocity as the pistol was briefly converted into a railgun. The round went through the chest of one guard before piercing through and killing the one behind.

“So what’s it like?”

“What’s what like?” Ren asked.

“Having _ two _ girls after you? Well. Technically, Ann _ has _ you already, and it’s Makoto _ after _ you…”

“I’m surprised you noticed.”

“She’s painfully bad at hiding it.” Ryuji said. “I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance when you told her that part of the plan was going to be riding on that bike with her, dude.”

“Just… don’t tease her about it.” Ren said, unable to hide his concern.

“Don’t tell me you like her, too?!”

“No.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I just know what it feels like to have your heart suddenly broken. I think this is temporary. I was kind to her when even her sister told her off, so…”

“Ah.” Ryuji said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t have blamed you, though. She _ was _ kinda cute the way she freaked out about the M2019…”

Ren laughed. “The gun otaku shows through even in your taste in women? Love your consistency.”

“No! No way! Aside from that, she’s way too bossy. And a perfectionist. And…”

“Ryuji.”

“I know, I know! I’m not teasing. But…”

“No, Ryuji. Don’t. Move.”

Ren pointed down, at the tripwire in front of the blonde. Ren knelt down, inspecting it. The monofilament led to… nothing. It was a distraction that had served its purpose.

“...shit.” Ren breathed, realizing his mistake.

Two shots rang out; two Phantom Thieves fell.

>>>

Makoto flipped one of her tonfa around so she was holding it by the long end, using the fork formed by the handle and short end to pin a Leanan Sidhe to a wall of the maze by her neck. She then stood aside as a blast of flame shot by her shoulder, incinerating the fae.

Ann muttered. “Why does every Palace have something like the Succubus, or Nekomata, or Leanan Sidhe…? Ren’s probably got a harem of scantily clad sexy Personas buried in his heart.”

Makoto flipped her tonfa the right way around as they continued walking. “It _ is _ a rather unusual ability…”

Ann nodded. “He won’t even tell me how he came by it. There’s moments where he spaces out… Usually right before we start going through a Palace. I get the feeling that has something to do with it. After that happens, he usually surprises us with some new Persona or ability.”

“...Ann?”

“Hm?” Ann asked, checking her SMG’s magazine.

“What do you like about him? Ren, I mean?”

Ann looked at Makoto, closing her eyes briefly as she tried in vain to silence Carmen. That had been getting harder and harder, lately.

“...Sorry. What was that?”

“What do you like about Ren?” Makoto repeated.

“That’s an awkward question to ask the girlfriend of the boy you have a crush on, isn’t it?” Ann answered curtly, letting Carmen get the best of her for a moment.

_ ‘She probably knew before you knew.’ _Makoto blushed as she recalled Shiho’s words, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked--”

Ann shook her head again. “No. No, sorry. That wasn’t me. Well, it _ was, _technically. The other me. Carmen likes Ren too, I think. And she doesn’t like competition…”

“Ah…”

Ann aimed her gun down a long corridor before striding forward. “As for Ren, I could list qualities. Both good and bad. But none of those would be the reason _ why _.”

“...I don’t understand?” Makoto said. Ann’s response didn’t make sense. _ ‘He’s good looking. Kind. Smart, when he wants to be…’ _

“Shiho told me that you talked to her.” Ann said, without looking at Makoto. “She said to go easy on you, because you’re just trying to figure things out. What I’ll tell you is what she told you. Both he and I didn’t think this was a good time for us. But thinking didn’t have a whole lot to do with it.”

Ann paused, unable to stop her little smile. “There was just gravity. There wasn’t anything to understand, or figure out. We just… are.”

“Oh…” Makoto murmured.

“I don’t understand what I mean either.” Ann said. “But like Shiho said. I can see you’re trying to figure out how you feel about him. And yourself. If you figure out that you need to confess to him like it’s a cheesy romance manga, then fine. If he rejects you, just accept it.”

“...And if he doesn’t reject me?” Makoto asked, feeling an unfamiliar sense of slighted pride at being dismissed as less than a threat.

“He’ll reject you. Probably gracefully, too.” Ann said, pausing to clear another corridor. She continued on, in a tone that was distinctly challenging, haughty. “And I told you. If he rejects you, you can just accept it. If he doesn’t reject you… ...I didn’t say anything about _ me _ having to accept that.”

Makoto’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden shift.

Ann turned back to Makoto, all friendly smiles again. “But until then, we can be friends. And after then, I hope we can be friends again. But during that time…”

Two gunshots and two yells of pain in different pitches interrupted the conversation.

Ann’s eyes widened. “Ren! Ryuji!” She dashed to a wall, trying to look through the stacks of cash on the shelf.

There was a low laugh that rang through the maze. Again, that sandpaper and smoke voice drawled through the air.

“Well now, that’s two greenhorns down. Better hurry, ladies.”

Another shot - Ren’s voice alone this time, with a bitten yell of pain.

“Ann! It’s a trap! Just find the exit and get the route secured! Kaneshiro is the priority! Leave us!”

Makoto looked up at the stacks of cash. She briefly entertained the thought of climbing, but then recalled the frightening accuracy of Loveless’ gunfire. They’d be picked off as they tried to climb. She started to summon Johanna. “Panther! We can cover ground faster on Johanna, we’ll… …”

Ann stood there, tense. Her mask was on, her head lowered slightly. Blue flame surrounded her feet. When she spoke, there was an echo - as if two voices were speaking.

“Leave you…?”

The figure of Carmen flickered in and out of existence behind Ann. The blonde looked up, her normally blue eyes glowing amber yellow. She focused on the last direction of Ren’s voice.

“Fuck. That.”

>>>

When the stun rounds lost their effect and Ren regained use of his senses, he supposed it might have been funny, if he had been watching their situation on TV. He and Ryuji were currently tied to two separate railroad tracks, each on opposite sides of the warehouse just past the exit of the maze. Loveless stood between them, gun trained on the exit.

_ ‘Tied to tracks in a Western. If only Ann was wearing a white hat. Of course, then I’d be in one of those old-timey poofy dresses. Though, I’d do it if it meant I got to see her again.’ _

He yelled, cursing as he was shot once again in the leg.

“Ann! It’s a trap! Just find the exit and get the route secured! Kaneshiro is the priority! Leave us!”

Loveless laughed. “How noble. Useless, though. I’ll just hunt them down, anyway. Carrying your head to show your girl before I kill her.”

“You know, it’s usually during the taunting and monologue that the stereotypical mysterious gunman makes the critical error of underestimating the plucky heroes.” Ren said, through teeth clenched in pain.

Loveless started to laugh, and then frowned. It _ had _been quiet since he had last addressed the girls. He trained his guns on the exit again, waiting.

“Heh. Looks like your heroes ain’t plucky enough, kid.”

There was a sudden movement of air; of oxygen rushing away to some focal point in the center of the maze. A -_ whoosh- _, a dead silence… and then a roar of sound and heat that forced Ren and Ryuji to turn their heads, close their eyes, and hope that there would be something left of them beyond ash when it was over.

When they opened their eyes, it was a vision of Hell itself. The maze had been obliterated, the cash in flaming heaps with scattered bills drifting through the air as a fiery rain. The stacks of gold bricks formed molten rivers, flowing away from the center of the inferno.

And at the center, was Ann Takamaki. Beautiful and terrible; wreathed in fire as she was suspended just above the ground like an infernal valkyrie. Just behind her was not Carmen, but a new Persona - dressed in a leather lace-up mini dress and over-large aviator shades with heeled boots. The outfit looked like it belonged on a runway. Her hair was in twin braids, each one leashing a marionette about the neck.

If Ren had to describe her, it was as if Ann had given Carmen a makeover. The new Persona gave the boys and Loveless a playful little smile that was somehow both enticing and terrifying.

_ ‘Oh, my. You’ve tied up something that belongs to my girl, here… I almost feel sorry for you.’ _

“Leave you? Don’t be an idiot, Trickster.” Ann spoke, her eyes imperious, her voice haughty. “You belong to _ me _. You don’t get to decide on your own. Celestine! Show them what happens to people who try to take what’s mine!”

Ann gestured, turning her head slightly to the side to regard Makoto in the corner of her eye. The leather-clad Phantom Thief had barely escaped being burned along with the maze. It was clear that the message was intended for Makoto, also.

Laughing, Celestine snapped her fingers.

Loveless didn’t even have a chance to dodge. A column of flame burst out from beneath his feet, his intimidating voice now just delivering a shrill scream as his skin evaporated. His body collapsed in a smouldering heap.

The flames in the room died down as Ann stepped down from the air as if she was descending from a carriage. Celestine vanished into Ann’s mask, her eyes now back to their normal blue. She smiled at Ren in relief, moving toward him.

Two gunshots in rapid succession hit her in the legs, dropping her to the ground with a shriek of pain.

“Ann!” Ren screamed, struggling against the ropes. His eyes were wide with fear.

Loveless’ corpse started to stand. The Phantom Thieves watched in horror as the last parts of his skin and muscle burned away, revealing a bronze-gold robotic skeleton. The silver slashes on his dark shirt _ unfolded _ into two additional arms; all four held a revolver. Steam hissed from twin exhaust pipes from the ‘man’s back. His voice was now hollow hiss, now lacking the baffling and smoothing effect from flesh.

“That… fucking… _ hurt _.” Hissed the steampunk gunslinger.

Ann started to raise her SMG one handed - a single shot blew it out of her hands.

Loveless’ laughter was mechanical, mocking. “You had your chance, girlie.” He looked at Makoto. “You. You there. That’s a revolver at your hip, ain’t it? How about a game? A quickdraw duel. I’ve got four arms… so tell you what. You got four chances. I promise I ain’t shootin’ to kill until the last one…”

“Fuck him up, Queen!” Ryuji yelled.

Ren looked on helplessly as Ann groaned, holding her wounds. Her Second Awakening had exhausted her; she couldn’t concentrate enough to use a healing spell.

_ ‘If I had been faster when he ambushed us... like I was against Madarame! But now it’s all on Makoto…’ _

Makoto faced down Loveless, the grotesque steam-powered robot grinding and clicking with the occasional hiss. Makoto’s hand hovered over the handle of the M2019 Detective Special. She stared down Loveless, sweat beading on her forehead. _ ‘They’re counting on me. All three of them!’ _

“Draw whenever you want, girlie…” Loveless said, menacingly.

Makoto’s hand twitched.

A single shot rang out, followed by the brunette’s cry of pain as she stumbled, holding her left leg.

“That’s one.” Loveless said, one of his four revolvers smoking. “Come on. At least get that fancy lookin’ gun out of the holster.”

Makoto appeared to stumble, pitching forward. She caught herself, rising and drawing suddenly in a feint, pulling her gun. Two shots rang out. Makoto’s M2019 fired into the ground, the draw upward interrupted by Loveless’ pinpoint shot into Makoto’s left arm.

“That’s two! Haha…. Don’t worry. I’ll even tell you. Next one goes for your right leg, girlie. No sense in shootin’ your gun arm.”

Ann looked on. She shook off Celestine’s feeling of disdain for her perceived rival. _ ‘...Just… _ ** _listen_ ** _ to me. We need to help her. If we don’t, all of us… all of us, and Ren…’ _

_ ‘...Fine, honey. I’ve got one more in me.’ _

Ann felt the fiery power build in her.

A third shot. Makoto cried out again, clutching her right leg.

A blast of flame shot by Makoto, narrowly missing Loveless.

Laughing, Loveless casually aimed at Ann, firing - she grimaced as the bullet grazed her shoulder. “Bad girl. Where were you aiming, anyway?”

“Rakshasa!” Loveless turned to face Ren, standing with the demonic Persona behind him. The flames engulfing the leader of the Phantom Thieves died down as the Rakshasa’s flame resistance kicked in. Only the ropes binding the leader of the Phantom Thieves burned away; the boy himself was at most lightly toasted.

“Arsene!” Ren called. Once again, it came together for him. Need and focus combined to turn his desire for vengeance into a tool to be used.

The black avian armguards appeared once again; Ren blurred toward Loveless as Arsene’s spectral wings exploded from the back of Ren’s coat. His right arm lanced forward in a straight, aimed at the steam-powered gunman’s metal heart.

One shot rang out; there was a sound of shattering metal. A black blade stuck into the floor, one end simply a jagged edge where the revolver had detached it from Ren’s armguard. Loveless caught Ren by the throat with his death-rattle metallic laugh before throwing him aside onto the floor. He shot him several more times in the torso. Ren groaned; he was alive, at least.

“Slow! Too slow! I could see you from a mile away! I even shot your blade off...” Loveless trailed off, on seeing Ren’s smile.

_ Both _ blades were missing from Ren’s arms. One was broken off. The other was simply _ gone _.

Loveless down - a needle-thin black flechette had been jammed into him. Slowly, a creeping rust-corrosion spread from it. With a curse, Loveless yanked it out, halting the spread. But, the damage had been done. His reaction time was slowed; his joints caked with rust. He turned, seeing the injured Queen draw her Detective Special.

As the bullet blew a hole into his chest, the final words of the gunman wheezed out with a last hiss of steam.

“You… ...cheated…”

Ren struggled to a seated position. With his typical smirk, he shrugged. “What did you expect from a bunch of sneak thieves?”

He started to stand as Loveless expired, only to collapse back.

Ann tried to stand as well, unsuccessfully.

Makoto summoned Johanna, frantically casting healing spells. She then stared in shock as Ren started laughing.

“You… ...You lit me on fire again.” Ren said, chuckling.

Makoto’s eyes snapped to Ann.

Ann started giggling as the healing spells took effect, making it less painful to laugh. “Oh my God… I totally did.”

“It was really painful.”

“For like a second. It was a little fire.”

“My entire body was on fire.”

“I mean, little compared to the one I made just before that.”

They each staggered to their feet. Snickering in manic relief, they fell into each other’s arms. Ann’s giggles gradually turned into quiet sobs as she cried into his chest. “I… I don’t know what happened to me, Ren. I just thought I was going to lose you, and then… And then everything changed. I don’t know why Carmen became Celestine. I barely even remember what I said…”

_ ‘You belong to me.’ _ Ren recalled. The words were spoken with otherworldly force and conviction, but at the root of it, it was still Ann’s voice. He smiled.

“Ssh.” Ren murmured, stroking her hair, kissing the crown of her head. “You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, Songbird.”

He looked up at Makoto. “Hell of a shot, Queen. Right through the heart.”

Makoto slowly processed the scene before her - the entire sequence of events made no sense. Ann had hit Ren with a powerful, incredibly fast fire spell to burn away his ropes in an instant. And somehow, he had known what she was going to do. Enough to anticipate it, allowing the flame to burn away just the ropes, and then making the next moves of summoning a fire resistant Persona followed by Arsene.

It nearly hurt, to watch them. Makoto had a crush.

What she was seeing was something different. More than a high school romance. It was an understanding, deep and abiding.

She watched Ren breathe in the scent of Ann’s hair, murmuring something that made the girl giggle instead of cry. Makoto sighed, turning away.

“...Yeah. Right through the heart.” The brunette said, sighing.

The three of them headed for the door at the end of the warehouse.

“Uh, guys?”

They turned back.

Ryuji wiggled, still tied to the tracks.

“Little help?”

>>>

The team secured the infiltration route, finding both the treasure vault and a shortcut to the surface that opened into an abandoned building outside the fort. They reconvened with Yusuke and Morgana, exchanging updates. Yusuke and Morgana learned of the grim nature of the trains and the Phantom Thieves’ role in increasing Kaneshiro’s predations. They also learned of the cash, the gold, and worst of all, the ‘dolls’.

Yusuke and Morgana updated the team regarding the situation in the fort itself - the hatches had opened, revealing railroad tracks that simply ended in the yard, seemingly leading off somewhere underground. After the hatches had opened up, all activity in and around the fort had ceased, the shadows simply standing there as if they were inanimate. They didn’t even respond to a test shot by the sniper team that had taken one of their number down.

It was so unsettling that the two hadn’t pressed the attack, concerned that it was a lead up to a trap.

“We should get out of here for now.” Ren said. “We’ve got the infiltration route. We just need to make and deliver the calling card.”

Makoto nodded. “Agreed. Based on what Fox and Mona have said, we need to prepare for a difficult battle. I suspect that Kaneshiro has something special for us.”

“I’ll pay a visit to Takemi-sensei and see if she has anything she can offer.”

>>>

Shiho sat at the reception desk in Takemi’s clinic. The girl had gotten serious about aiming for a career in sports medicine, using one of Ren’s connections to secure this part time job in a medical clinic. It wasn’t quite what she expected - the clinic was tiny, and Takemi was interesting to say the least.

But, unlike many medical clinics and hospitals the back alley doctor was willing to give a job to a high school student. And as her trust in Shiho grew, the girl was able to help in the more medical side of things rather than just the administrative. She had just been taught to use the portable X-ray machine that Takemi had.

And so, when Ren and Ann staggered in, looking terrible, Shiho didn’t panic.

“Get inside. Takemi-sensei’s already there.”

Shiho went in through the door from reception.

Takemi looked up, surprised that the girl hadn’t knocked like usual, and also surprised by the look on Shiho’s face.

“Shiho! What’s happening?!”

The other door into the examination room opened; Ren and Ann staggered in. It wasn’t clear who was supporting whom; to Shiho’s surprise, Ann seemed to be in better shape. She easily pushed Ren onto the examination bed against his protests. Ann slowly sat down in the chair beside him, wincing at the sensation in her thighs as she did so.

Ren’s breathing was shallow and pained.

Takemi looked at Shiho. “Help me get him undressed.”

Even Ann didn’t protest this time. As they peeled off his shirt, all Shiho’s eyes widened; Ann seemed grim but unsurprised.

Takemi gently prodded Ren’s ribs and back. His skin was mottled with deep bruises. She frowned; the last time she had seen something like this was treating people who had been shot by the police with rubber bullets last year during the Halloween riots.

“How exactly did this happen, Ren?” She asked.

“Ouch.” Ren winced as she found a particularly tender spot. “ASOBIBA. Guy with illegal mods to his rifle.”

In truth, the moment they left the Metaverse he, Ann, and Makoto had felt aftereffects from their encounter with Loveless. Ren had been shot the most of the three and was in the worst shape. Makoto went to a separate clinic to be checked out, assisted by Ryuji.

Takemi gave Ren a flat stare. “Really. And Ann was playing with you.”

Ren gave his best salacious smile. “Why are you surprised about us _ playing _ together—ow!”

Takemi smiled, her deceptively strong fingers briefly digging into his rib. “You won’t distract me by being crass, my little guinea pig. You don’t have to tell me, but you’ll _ owe _ me.”

She looked at Shiho. “Take him to the back. Let’s get a chest x-ray. I don’t feel any broken ribs, but we should make sure.”

Shiho nodded, helping Ren up and to the back room with the x-ray machine.

Takemi turned to Ann. “And you? You were limping pretty badly.”

Ann nodded, sliding over to the exam table. Fortunately, her shorts were high enough to show the problem.

Takemi looked at the bruises forming - exactly the same kind Ren had. She gently poked and prodded Ann’s thighs. The blonde girl flushed slightly. Takemi sighed.

“Nothing broken. Just really bad contusions again. You two need to be more careful.”

Ann squeaked as Takemi’s slender fingers brushed the hem of her shorts. “Y-yes! We will!”

Takemi looked up with a wry smile at Ann’s voice, her hands still on Ann’s leg. She laughed. “I can see why my little guinea pig thinks you’re so cute, Ann.”

Just then, the back door opened; Shiho and Ren stood there.

“Sensei, the x-ray should be up on the server—…oh.”

The scene from Ren and Shiho’s perspective was a red-faced Ann Takamaki with a sly looking Tae Takemi, wearing her usual minidress, fishnets and lab coat. And, her hands on Ann’s thigh.

Ren was seemingly unfazed by the inherently sexy scene in front of him. “Is she alright?”

“Yes. Just contusions.” She spun her chair around, pushing it back to the desk. She brought up the x-ray as Ren sat down carefully on the bedside, beside Ann. “Looks like it's much the same for you, Ren. No rib fractures. Shiho - What should we recommend?”

Shiho looked up. “Ah. Just some anti inflammatories and rest, for both of them.”

“No taping?” Ren asked.

Shiho shook her head. “Not a good idea. That used to be a thing for rib injuries until people started noticing that seemed to increase rates of pneumonia and lower lung atelectasis, or collapse. You just need to get your pain under control and take full breaths.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Wow, Shiho.”

Takemi nodded approvingly. “That’s correct.”

Takemi left the room, returning with the recommended anti-inflammatories. “Here. And some more of the _ usual _, too.” She said, referring to the healing items that she regularly supplied Ren and the Phantom Thieves with.

Shiho looked thoughtful. “You know, speaking of tape. We have some KT tape we just got in. Some athletes think it helps their performance. You might want to try some before you go… ...back to ASOBIBA.”

Takemi nodded again to Shiho. “Good thinking. Hopefully a little edge like that will prevent these two from getting beaten up playing ‘airsoft.’” She said, making mocking air quotes. “They both need to rest, though. I know Ren lives around here. Shiho, you’re nearly done your shift. Can you take Ann home?”

Takemi then smirked, raising an eyebrow. “...Unless she’s going to be staying with Ren…?”

Ann turned red, staring at the floor. She shook her head. “No. Bachan’s expecting me.”

Takemi laughed. “Yep. Cute. Go on, get out of here.”

The three walked out - rather, Ren and Ann carefully limped out, with Shiho helping them along.

“You’ve really taken to this kind of work, Shiho.” Ren said, impressed.

“It barely feels like work.” Shiho said, smiling. “It’s fun working with Takemi-sensei. Even more when it’s you guys. I think she just likes to tease you two.”

“Huh. How do you mean?” Ren asked.

“...You really don’t see it?” Ann asked, bewildered.

“...You were completely unfazed by a hot doctor in a minidress feeling up your girlfriend?” Shiho asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I noticed. But I guess I didn’t _ notice _ .” Ren said. “When I was actively boxing, I got used to being poked and prodded by doctors and trainers. I mean, Kana-chan’s seen me in nothing but my underwear. If I freaked out every time-- Ow! Ann, you’re _ really _ squeezing my elbow…”

>>>

June 27, 20xx 

**RS: Hey, RenRen. Didn’t see you at school today?**

**AT: He was pretty beat up after yesterday. And on top of that, his phone actually ** ** _does_ ** ** have a bullet hole through it so he can’t reply to texts.**

**MN: That’s terrible.**

**YK: So how will we get in touch with Ren?**

**AT: He said he’ll buy a new phone as soon as he’s well enough to limp out of Leblanc. I can’t go check on him today, though - agency has a gig for me.**

Makoto grumbled as her phone chugged along, struggling to load the stamp of a sad bunny that Ann was using. After they had gotten out of the Metaverse, the charge on her ancient iPhone was nearly gone, too. It seemed that now she had friends, it was no longer sufficient.

The last bell rang at Shujin. Makoto stood, heading to the train station. She glanced again at her phone. Today, just by text messaging, her phone’s charge was already down to 50%.

_ ‘...Ah. This is stupid. If Ren’s buying a new phone, then I should buy one, too.’ _

She bought a ticket for Akihabara and boarded the subway, making the short trip to the electronics and entertainment district. Of course, there were cell phone stores everywhere. But this was also one of Makoto’s guilty pleasures. She left the station, heading for a small DVD shop right beside Akihabara Gamers. The store was known for having an interesting selection of movies; in particular, the owner was an aficionado of foreign police films.

She paused in front of Akihabara Gamers, recognizing Ren limping into the shop.

_ ‘...Oh! He must be feeling well enough, now. I… ...I should go and make sure he’s alright. That he doesn’t need any help with anything.’ _

Makoto walked in discreetly after Ren, getting flashbacks to when she was investigating him initially.

_ ‘I’ll just keep back for now, though.’ _ Makoto thought. She didn’t want to be a bother - it wasn’t at all because she was curious what the boy liked in terms of his entertainment. Or because she was curious about him, in general.

Ren moved gingerly, but made a beeline towards one section. He looked furtively to the left and right, before stepping into the aisle. He seemed to be searching for something intently, his expression brightening eagerly as he found it.

Makoto peered around the shelf curiously.

“Excuse me? Miss? Can I help you find something?”

Makoto jumped, turning to face the employee. “N-no! I’m fine, thank you!”

“...Makoto!?”

Makoto jumped again, facing Ren.

He looked briefly mortified, holding a copy of the latest volume of _ Akatsuki no Yona _, an exceedingly popular fantasy-romance. “What are you doing here?”

“I uh… ...I saw you, and wanted to check up on you.” Makoto said, telling part of the truth. “How about you?”

“...I was… ...looking for a gift for Kana-chan. She’s like my sister, back home.” Ren said, his expression now carefully controlled. He glanced down at the volume in his hands. “I guess this will do.”

“Ah. Right…”

They stood awkwardly for a moment. Ren sighed. “And then I need to buy a new phone. That guy actually managed to break mine.”

Makoto blinked. “Ah, right! Ann mentioned that. I was going to buy a new phone, too. Mine’s a bit slow for the group chat…”

“Really? What do you use?”

Makoto held up her iPhone 4.

“...Holy _ shit _.” Ren said, eyes wide. “That’s amazing. What’s the battery life, 15 minutes?”

Makoto glared at Ren. “Not all of us have the time to play with new gadgets!”

“Yeah, but this thing is practically an artifact. I’m surprised your love for efficiency tolerates it, Your Excellency.”

“God, you’re such an ass.” Makoto huffed, before breaking into a little smile. She was glad they still had this sort of interaction, though.

“Come on. Let me buy this thing _ for Kana-chan _. We can find phones together.”

“...Oh! Alright…” Makoto followed Ren, walking beside him. He paid, and they headed to the nearest mobile store - each of them buying the same smartphone. They stood outside, each of them going through their apps and contacts.

“Looks like the Red Eye is still there…” Ren said. “I’m not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. Though, telling you all ‘Sorry, I’m out, got a new phone’ wouldn’t really be a great excuse.”

Makoto nodded. She stole a glance at Ren with his new phone - the same one she now had. She wondered, to someone passing by, would they look like they were together?

“...hey? Isn’t that the Student Council President? With a _ guy _?”

A group of girls from Shujin were nearby, speaking in a too-loud whisper.

“Wow, that robot? Didn’t think I had it in her.”

“I don’t recognize the guy, though…”

Ren wasn’t in uniform, and had taken off his glasses to polish them.

Makoto felt increasingly uncomfortable as the whispers continued.

“He’s way too hot. Probably just giving her directions or something… You know, I should go over and talk to him!”

Ren frowned, hearing this as well. He started walking toward them.

Makoto blinked. “R-ren!” She hissed. “What are you doing?!”

Ren ignored her, stopping in front of the girls. They stared in wonder as he gave his most charming smile, a far cry from his usual space-cadet nonchalance at school. He was almost certainly unrecognizable, now. “Excuse me, girls. Can one of you take a picture for us?”

“...Er… ..y-yeah! Sure!”

Ren handed his phone to one of the girls, standing back alongside Makoto. He didn’t put her arm around her, but stood close.

Makoto blushed. _ ‘Too close!’ _

She managed a shy smile as the picture was taken. Ren thanked the girls before he and Makoto walked away. Ren sighed, rolling his eyes.

“..Sorry. That was a bother.”

“No, that’s not it, Makoto.” He showed her his phone. “She programmed her number into my contacts list. Bold. And who enters their name as ‘Eiko-chan’? Come on…”

“Why did you do that?”

“You’re a friend, Makoto. And they were talking shit about you. As you learned a few weeks back, I don’t take too kindly to that.”

“But now they think…”

“They can think what they want. I just asked them to take a picture.” Ren shrugged.

Makoto blinked, but smiled a little. After a moment, she spoke up again. “Do you think I’m a robot, too?”

“Beep-boop.”

Makoto smacked his arm as Ren laughed. They came to a stop at the station. He looked at her. “I think we go our separate ways here, don’t we?”

Makoto nodded; the brief indulgence over. Her eyes downcast, she spoke softly. “...I think we really do.”

Ren turned, but paused, halfway.

“Your Excellency.”

Makoto felt that brief spike of irritation at the mocking title, looking up. She gave Ren a glare.

Ren smirked back at her. “That’s a better look for you.”

She blinked, and then stifled a small chuckle. “...Yeah.”

Ren’s smirk softened into a genuine smile. “Makoto, I’m happy to be one of your friends.”

_ ‘But I can’t be more.’ _Was the unspoken sentence, clear in the silence.

The brunette nodded, once, answering both the spoken and unspoken. “Yes.”

“...Whenever you figure out what you want to tell me, I promise you, though - I’ll still listen to whatever you have to say. Even if I can’t give you the answer you want.”

>>>

“Ugh. This has _ got _ to be one of the worst shoots they’ve had us do, yet.” Ann muttered, waiting for the final shots in a busy intersection in Akihabara. She wore a red, strapless dress; something she would have loved Ren to see. The drooling otaku surrounding the shoot and snapping pictures, not so much.

Mika, wearing a blue dress, rolled her eyes. “Whine whine _ whine _ . Your lack of professionalism is really disappointing, _ senpai _.”

“Says the girl who sent fake emails around to get people to be late for their shoots. Tell me - who lost the cover of _ Vague _this month? And who’s going to be on it again?” Ann asked, pleasantly.

“Not all of us have some boy toy who doubles as a personal trainer.” Mika muttered. Her eyes caught something in the periphery, recognizing said boy toy - with another girl. Mika was surprised. After one shoot in the past month, she had tried flirting with Ren to get on Ann’s nerves. It was like trying to seduce a brick wall. She felt a pang of _ sympathy _ for her professional rival… Mika knew, from painful personal experience, what it was like to have a relationship she had invested in fall apart.

She sighed.

“Hey, senpai. Look over there…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the big question - why Celestine, and not Hecate? Why skip to the third tier Personas that we actually don't know anything about until P5R? The main reason is the mythology behind the Personas. Carmen is a character from an Italian opera (well, initially from a novella). She was a femme fatale, capricious, haughty, all the good stuff. Celestine was the actress who made the role of Carmen famous - she was an opera singer. I don't know how she was in real life, but I'll take some liberties an and assume she was a bit of a prima donna, maybe a bit similar to her role as Carmen. So, I thought it was a more natural progression. On top of that, Celestine looks like a combination of Carmen and Ann's style. It was interesting to me - like the separation between them and their Personas is becoming thinner.
> 
> Hecate, I tried to write - but it was hard. Hecate is an old goddess of crossroads, magic, witchcraft, necromancy. None of these things really fit into the character I had envisioned for Ann. I want her to be passionate, proud verging on haughty. Essentially, like an opera singer. So Celestine worked.
> 
> Loveless is indeed a Wild Wild West reference, circa 1990's


	17. Sonny Liston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sonny Liston was an American boxer and world heavyweight champion in 1962. He died due to an apparent drug overdose with heroin in 1971. However, post-mortem toxicology was inconclusive. Moreover, no syringes or needles were found at the scene, and Liston had a phobia of needles. One theory behind his death was due to a disagreement with the Italian crime families, who at the time were influential in boxing. Either he purposely lost a match and was upset with the mob’s pay, or didn’t take a dive and faced the consequences._
> 
> _Either way, some believe he simply crossed the wrong people._

June 28, 20xx

“Alright, Takeishi. You get _ one _ free punch. That’s it.” Ryuji said, standing proudly in Shujin’s courtyard after school. The recording had made it to Takeishi’s mother and predictably, she had filed a complaint. Yamauchi had been suspended without pay and it was highly likely he would never work as a teacher at Shujin again. However, Takeishi himself was not grateful.

Takeishi smiled ruefully, shaking his head. “Acting like such a fucking hero… You wrecked the team to begin with, and now… I know it was you that sent my mom that recording! What the hell do you think happens to the track team, now?! We don’t have a faculty advisor now, which means no club! And no one wants to sponsor a sports club at all now, after that fucking pervert and that stupid convict boxing club.”

“Watch your damn mouth, Takeishi. That ‘convict’ you’re talking about is my best friend.” Ryuji said, threateningly.

Takeishi rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Fine. I’ll take my free punch, asshole.”

He gestured at the two track team members standing with him. They stepped forward, holding Ryuji by the shoulders.

Takeishi swung, his fist contacting Ryuji’s cheek.

Ryuji’s head swam briefly. He then started to shake off the hold on his shoulders. The other two didn’t release the blonde; in fact, they held his elbows now as well.

Takeishi smiled cruelly. “...Hey. You know, that didn’t feel half-bad. I think I’ll take a few more of those.”

“That’s not what we agreed on, Takeishi!” Ryuji said, spitting blood.

Takeishi sneered. “I didn’t agree to anything. Eat this, Track Traitor.” He cocked his fist back.

His wrist was caught painfully by a slender hand; Makoto placed his small finger expertly into a joint lock.

“I think one punch is more than sufficient, Takeishi-kun.” Makoto said, sternly.

“This isn’t your business, Niijima!” Takeishi sputtered, trying to find a more comfortable angle for his wrist and hand. “Everyone knows you’re just a puppet for Kobayakawa, anyway! Let go! That hurts! Guys, make her let go!”

The track members released Ryuji, who rubbed his cheek - he started to step forward to prevent them from getting to Makoto, only to be shoved back, hard.

Makoto let Takeishi go as the other two track team members started to flank her. Unfazed, she stared them down, shifting her weight subtly.

“Well. This is rude.” Ren said, stepping into the courtyard. “He gave you a free punch, and now you’re threatening our esteemed President.”

Takeishi shook out his hand, glaring at Ren. “I’ve seen you limping lately, convict. Not like you’d be able to do any...thing…”

Yamada and the rest of the gang filed out behind Ren, staring down the track team.

“That’s true. _ I _ probably can’t do a whole lot.” Ren said, shrugging. “These guys are spoiling for a fight, though.”

Yamada glowered, cracking his knuckles.

Ren smiled. “Care to call it even?”

Takeishi nodded quickly. Yamada and his boys had a reputation. And now, somehow, they were at Amamiya’s beck and call.

“Great. You know, you shouldn’t give up on the track team so quickly. Your mom’s a PTA member, right? I’m sure you’ll find a faculty advisor with just a little more persistence.” Ren said, with a placating gesture that seemed completely at odds with the fact that he was surrounded by boys that seemed more like attack dogs than people.

“Right! Right…” The three boys left, quickly.

Ren sighed, looking at Ryuji. “Are you an idiot, Ryuji? A free punch? Do you know how much damage even that could have done? You’re lucky track guys can’t throw a punch worth a damn. And Your Excellency, you really shouldn’t beat people down, even if you can. Unlike me, your reputation isn’t garbage.”

“_ I’m _ a track guy.”

“I know.” Ren said. “The statement still applies.”

Ryuji grinned, shaking his head. “...It just felt right, you know? Like closure. Giving the track team one more chance to take whatever compensation they wanted. Didn’t I look a _ little _ cool?”

Makoto rolled her eyes. She grabbed Ryuji’s chin, scrutinizing his cheek. “You would have looked cooler without getting hit. That’s going to bruise. And you’ve got a cut. Come on. Nurse’s office.”

Ryuji waved weakly at Ren as he was dragged off, much to the other boy’s amusement. It seemed his talk with Makoto had brought her back to some sort of equilibrium. She had returned to her duties as the student council president, but certainly with more conviction and willingness to put her neck on the line for the student body. He wondered how long it would be before Kobayakawa started getting nervous at not having a passive puppet anymore.

Ren caught sight of Ann, as she started to enter the area from the other side of the courtyard.

“Oh! Ann!” Ren said, waving. “I got a new phone. Did you get my messages?...”

He watched, as she immediately turned on her heel and disappeared inside. Ren frowned. She had been avoiding him all day - an impressive feat for a girl who sat immediately in front of him. Ren turned as Yamada stepped up beside him, shaking his head.

“Aniki… If you want, I can show you where some good flower shops are… Oh. Anesan likes sweets, doesn’t she? There’s a bakery…”

Ren waved his hand. “It’s fine… Whatever it is, she’ll get over it.”

Yamada raised an eyebrow, looking at Ren. As if to say, _ ‘really? You think you can hold out longer than _ ** _her_ ** _ ?’ _

“...On second thought, which bakery?”

>>>

“...And that’s all. Mika said she probably saw Ren with a girl who was maybe Makoto?” Shiho asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ann sighed, sitting at a cafe near Shujin with Shiho. “By the time I turned to look, they were already gone.”

“And you believe her? This is the girl who tried to screw over your career with fake emails.” Shiho said.

“Yeah, but…”

“And she’s the one who tried to seduce Ren, right in front of you.”

“I know, but…”

“She’s basically a snake in sexy human skin.”

“That’s gross.” Ann said, laughing. “Probably true, though. But you have to understand, Shiho. She looked sincere. More sincere than I’ve ever seen her. I think… I think she _ gets it _, you know? She knows what it’s like to be cheated on.”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “So you think the guy whose eyes follow your every move at school, sends you cute text messages, and calls you ‘Songbird’ is cheating on you. With Makoto. The girl so straight laced that she could make a nun look like a crime lord.”

“Well, if nothing was going on, wouldn’t he have told me?!”

“If nothing was going on, why would he tell you? Didn’t you two have a talk already about her? Why not just go and ask him directly?”

Ann stirred her iced mocha idly with her straw. “...I don’t want him to think I’m jealous. Or crazy.”

“Despite the fact that you told me he finds it cute when you are. And what did he do the last time you told him you were feeling neglected?”

Ann’s mind flashed back to the last time Ren had stayed overnight with her. She felt her face get hot, thinking of how exactly he had shown her that she was the only girl for him. He had been doing… things… asking her all the while if she believed him yet. Certainly, she had been saying the word ‘yes’...

“Can you stop being logical, for just a second?” Ann muttered.

Shiho rolled her eyes again. “Look. There’s two possible conclusions. One, it was completely innocent. Two, he’s a dirty, filthy man-whore.”

Ann nearly did a spit take, laughing. “What?!”

Shiho nodded gravely. “A man-whore. Boy-skank. Like one of those Shinjuku hosts who gives a nickname to every girl out there so he doesn’t have to remember names. For all _ you _ know, you could be Songbird number thirty-six. Or thirty- _ sex _.”

“That’s terrible. Both the pun, and what you described.” Ann said, still laughing as she imagined Ren with a cheap dye job and a cheaper suit.

“Just go _ talk _ to him. Tonight. You know he’ll be home. You’re both still resting, right? After the ‘airsoft’ battle.”

Ann nodded. She shifted her legs, where she had exchanged knee socks for leggings for the time being, to hide the bruises.

“So go and find him at Leblanc.”

Ann sighed. “Fine. Fine…”

>>>

A short time later in the evening, Ann walked slowly through Yongen towards Leblanc. Her resolve weakened as she got closer to the coffee shop. She knew it was completely irrational - her and Ren were totally, completely, for each other. They had even talked about Makoto and were on the same page.

_ ‘But he went out with her! He didn’t say anything about it!’ _Ann thought, indignantly. Angrily. While she couldn’t speak directly with Carmen - no, Celestine - she felt her Persona’s approval at her righteous anger.

_ ‘...But you didn’t even give him a chance to explain.’ _Ann thought, immediately. Celestine would have scoffed, if she could have.

Ann paused a short distance from Leblanc. The little coffee shop was closed, now, but it didn’t matter - she knew where the spare key was.

Not that she needed it, apparently - nor did the woman cosplaying as a British maid, who smiled at Ren as he let her in. Ann might have caught a _ ‘meow’ _drifting on the night air.

_ ‘For all you know, you could be Songbird number thirty-six. Or thirty- _ ** _sex_ ** _ .’ _

“Oh, **_hell_** no.”

>>>

Ren sighed. “You really should stop with the ‘meow’-ing. It’s vaguely creepy. I have a cat, remember?”

Mona nodded. “Not a cat! But I agree, it’s totally weird.”

Kawakami sighed. “Whatever. Did your cat just nod? And he meowed like he was responding to me... Ugh, whatever. I’m going upstairs. Thanks for calling me in. This beats getting groped by some gross guy in a studio apartment. Though, you’d think you could do your own dusting and chores…”

“Contusions, remember? Airsoft injuries?” Ren shook his head. “Anyway, thanks for coming. Really, it’s a big help… I’m getting better, but by the end of the day, I’m pretty stiff. I’ll pay, of course.”

“You bet you will. My…” Kawakami started saying, before Ren interrupted her.

“Yeah. Your sister-grandmother-uncle.” Ren said, wryly. “They need the support, I’m sure.”

They headed upstairs. Ren sat at his desk, studying. Kawakami folded laundry, using Ren’s bed as a working surface.

“You don’t have to do the boxers.” Ren said, glancing back, a little embarrassed.

Kawakami, amused at finally having an edge over her snarky student, smirked. “Oh, no. I’d _ love _ to do that for _ you _ , Master. Becky-chan’s _ fine _ with touching your unmentionables. Miaaaooow.”

It was at that moment, where Kawakami was holding up Ren’s boxers in her hands whilst saying ‘miaow’ in her ‘Becky-chan’ voice, that an angry blonde burst into the attic.

“What the _ fuck _ are you doing, hiring some skanky cosplay maid to come in here and-- ...SENSEI?!”

“...miaow. I have no idea who you’re referring to.” ‘Becky’ said, hiding her face behind the boxers.

Ann stood there, working her jaw open and shut.

“Ann, this isn’t what it looks like.” Ren said, quickly.

“You mean it isn’t our homeroom teacher wearing a maid outfit with a plunging neckline sitting on your bed in your room in the middle of the night while holding your boxers and saying ‘miaow’?”

“...Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like.” Ren conceded.

“Out.” Ann said, pointing a finger at the door.

“Yes ma’am.” Ren stood up, turning to leave.

Ann rolled her eyes, walking over and putting her hands on Ren’s shoulders, forcing him back down into the chair. “Nice try, Wildcard. No. _ You _.”

She glared at Kawakami. “Out!”

Kawakami stood. She walked over to Ann. Ann raised an incredulous eyebrow.

“Er.. I’ll just… ...yeah.” Kawakami carefully reached past Ann, taking the envelope containing her pay before practically running out.

“You too.” Ann said, looking at Morgana.

Mona disappeared fast enough to leave an outline. “Ren! I’ll always remember you!”

Ann stared down at Ren, crossing her arms. For a moment, Ren thought he saw flames around her. “Explain.”

Ren broke into a cold sweat, but managed to explain the situation around Kawakami. How Operation Maidwatch had really gone down; how Ren had bailed Kawakami out. And how he was continuing to bail her out. The young high school teacher had gradually been opening up to him. Despite her frequent sob stories about why she needed the money, Ren suspected there was something more going on. She was legitimately working herself to exhaustion. Half the time he called her over, she ended up passing out on the sofa.

Ann shook her head. “I was wondering where this boxing club thing came from. The story about Yamada and Kawakami just deciding out of the goodness of her own heart to help you cover for the fight between the two of you. It just didn’t make any sense. And it’s so like you to collect strays... And what about Makoto?”

“I ran into her while I was out shopping for a phone. She was out buying one, too. And I might have let some bitchy girls from school think that I was her boyfriend, just to shut them up.” Ren answered, honestly. “She found me at Akihabara Gamers.”

“What were you doing in there?” Ann asked, raising an eyebrow. “They don’t sell phones.”

Ren sighed, closing his eyes. He knew Ann was looking for his tells, right now. All the little clues that let her see right through him.

“...I was looking for manga. For myself. For the latest volume of _ Akatsuki no Yona _.” He nodded toward his bed. Specifically, under it.

Ann walked over, pulling out a carefully organized box. She stared blankly at the collection. Where most teenage boys would keep porn, Ren kept josei, shoujo, or otherwise romantic/dramatic manga, anime, and TV dramas. _ Lots _ of it.

Ann sighed, standing. “I believe you. I even believe you’d pretend to be her boyfriend just to shut some bitches up.”

“...Really?” Ren asked, relieved.

“No teenage male boxer would lightly admit to owning all of this. This is really embarrassing.”

“Oh, come on! They’re great. The stories are sometimes really well-written, and the artwork is fantastic for the most part. You should give _ Yona _ a chance, the main love interest, Hak, is really cool…” He trailed off, as Ann turned, giving him a relieved smile.

She walked over to him, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “You’re an idiot. And a sucker. Reiko, Takemi-sensei, Kawakami-sensei, Makoto, Kaname… Just how many beautiful women do you have running amok in your life, Wildcard? How many have a piece of your heart?”

Ren stood, his arms going around Ann’s slender waist. “Just one. Just one that’s beautiful in my eyes, Songbird. Just one who has my entire heart.”

Ann smiled, shaking her head. “You always know just the right thing to say, Wildcard.” She glanced behind her at the box. “You know, most boys your age would keep porn there.”

“Hm? That’s stupid. I just use my computer for that.” Ren said. “There’s literally no reason to keep hard copies of that stuff…”

Ann blinked. She then looked around Ren, at the laptop on his desk. She started to grin.

Ren caught her expression. “Oh. Oh, no you don’t.”

Ann let out a little shriek as Ren caught Ann around the waist when she lunged for the laptop. They had a brief, playful struggle that Ann easily won - he was still somewhat beat up after all. It ended with Ren on his back on the bed. Ann was over him, her hands on either side of his head. Ren smiled up at her as her pigtails tickled his skin.

“Hey, Ann? Remember how I said you didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, after we took down Loveless?”

“Mmhm?” Ann nodded. She leaned down to kiss his jaw.

“You said that I belong to you.”

Ann’s eyes widened as she froze in shock. “I… I said that in front of Makoto and Ryuji? Just like that?”

Ren shrugged. “You did. But, like I said…” He reached up to caress her cheek. “You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. So… you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Ann believed him. She relished the little thrill she felt as he said the words. The soft smile he had. It was beyond reason, really. Boys and men throughout the world since time immemorial have said similar things, only to betray their promises at the next opportunity. But her heart fluttered as she felt her other self’s complete and total approval of Ren’s sweet words.

_ ‘There was just gravity. There wasn’t anything to understand, or figure out. We just… are.’ _

She let her weight settle down on him, initiating a kiss that was meant to initiate something else…

“Ow!” Ren grunted, shifting. “Sorry. You’re fine. It’s just that one spot.”

“...Oh! Your ribs!” Ann said, concerned. She sat up. “I… sorry. I should go, let you rest.”

“I’d rest better with you here.” Ren said, his hands not leaving her waist.

Ann blinked. She then stood, leaving Ren wondering if he said the wrong thing.

She reached the door to the attic; she locked it. She then smiled back at Ren, before heading over to the bed. “You really do always say the right thing, Wildcard. You’ll have to lend me another hoody, then.”

“_ Lend _ you? I still haven’t gotten the other one back.”

“That one’s mine, now. And it’s not here, silly boy.”

“If I don’t lend you one, does that mean you’ll sleep with substantially less on?”

“You’re bruised all over and can barely move.” Ann replied, shaking her head.

“Well, _ I _ can barely move. You, on the other hand...” He gave her a grin that bordered on sleazy.

Ann rolled her eyes. “So sometimes you say the wrong thing, too. You’ll just have to settle for a restful sleep. With cuddles.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ren said, smiling.

>>>

June 29, 20xx 

It was Wednesday, after school. Ren, Makoto, and Ann seemed to have fully recovered from their encounter with Loveless. And, once again, the team met up in the club room at Shujin - _ sans _ Yusuke.

Ryuji frowned. “Where is that guy…?”

Ren shrugged. “Artists, I guess? He probably got distracted.”

Makoto took out her phone, sending him another text. “Still nothing… I hope nothing happened.”

There was a knock on the door to the club room.

Ann, closest to the door, stood up and walked over, opening it.

One of Yamada’s thugs stood there, holding Yusuke by the shoulder.

“Anesan!”

“Don’t call me that!” Ann snapped.

“Er.. ..Takamaki-sama…?”

“_ No! _”

“Er, anyway. We found this weird guy creeping around. He says he knows aniki, but..”

Ann sighed. “He’s cool. Let him in.” She hauled Yusuke in, shutting the door again. “Ren, I wish you’d tell these idiots to back off!”

Ren shrugged, that crooked little smile on his face. “Hard to be a criminal mastermind without goons. And Ken-chan’s actually a pretty good guy, once you get past the slicked back hair, smoking, and _ yankii- _slouch.”

“...Ken-_ chan _?”

“Well, I feel kinda responsible for them all, now.” Ren said, sheepishly. “They are literally calling me ‘big brother’...”

Ann rolled her eyes, but sat down in the ring beside Ren, bumping her shoulder against his affectionately. “You’re so weird. You started off so determined to _ not _ be a criminal. But now you have your very own gang of hired goons. You really do collect strays.”

“I like confusing people. Straight A’s and thugs.” He leaned over, kissing her cheek.

Makoto coughed. “Anyway_ . _ Now that we’re all here.”

Mona nodded. “Now we can make some plans. So, what do we know?”

Makoto gestured at the plans of the fort and bank. “The vault is buried beneath the bank, around two hundred metres down. We already have the route, and we’ve seen where the treasure will manifest.”

Yusuke eyed the vault room. “That is far underground. Is there an escape route? It seems we’d be buried alive once the Palace collapses.”

“There is.” Makoto said, pointing. “The vault room is actually an elevator. It’ll go straight to the surface. Even better, it seems to have its own power supply and controls. It can’t be stopped from the outside.”

Ren frowned. “That means Kaneshiro will know exactly where to find us.” He pointed to the surface, where the elevator would come out in the bank lobby. “He can just set up an ambush here.”

“That’s why I think we need to split up again.” Makoto said. “Just for the few minutes while we wait for the elevator to get to the top. The infiltration team will get the treasure and start the lift. An assault team up top will need to hold off guards from where the elevator exits.”

“Can we just snipe them again?” Mona asked. “That seemed to be pretty effective last time.”

Makoto shook her head. “From what you described, it sounds like if they’re still in that stupor, that might be okay. But if they start moving, they’d eventually overwhelm you. You’d have to fire enough that you wouldn’t have time to relocate between shots like you’ve been doing.”

“So a direct assault.” Ren said. “But the infiltration team still needs to be able to handle any surprises…”

Ren thought for a moment. “Ann, you wouldn’t be as good in an enclosed space like that elevator. And I want your firepower in an assault. I’ll be joining you as well, I think… Yusuke, your assault rifle and ice will be good for waves of guards. You’re with us.”

“I agree.” Makoto said. “I’d want Ryuji in the infiltration team in case we need to short out any last traps and to deal with the vault door itself with explosives. And Mona to keep us healed up.”

Mona perked up. “I’ll be happy to lead--”

“I want Makoto leading the infiltration team, Mona.” Ren said. “No offense. She’s seen the inside of the underground section personally, and she’s a natural tactician.”

“...Oh. ...Alright.” Mona mumbled.

“That just leaves the calling card.” Ren said.

Yusuke nodded, producing the card from his pocket.

Ren took it, reading. “Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony. You target those too young to protect themselves from your predations. We will make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. - The Phantom Thieves.”

Ren nodded. “Nice. How do you want to deliver it?”

Ryuji grinned. “Gotcha covered. If you liked the weather balloons before, you’ll _ love _ this one. People won’t be able to stop talking about us!”

Ren laughed. “I’m starting to think you care more for the fame than the cause, Ryuji.”

“Come on, bro! No harm in enjoying the perks!”

>>>

June 30, 20xx 

It was a typical busy afternoon in Shibuya. The district was crowded with salarymen, professionals, and students just off from school. Everyone seemed to be en route to elsewhere, simultaneously surrounded by others but essentially alone. No reason to look anywhere but directly ahead or else down at their phones. They were all so focused on their next destination that it took the second or third explosion of red-colored fireworks above their heads to get their attention.

“That’s odd… there isn’t a festival today.”

“Oh, cool.”

“Hey, aren’t there more than just sparks coming down from those fireworks? There’s like… paper.”

Red and black calling cards papered the district’s streets, alleys, and roofs.

A man in a gaudy suit read one, breaking into a sweat as he did so. _ ‘Oh, shit. The boss needs to know. I really hope someone tells him before I do.’ _

>>>

A booming shot from a .50 caliber weapon rang out in Kaneshiro’s club. The fat yakuza _ wakagashira _ stood over the corpse in the gaudy suit, smoke coming out of his equally showy Desert Eagle.

“The _ fuck _ is this? The Phantom Thieves? They’re going to steal my _ desires _ ? What kind of shit is this. Someone’s coming for my money. It’s always about the money…” His beady eyes snapped to the other subordinate in the room. The one still breathing. “You. Tell everyone to come in and to bring their earnings. _ Everything _ ! If anyone fails to come in, they’ll be labeled a traitor and slaughtered like cattle! Them _ and _ their families!”

In the Metaverse, Shadow Kaneshiro stared coldly at his Treasure as it slowly manifested into a briefcase the color of solid cold. “...Fine. Come if you dare, thieves. I’ll tear your debt out of your hides…”

>>>

July 1, 20xx 

The fort around Kaneshiro’s Bank had grown more menacing since the Phantom Thieves’ last incursion. The towers now bristled with gatling guns and steam-powered ballista weapons lined the walls. Truly, Kaneshiro’s cognition had responded to the calling card.

But even his subconscious couldn’t imagine the magnitude of the simultaneous assault on three of four of the walls.

On one side, Ann, backed by Celestine, reduced the wall to cinders in an instant; the heat was so intense and flames so powerful that the sand below the wall was turned to glass. Ann strode through, her boots clicking on the smooth, hard surface. Her SMG was slung on her back, her whip at her side - she didn’t bother with the weapons. With simple gestures, guards were reduced to ash.

On another, Yusuke and Goemon froze the length of wall along with all the defensive weapons mounted on it. He then drew his sword. Behind him, Goemon mimicked his motion, his pipe changing into a monstrously long _ daitou _. The artist slashed the air; Goemon cut down the wall. Wood and brass shattered and melted.

And on the third, Ren summoned his most trusted partner, Arsene. He waved a hand almost dismissively at the wall. Arsene, laughing, shot forward, seeming to vanish. Cursed, black flame spread along the wall. As Joker approached, it crumbled as hundreds of years of decay occurred in a matter of seconds.

The three Phantom Thieves met in front of the bank. The defenses on the remaining wall behind the bank turned to face them.

Ren clicked a detonator.

The wall exploded.

Ren flashed a grin at Ann and Yusuke. He twitched his wrists, the black blades snapping forward. “Let’s lay out the welcome mat for the others.”

>>>

Deep underground, two guards in front of the vault door were blown off their feet by a blast from Mona and Zorro. Before they even had a chance to hit the ground, Makoto was between them. She axe-kicked one out of the air with her right leg and into the floor before pivoting and planting on the same leg, striking out with a left thrust kick into the other, sending it hard into the wall.

The shadows started to screech and turn into their other forms; they were forestalled by a tonfa jab to the base of the skull on one and a shotgun blast to the other.

Ryuji, slinging his smoking gun onto his back, dashed by Makoto. He reached the vault door, starting to reach into his satchel for an explosive - until he realized that the door had changed.

“...Guys. Guys, this won’t work. We didn’t bring enough firepower for this!”

Mona turned, using his slingshot to lob explosive pellets into oncoming guards. “Figure something out, Skull!”

Makoto joined Mona, picking off guards as they came. “What kind of lock is it?!”

Ryuji looked. “I… I think magnetic?”

“Short it out! It’ll work, Skull! Just target the mechanism!”

Ryuji let out a breath. The entire door was insulated, save for a few spots. He placed a hand on one of the few exposed metal parts. He closed his eyes, shutting out the gunfire behind him as he called Captain Kidd to his side. The ghostly pirate placed his skeletal hand on the door beside Ryuji as the boy started to _ see _ the conductive paths in his mind. He understood, somehow, that brute force would fry the mechanism and force it to seal shut forever. He didn’t need a hard push - he needed a gentle nudge.

He directed just a few electrons, in a certain way that felt _ right _…

The keypad started beeping. There was a click and hiss as the vault door rolled aside.

“Go! Let’s go!” Ryuji waved them in.

The three backed inside the vault, firing away. Ryuji gave a cheeky wave as he keyed the controls from inside, the vault door rolling shut again.

Makoto looked over her shoulder, seeing the golden briefcase behind them. “Is that the treasure?

Ryuji and Makoto watched as Mona purred, snuggling up against the briefcase. Ryuji, looking mildly disturbed, nodded at Makoto. “He wouldn’t really do that, otherwise.”

She slammed the button to activate the escape elevator.

The room moved, rapidly shooting towards the surface. Makoto keyed her radio, greeted by the sound of gunfire, explosions, and screeches of dying shadows.

“Assault team, status?”

Ren responded. “We’re holding the elevator door, Your Excellency.”

Makoto heard the telltale report of Ren’s twin 1911s, followed by the mocking laughter of Arsene.

“Better hurry, though. I think we’re breaking this bank’s withdrawal limit!”

“We’re on our way. Hold on!”

The elevator slowed to a halt; the door opened, revealing Ren, Yusuke, and Ann laying down suppressing fire to allow the infiltration team to join them behind cover.

“Alright! You got it, Mona?!” Ren called.

“Got it!” The cat-bandit called, toting the briefcase on his back. “Let’s get out of here! The Palace is going to collapse at any moment!”

The reunited team fought their way to the bank entrance, forcing their way out. Ryuji whistled at the destruction left by the assault team. “Damn, guys! Easy-peasy…”

Mona gave a thumbs up. “Ehe he… No problem! Even I have to admit, Queen was the decisive difference this time!” He tossed the briefcase into the air, transforming into his cat-bus form and tilting on his side to catch the case.

A lasso snagged the briefcase midair, hauling it back to the bank. At the entrance, Kaneshiro laughed, holding the case.

“Did you cretins really think it was going to be that easy? I have you just where I want you…” He turned, heading back into the bank and narrowly avoiding Ren’s gunfire.

“Damn… Come on, let’s go after him! He’s got nowhere to… …”

The ground started to shake ominously.

The dirt around the bank burst and cracked. The bank rose in the air, supported on legs made of train cars; wielding arms made of steam engines. Each ‘knee’ of the bank-train mecha bore a steel-wrought relief of an exploited student, contorted in pain. The pauldrons of the steampunk behemoth bore the same decoration. The steam-powered hands of the machine were on one hand, a jackhammer. On the other, a massive axe. Turrets operated by shadow guards bristled from the shoulders.

Its face was the entrance of the bank, bars slamming down to act as teeth.

The whole mess was chaotic appearing, with exposed gears and parts hissing and grinding, puffs and clouds of steam blown off as it moved threateningly. It was as if a Michael Bay Transformers movie had been pushed back into a steampunk-Western.

Kaneshiro’s voice was amplified, booming across the empty field. “Haha… No one fucks with Kaneshiro! Time to call in your debt, you little shits!”

The group stared, wide-eyed, as the massive jackhammer crashed down toward them. It was simply too massive to dodge.

Instead of being obliterated, the jackhammer stopped before striking the team - it was met by a _ daitou _, wielded by Goemon.

“Holy… Yusuke!” Ryuji said, eyes wide.

Yusuke stood there, his sword held above his head in a block. One hand was on the hilt, the other on the back of his sword as he held off the attack. He seemingly was blocking nothing, but he grit his teeth; his white-booted feet cracked the ground under him. Goemon was above and behind him, holding his daitou in the same fashion.

The two of them together yelled, shrugging off the blow.

Yusuke took _ jodan _, his sword held in a high guard above his head. Goemon followed suit. “Kaneshiro! Your days of preying on the weak are numbered! We, the Phantom Thieves, will end the shadow you have cast over Shibuya, and--”

Yusuke and Goemon parried a blow from the axe hand as the Phantom Thieves scattered.

“Remember what I said about monologues, Fox!” Ren yelled. He dashed forward, summoning Lachesis, the sister of Clotho. The sister of fate held a thread, seemingly measuring it. She glanced at Ren distractedly.

_ ‘Not quite your time yet, Trickster…’ _

Lachesis made multiple barriers of ice, blocking the jackhammer blow that was coming at Yusuke, freeing Goemon up to cut into the side of the colossus.

“Support Fox!” Ren called.

The Phantom Thieves focused on healing and boosting Fox’s attack and defense power, chipping in with attacks whenever they could. They frantically dodged turret fire until Ann managed to reduce one to slag. The other sparked and smoked from Ryuji’s attack. Gradually, they wore Kaneshiro down.

But the yakuza only laughed mockingly. The bank-mecha crouched down suddenly. It deployed railroad tracks that formed a dome over itself. Goemon and Yusuke cut away at the railroad tracks, but the mecha kept pouring out iron and wood to replace what the two removed. Soon, though, the thieves had other concerns.

The massive hatches around the yard, the ones that Yusuke and Mona had seen prior, slid open.

Waves of pinata-people arrived on trains from the tracks within the hatches. They were forced out of the trains by guards firing revolvers into the air as the tracks forming the wall around Kaneshiro started to spin rapidly. It became a blender of wood, metal, and railroad spikes as the pinata people ran into it like lemmings, exploding into cash and gold bars. This money flew into the air, funneling down and into the dome.

The railroad tracks faded; the bank-mecha was completely repaired. The guards turned to the thieves.

“Well.” Ren said, performing a pivot and turn around a bayonet thrust, simultaneously driving a check hook into the neck of the attacking guard. He flicked his wrist to the side, cutting through the spine of the shadow. “That’s inconvenient.”

Yusuke grimaced, raising his blade to deflect an axe blow. “I trust you will find a solution to that, Joker! Goemon and I will hold on however long it takes!”

Ren, tied up in a grapple with another shadow, looked at Yusuke. The artist was paler than usual, panting. _ ‘...One, maybe two more rounds.’ _

The leader of the Phantom Thieves drove his knee into the stomach of the guard, gracefully leaping up and twisting to land behind. A black blade erupted from the chest of the guard. Ren spun to face three more, his right hand wielding Vengeance over the shoulder of the impaled shadow. He fired in rapid succession, taking them down before calling out orders.

“Next time he does that, Panther - torch the pinatas. Makoto, Ryuji, we’re on the guards. Mona! See if you can figure out how to stop the trains!”

They fought on. Soon, Kaneshiro summoned the rail-dome again. This time, though, there were double the pinata-people and double the guards. The thieves fought valiantly. Ren spun, stabbing a guard through the throat with his left before performing a chopping right that jabbed through the temple of another one. He immediately crouched down, a blazing whip lashing above him and taking the throat of a guard coming behind him. He then stood, drawing his gun and killing a gunman aiming at Ryuji.

In turn, the blonde electrocuted three facing down Makoto, who took them apart with her whirling tonfas.

But the coordination wasn’t enough. Again, Kaneshiro repaired. And this time…

“Play time’s over, you ants. Did you think I was just going to try to wear you down?!”

The mecha deployed massive chains; slowly, they started spinning, accelerating until they became a maelstrom of metal and blunt trauma.

The Phantom Thieves were nearly wiped out, scattered and beaten nearly to death by the single attack. Mona slammed into an open hatch, falling to the ground beside a rail. He groaned, blearily casting a healing spell as Makoto, Ren, and Ann did the same. Ryuji hit the ground beside him. The blonde winced, looking up. The chains had stopped, but Kaneshiro stomped toward Yusuke and Ren, who had fallen near each other.

Kaneshiro was going in for the kill.

“...R...Ryuji! Can you short out the hatches?!”

Ryuji put a hand on the rail, calling Captain Kidd. He sensed what he’d need to do, feeling despair at the impossible task.

“...It’s… the power I would need...”

The hatches were controlled by massive mechanisms. All four were spread widely apart with nothing between them that would serve as a conductor. And, the controls were at least as well insulated as the vault. Since he only had to short them out now, he could brute force this, in theory - but he would have to generate a veritable lightning storm, something bigger than he had ever done before.

Kaneshiro stomped toward Ren, laughing. The jackhammer raised. Ann weakly raised her hand toward him, trying to cast something - anything. Ryuji could only watch helplessly as his best friend was about to die in front of Ann.

_ ‘Not like this! Come on, Cap’n! Anything! Anything you’ve got!’ _

Ren stared up at the jackhammer from his knees. Yusuke tried in vain to re-summon Goemon, too weak to do so. The massive, blunt object sped down toward the two Phantom Thieves.

A bolt of lightning struck Kaneshiro through the chest. It was blinding, coming out of the clear blue sky.

The mecha sparked and hissed, steam blowing out of all the vents as it stumbled back into a crouch. It immediately summoned the whirling rail-dome. But, this time, dark clouds gathered.

Ryuji rose to his feet, raising a hand crackling with electricity. His eyes glowed yellow.

“_ William _!”

Ryuji’s Persona appeared - rather, something that looked like a mix of Ryuji’s unique style combined with the skeletal pirate that was Captain Kidd. The Persona now rode a modern yacht and had a rail rifle as its right hand instead of the cannon, headphones and hood on.

“Light ‘em up!”

William, laughing, aimed at the sky. A beam of electric fire charged the clouds.

Lightning bolts shot down at the four hatches, shorting them immediately as lightning struck them repeatedly. They slid shut.

The dome persisted, even without the cash and gold supply of the pinata men. Ryuji, seeing this, aimed his shotgun with a single hand. William parroted his movement, aiming at the dome. They both fired - twin electric beams blasted into the dome. The electricity, added to the spin of the metal created a magnetic force that tore the pieces off the mecha in a shriek of ripping metal and electric sparks. The spinning dome collapsed, leaving the behemoth smoking and sparking, missing an arm.

Ryuji collapsed, exhausted from the Second Awakening. William faded back into Ryuji’s mask. Kaneshiro’s voice crackled on.

“You… do you know how _ expensive _ this was?! I’ll… I’ll kill you all!”

It staggered to its feet.

Yusuke stood slowly, green energy surrounding him as healing spells were cast by the team. His mask vanished as Goemon took his stance behind the artist once more, the pipe turning again into sword.

“Goemon… Blood Moon!”

He slashed in a crimson crescent, the attack sacrificing the artists’ own lifeblood - to devastating effect on Kaneshiro’s mecha. Gears, wood, and iron showered the empty ground of the once-citadel, leaving the portly yakuza flat on his face; the golden briefcase beside him.

Kaneshiro stood, snatching it up and turning to run.

Ren was too fast. The leader of the Phantom Thieves grabbed the short, fat man by the back of his jacket collar, brutally slamming his face into the dirt. One blade stabbed through the right shoulder and into the dirt to the tune of a shrill scream. The second blade did the same. Ren detached them, leaving them in the man and pinning him to the ground.

“AAaagh! No! Please, stop!”

“Ren!” Ann shouted, running over.

Ren held up a hand. He gave her a reassuring smile, as if to say he was still in control of himself. “Panther... I’m fine. Look at his wrists.” He pulled the sleeves up, revealing two hidden derringer pistols. “I needed to keep him from using anything hidden. He’s a violent coward. Queen - just like Kamoshida and Madarame before this bastard… It’s your call what to do.”

“My ‘call’...?”

Ren took out Vengeance, cocking the hammer back and pressing it to the back of Kaneshiro’s head. “Your call.”

Makoto’s eyes widened, surprised at the almost casual way that Ren had suggested that the summary execution of a criminal was a possible outcome. She stepped forward, putting a hand over Ren’s gun. “No. Not this. Let’s just take the Treasure and go.”

Ren nodded, standing. “As you say.”

Kaneshiro struggled. “P-please! Anything but that! I’ll cut you a deal. If you let me keep that, I’ll tell you about how you can use these Palaces to make all the money you could want! You could be rich… powerful! Just like the Black Mask…”

“...The Black Mask?” Ren asked.

“Haha… you don’t even know. Figures... There’s someone out there, who uses the Metaverse to do whatever he wants. Mental shutdowns… deaths… people going berserk… whatever he wants to get what he wants. And you idiots are just playing around with your ‘justice’...”

Ren put a foot on the back of one of the blades, still embedded in Kaneshiro’s shoulder. He stepped down on it and pushed it deeper. The rest of the Phantom Thieves looked on in shock. Ren had been more controlled, certainly. But this control apparently applied to his use of violence and outright torture.

The man screeched.

“Talk, Kaneshiro.” Ren said, a genial smile on his face. “We won’t kill you. But I can make sure that your few remaining moments before turning to your other self will be unpleasant.”

“...Haha… ...no. Nevermind. If I talk… I’m sure to die. If I keep quiet, then maybe my ‘changed’ self will at least survive long enough to watch you die...”

Shadow Kaneshiro faded and vanished. A distant rumble cued the collapse of the Palace.

“Mona - you have the Treas...ure?”

Mona was purring, lying on the briefcase and rolling back and forth like the cat he wasn’t supposed to be. “Treasure… mmmiiaaaow. It feels so _ good _ to be human…!”

Ann shook her head, standing beside Ren. “That’s more than a little disturbing…”

“Ann-dono~~~”

Mona leapt at Ann. “Mweee he he he!”

Ren reached out, grasping the cat-bandit by the scruff of the neck just before he stuck himself to Ann’s face. Sighing, he flung the Phantom Thief - who transformed into his bus form in the arc of the throw, landing.

“You shouldn’t throw animals!”

“You shouldn’t launch yourself at unsuspecting girls!”

Ann smirked, allowing Celestine to exert her influence. She whispered into Ren’s ear. “Thanks, Wildcard. Though, you can throw yourself at me _ any _ time…”

Ren, feeling a little hot under the collar, climbed into the bus. “Let’s go, Phantom Thieves!”

>>>

“Wait. Doesn’t this money look strange?” Yusuke noted, pointing where Yukichi Fukuzawa, the Meiji philosopher featured on the normal ten thousand yen note should be. Instead, it was Shadow Kaneshiro. “And I don’t think that the bank of Japan is called the ‘Children’s Bank’...”

Ryuji groaned. “Are you fucking kiddin’ me…?! After all that we went through? I feel like I’ve just run an entire track event.”

The team was gathered in Leblanc’s attic. They had, of course, waited for Akechi to leave the cafe and Yongen-Jaya. They had fitted Mona’s collar with a radio in the real world to use him as a scout.

Ann sighed. “I know what you mean. If the First Awakening was hard, the Second…”

Yusuke frowned. “Was it painful?”

“...No. Yes.” Ann said, shaking her head, at a loss for words. “It hurt, too. But it was like ripping off a bandaid, maybe? Only more extreme. It hurt, but it felt _ right _. And now, it feels like the separation between myself and my Persona is just a little thinner.”

“I think that makes sense.” Ren said. “After Celestine showed herself, Ann, I looked up the name. Celestine Galli-Marie was the _ mezzo soprano _who made the role of Carmen famous. The real person behind the fictional one.”

Mona chirped, jumping up on the table. Apparently now fully recovered from having the briefcase land on him. “That’s right! The Second Awakening is a sign of fully throwing away the mask that you’re forced to wear by the world.”

Ann looked uncertain, thinking of how she had felt during the process. “...What if we lose ourselves in the process?”

“I wouldn’t think of it that way.” Mona said, nodding confidently. “I’d think of it more like _ finding _ yourself. So long as we keep our goals in sight, and have Ren leading the way, you all have nothing to worry about.”

Makoto blinked. “...How do you know all of that?”

Mona startled, looking surprised. “I… I just knew? Hey! I remembered something!”

The cat excitedly started speculating if that meant he was regaining his humanity.

Ren just nodded, keeping his expression neutral. Like Ann, he had his doubts. He wasn’t blind to the fact that the hesitation had faded from his fighting style in the Metaverse. Ever since his breakthrough against Madarame, he simply did what had to be done. But it wasn’t so much that he had come to grips with it… Rather, the boy had compartmentalized. Joker was the one who used bloody violence, blade and gun. Joker was the one who used torture and pain to make people talk.

_ ‘Villains and shadows.’ _Ren added, mentally. But it was a hollow comfort..

In the end, Mona’s words, meant to be reassuring, chilled him and reminded him of the question he didn’t have the guts to ask the twins or Igor. The question that burned in his mind the last time he had been to the Velvet Room.

_ ‘Where does this talent for violence come from? Is it me, or is it Arsene? Or is it one and the same?’ _

Yusuke’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Anyway. The case itself looks like it could be worth something…”

Ryuji brightened. “Great! Let’s sell it and go big! Like another buffet or something!”

Ren shook his head. “We should lay low for awhile. At least until after Kaneshiro confesses.”

Makoto sighed. “I’ll let you all know if he contacts me again. Hopefully, it’ll be good news…”

>>>

July 6, 20xx 

Makoto sighed, lying flat on her bed. She never thought she’d feel so profoundly relieved after a call from a yakuza.

_ ‘This is Kaneshiro. I… I’m calling off your debt. And I thought you’d like to know that I’m going to release _ ** _all _ ** _ the students from debt and service to me. I… I was wrong. The only thing your sister will have to worry about now is taking my confession.’ _

She shook her head, smiling. It had really worked. And predictably, Sae had come home in a foul mood.

_ ‘This is _ ** _humiliating_ ** _ ! All the hours on this case, all the CI’s, everything! It was all for nothing! The Phantom Thieves again…’ _

Despite the victory for justice and ending the exploitation, Sae seemed more concerned with her reputation and saving face. She had been short with Makoto again, the guilt from her previous outburst already forgotten. But now, Makoto knew who she was. She was a teenage girl in her last year of high school, uncertain of what she wanted to do with her life. And that was _ fine _. She was going to figure things out on her own.

She rolled onto her side, collecting one of her pillows and hugging it to herself. She smiled.

_ ‘I want to call him. I want to call him right now, and tell him ‘thank you’. And tell him…’ _

She rolled, flopping to her back and kicking her legs against the bed in a way that was exceedingly unlike a student council president. _ ‘And tell him what? He said he’d listen to whatever I have to say. But… ‘ _

How could she just say it? What did she even want to say? It was complicated. She knew there was nothing there for her romantically. And it was beyond a simple thank you. He cared about her when she thought no one did. He was her first friend in years, seeing past the guise of a student council president and seeing a frustrated, lonely, and angry girl. No one since her father had…

She gasped, words from the past filling her mind. That last training session with her father. She had just started middle school, and things weren’t going well. She wasn’t making friends; she felt left out. But she put on a brave face at home, not wanting to burden her father or her sister. Suddenly, though, Toshi Niijima had asked his daughter to accompany him to the police department’s dojo.

>>>

Makoto smiled at her father before bowing, dressed in her white _ gi _. She then exhaled, dropping into the stance that had become muscle memory for her. Her right hand and foot forward, her left back. Her father took the same stance, moving forward to the start position. Neither of them wore protective gear, but the unquestioned trust that she had in her father and teacher gave her full confidence that she would not hurt him.

“Hya!” Makoto cried, attacking with a leading front kick.

Her father raised his leg to block, immediately catching the follow-up left straight and putting his hip into his daughter’s thigh in a shoulder throw.

Makoto went with the throw, landing in a roll and springing to her feet.

The bout continued on, Toshi easily parrying or turning Makoto’s force against her.

She grew increasingly frustrated, throwing more and more of herself into it. He wasn’t giving her an inch, no matter how hard she tried. There wasn’t a single opening. It wasn’t _ fair _. This bout wasn’t fair. School wasn’t fair. Her entire life… She eventually swung wildly at her father with a strangled kiai, her timing and body position completely off.

He gently brushed the blow aside, catching her as she stumbled due to her own off-balance punch. As Toshi predicted, Makoto burst into tears, clutching her father’s gi.

He patted her back, letting her get it out. As she quieted, he spoke.

“Makoto. Do you know why I asked you to spar, today?”

Makoto shook her head, still clinging to him.

“It’s because when you cross fists with someone you truly trust, and they push you to use more and more of your ability, your _ will _, there can’t be any lies. There are feints, diversions. But the truth in your heart becomes clear to see, both to you and your partner. It’s okay to be frustrated, Makoto. It’s okay to be angry. These aren’t failures. They’re things that tell you that you haven’t given up. That you’re growing.”

She looked up at him. She smiled a little, tears still staining her young face. “...Father…”

“Thank you for sharing your feelings with me, Makoto.”

>>>

_ ‘He’ll listen to whatever I have to say…’ _

It was plainly obvious what she had to do.

Makoto grabbed her phone.

“Hello? Ann…?”

>>>

July 9, 20xx 

Ren sat in the ring in the multi-purpose room, his back against a ring post as he unsuccessfully read a book. He had probably been over the same passage six times, repeatedly reading about one specific event in the life and times of William Kidd. He found himself constantly losing his place.

_ ‘...What if we lose ourselves in the process?’ _

_ ‘I’d think of it more like finding yourself.’ _

Despite their confirmed victory over Kaneshiro, Ren found himself muling over the same conversation. The truth was, he wasn’t sure which prospect was more frightening. He had slipped out of class early, skipping the last block - Kawakami lately had been turning a blind eye to him slipping away occasionally. A perk of helping ‘Becky’, he supposed.

A few minutes after the last bell, his gym bag thudded into the ring in front of him.

_ ‘Hm? I left that at Ann’s…’ _ He looked up. The aforementioned blonde stood at ringside, her hands behind her back. She smiled at him. “Hey, Wildcard.”

“Hey, Songbird.” Ren said, smiling. “What’s this…?”

“You’ve been mopey lately. So it’s time to hit some things.”

“Are you challenging me?” Ren asked, wryly. “Never know how a fight between us might turn out. Might get a little _ rough _.”

Ann shrugged, nonplussed. “I’m not your opponent.” She turned, leaving, as his opponent walked in.

Makoto stood at ringside, dressed in black leggings and sports bra, with a grey tank top over it. Her hands were already wrapped up.

Ren blinked. “Makoto? Hey, look. If you’re frustrated about something, I get it. But I can help you with mitts. We don’t need to--”

“I have something to tell you.” Makoto said, simply. “And this is how I want to do it.”

Ren immediately understood the challenge for what it was, but hesitated. He hadn’t fought anyone inside of a real ring since before the arrest. He had been avoiding it, uncertain of his own heart - of what he might do in the heat of the moment. But, he could see that Makoto was resolved. And he had told her that he would listen to whatever she had to say...

“...I see. Well. Then, wait a few minutes.”

Ren left, getting changed. He returned, entering the ring with his hands wrapped. He looked at Makoto. “Rules, then?”

“Kicks and grapples allowed.” Makoto said, as she dropped back into her stance. “Headgear and whatever gloves you want to wear.”

Ren nodded. He took an orthodox boxing stance, a little different from his usual ‘Detroit Hitman’ stance that he had in the Metaverse.

Makoto moved forward, feeling him out with a few jabs and quick front kicks.

Ren deflected and parried, returning the jabs.

Makoto frowned, backing up. This was wrong. She could feel the hesitation in his fists. He wasn’t taking this seriously. 

“Ren. You said you’d listen.”

“It’s not that easy, Makoto.” Ren replied. “Like I said, if you’re frustrated, or--”

“Are you a liar, Ren?” She moved in, striking now with real intent beyond just feeling out her opponent. She would drag real intent out of him, even if she had to force him.

Ren swore as another perfect roundhouse kick nearly took his head off. “Damnit, Makoto--!” The wind was knocked out of him as he barely got his hands in the way of a follow up thrust kick to his solar plexus. Coughing, he moved forward in enraged instinct.

Makoto’s eyes widened, seeing the subtle shift as his shoulders turned slightly more, his left hand lowered. Two jabs lanced in from the left side, forcing her to parry. She braced herself for the chopping right. Instead, she fell for the feint. A hard left hook clipped her headgear, sending her stumbling.

She regained her balance. The two stared each other down. Makoto felt it, then, in his rush. The truth of his heart.

He was afraid. He was afraid of hurting her… of hurting everyone. He was afraid of his own strength. The boy she… had feelings for, the reliable leader of their group, thought so little of himself. At first, she had initiated this ‘conversation’ to show him the depth of her feelings. Now, though…

_ ‘I need to show him what he looks like in my eyes. He can’t be mine, but I can at least show him… he doesn’t need to fear his own strength.’ _

She charged ahead.

It was Ren’s turn to be surprised. Makoto attacked him with an intensity that forced him to fight seriously.

A flicker jab forestalled Makoto’s straight. She dodged his chopping right. Ren then narrowly dodged a thrust kick.

_ ‘Thank you.’ _

A brief clinch. An attempt at a knee to the stomach. He threw her off, before darting in for the opening.

_ ‘You gave me a place to belong. You gave us all a place to belong.’ _

A check hook. She ducked under it, catching his arm and putting her hip into him, throwing him to the mat. He rolled with the throw, springing to his feet.

_ ‘I know your heart isn’t mine. I know it can’t be. I just want you to know… Thank you. Thank you for seeing the real me, when no one else did.’ _

_ ‘Please, let this reach you. Let this reach you, so you understand how much you mean to us. How much you mean to me. Let this reach you, so I can let you go.’ _

The flurry of action came to a slow halt. The fight had indeed been a conversation - a mutual understanding found by two comrades in battle, a trusted opponent and unquestioned friend. Ren stood, his left hand slightly forward. Makoto faced him directly, her right fist ahead. Lightly, they touched gloves.

“...Thank you, Makoto.” Ren said, quietly. His gentle smile told her everything she needed to know.

She simply bowed, and left.

Ren watched her go. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. _ ‘Lose myself, or find myself… I don’t have an answer yet. I don’t believe in myself, yet. But… she does. They all do.’ _

>>>

Shiho looked quietly out the window, taking a bus on the way to visit her physiotherapist for the last time. She had been making excellent progress, already ahead of the program. Absently, she rubbed her knee; the incisions from the arthroscopic surgery were almost completely faded by now. She was, in effect, raring to go.

She smirked. _ ‘Wonder if the champ would teach me to box. Though, that might drive Ann crazy.’ _

Earlier in the week, Ann had called Shiho, frantic.

_ ‘Shiho! Makoto wants to fight Ren in some kind of weird confession! She asked me if I was okay with it! What do I do?!’ _

_ ‘Well, _ ** _are_ ** _ you?’ _

_ ‘I kinda have to be! I told her to go ahead and confess and say whatever she wanted, but fighting him? What if he gets hurt? What if she knocks him out and he wakes up in love with her?! What if I have to punch him out again after that?! I’ll do it if I have to, I swear to God.’ _

Shiho stifled a giggle at the memory. Ann in the end had called Makoto back, telling her that if she needed to do this for closure, then she should go ahead. The blonde girl considered Makoto a friend, oddly enough, and wanted her to be able to move on.

But, the champ always threw the blonde off-kilter. Just like she did the same for him. She glanced at her phone. There probably was some kind of resolution about this already. She tapped her contacts, bringing up the text message with Ann. She winced, as the bus seemed to accelerate over a bump. At least she’d get there faster, it seemed.

**SS: Hey, girl. How did things go with the boy and Mako-chan?**

Suddenly, gravity had no meaning and her phone flew from her hand. The world became a deafening cacophony of screeching metal and shattering glass.

Blearily, Shiho looked around. She was somehow sitting on the side of the bus, now. It took her a moment to register that the bus had been tipped over. It felt like she was under water; her body felt sluggish, and sound seemed dulled. She carefully made sure each of her limbs was working before moving toward the emergency exit on the roof. She kicked it open, and stepped into blinding light. There was a roar of noise as sound returned to her.

People were screaming; yelling. She shook her head.

_ ‘In an emergency situation, Shiho, you first need to take care of yourself. Make sure there’s nothing dangerous, and then start looking for people who need help…’ _

Shiho shook her head one more time, snapping out of the haze. She quickly evaluated the situation. No fires, nothing obviously dangerous She spotted a portly man lying on the ground, dressed in some kind of jumpsuit. He was bleeding from a wound on his leg, near his groin.

She ran over, applying pressure. “Sorry! Sorry, this is going to hurt!”

The man mumbled something.

Shiho looked around for help. She spotted a dazed looking girl, whose right arm hung limply at her side.

“You! You, come here! Quick!”

The girl staggered over, clearly in shock. Despite the dirt and assorted scrapes, she was beautiful, reminding Shiho of Reiko.

_ ‘If you need to enlist help, find out the person’s name and address them by it. It will help refocus them, and make them feel responsible.’ _

“What’s your name, miss?”

“Hi..Hifumi. Hifumi Togo… ...He’s bleeding.”

“Yes. Yes, I know, Togo-san. Do you have a phone? Please call for help.”

Hifumi nodded. She numbly took her phone out with her left hand - her right didn’t seem to want to work - and called emergency services.

The man in the jumpsuit mumbled something.

“...Just… just what I deserve. Don’t… don’t bother…”

Shiho looked up, alarmed. She felt the pulsing artery under her hand grow more thready.

“Togo-san! Please! Please, put pressure here! Lean down with all your weight!”

Shiho moved to the man’s head, lightly tapping his cheek. “Sir! Sir, hang on! Help is on the way!”

He didn’t respond. As Shiho watched him stop breathing and started chest compressions, it was only then she realized she recognized the man.

This was the confessed yakuza boss from the news who had turned himself in. This was Junya Kaneshiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had fun with the boss fight concept. Writing it... a little less. These things go well in video games, but when you have a large cast of characters it doesn't make sense for people to stand around and do nothing.
> 
> On Mika/Ann storyline - In the game, Ann didn't get the motivation to take modeling seriously until interacting with the protagonist etc. Not quite the same here - Ann took it seriously ahead of time, but started working out with Ren as part of being a Phantom Thief. As an unexpected side effect of this in this timeline, she has been successful a little earlier, and without as much involvement from Ren in getting there.
> 
> Shiho - So blunt/awesome. If you've been reading along, you've seen as well that not all the confidants are directly interacting with Ren. Shiho will be involved in Takemi/Hifumi. Makes more sense to me - this story's Ren is already overly involved, and having him be the primary contact for over a dozen people in their personal crisis would be hard to write.
> 
> Ren - Speaking of our boy, his issues are recurring for a couple reasons. First, depression/depression spectrum illness doesn't just 'go away' after a dramatic intervention. It's a constant struggle, where relapse is the rule, not the exception. He's going to backslide. And he's gradually learning to rely on Ann/his friends to pull him out of it. Boxing for him remains complicated - as I wrote, he's compartmentalized, not really dealt with the issues. He just does what he needs to do. Fighting Makoto is a breakthrough moment for him, and he owes her for showing him - he can fight, he can do it without holding back, but he's still a good person
> 
> Ryuji/William - Same argument as Ann. Makes more sense to go from Captain Kidd to William Kidd, rather than from Captain Kidd to Goku :P
> 
> The fight (you know which one) - Similar theme from the heavy bag/shadow boxing moments. You really do leave it all on the floor, sometimes. Some of the closest friendships I've had have been with people where we've mutually beaten the crap out of each other in a martial arts setting


	18. Undercard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The undercard in boxing are the fights leading to the main event. They are meant to build excitement, give people a chance to see up and coming fighters, and of course, make the audience feel like they got their money’s worth for their evening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some definitions ahead of time:  
'S' - sadist  
'M' - masochist  
'keikii' - cake
> 
> Fluff heavy/Shuann heavy chapter.

July 9, 20xx 

Goro Akechi stood in his luxurious apartment overlooking Shibuya. It was more expensive than most professionals could afford - certainly more expensive than a high school student could, living on his own. However, his ‘part time job’ had certain perks. He was, however, experiencing one of the expected drawbacks of being the left hand of a corrupt politician. That drawback being frequent performance reviews.

“Excuse me, sir, but you told me to be more circumspect, did you not?” Akechi asked politely, speaking into his phone.

“Circumspect?! Is that how you describe using an entire passenger bus to assassinate _ one _ lowly yakuza boss? Are you insane?!”

“Ah, but you told me to avoid mental shutdowns out of nowhere. This was going to be the only time the SID was going to move Kaneshiro for the foreseeable future, so really, there was no other way to make this look like an accident.”

“Tch. You little shit. ...Fine. You were successful, even if messy. He’s dead, and no one will know that he was working for us. Three passengers died too, and two were injured. Including that ‘shogi princess’.”

“Ah. That’s a shame. I do enjoy watching her play.”

“Lay low for awhile. Stand by for further orders. We still need to identify the Phantom Thieves.”

“Ah. About that. I think that..”

“I don’t keep you around to think. You’re an attack dog. Nothing more. Don’t you ever forget that. If I want your help in identifying the Phantom Thieves, I’ll _ tell _you.”

The line went dead.

Akechi put his phone down. He clenched a fist, his face briefly contorting into rage before returning to his usual bland smile. He sat down at his desk to get to work, stopping only to turn on some music. Jazz - the kind that Amamiya played at Crossroads, from time to time. Akechi had learned from patrons of the bar that the other boy worked there. He hadn’t dared to follow him in, though - his brief experiment in showing up at Leblanc had been a miserable failure, leading to Amamiya no longer using the cafe as a place to meet up with his friends.

He was listening to the music not because he was particularly interested in it. He was, however, interested in Amamiya. Akechi suspected Amamiya had involvement with the Phantom Thieves. Firstly, the company he kept - three people directly targeted by the criminals affected by the group. And secondly, a gut instinct. Something he had read about in the detective novels he used to base his behavior on. The ‘Detective Prince’ of course had no actual skill in ‘deducing’ as he liked to say. Almost all of his cases had benefited from meddling with the Metaverse.

But with Amamiya, there was something… unsettling. Something that drove him to learn as much as he could about the boy.

As _ Paper Moon _ started playing, Akechi frowned.

He already hated this music.

>>>

July 11, 20xx 

**RA: So is Shiho okay?**

**AT: She is. Just a few scratches, miraculously. She’s still going to come to school, but afterwards she’s going to go and visit the girl that tried to help her save Kaneshiro’s life.**

**YK: I still cannot believe it… Kaneshiro, dead. I know we discussed this yesterday, but I cannot help but feel responsible…**

**RA: Yusuke. I know it’s hard, but this was always going to be a possibility. Kaneshiro confessed all his crimes, but he was also going to inform on all of his connections as well. The yakuza don’t tolerate that kind of betrayal.**

**MN: Agreed. It’s not the ideal outcome, but he backed us into a corner.**

**RA: So is Shiho going to visit the girl in the hospital?**

**AT: No, in a church. Weird, right? It’s Hifumi Togo.**

**RS: Holy shit - ** ** _the_ ** ** Hifumi Togo?! That shogi princess?! Can Shiho introduce me?!**

**MN: She was literally in a bus crash, Ryuji. And you need to study.**

**RS: Killjoy.**

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? How the Phantom Thieves were able to take down a criminal who even the police had trouble getting to. A shame how he died before he could give the police more information about who he was working with.”

Ren didn’t acknowledge the voice of Akechi as he stood at the train platform in Shibuya on the way to school. Instead, he clicked open a private message with Ann. He smiled to himself, looking at the picture she had sent him. It was from yesterday, after the gang had adjourned from studying. He and Ann had gone to the Seaside Top Observatory in Minato and had taken a great picture of themselves at the top, with the Rainbow Bridge in the background.

Ren became aware of Akechi’s presence at his side, the Detective Prince trying to peer over his shoulder at Ren’s phone. Ren abruptly elbowed him in the side, forcing him away.

“Oh. Sorry.” Ren said, insincerely. “Didn’t see you there. I try not to acknowledge random people who approach me and start speaking as if I was in a conversation with them. Usually means they’re high. Or trying to sell me something.”

Akechi rubbed his ribs, wincing. He briefly looked _ very _ irritated, before painting on that smug smile again. “Ah. No matter. But I was wondering, what do you think--”

“I think I’d like to go back to doing what I was doing, thanks.”

“Why do you dislike me so much?” Akechi asked, point blank. “You’ve been avoiding Leblanc, and when I do see you there, you brush by me and disappear into the attic.”

“What do you _ deduce _? You’re a detective. Detect.” Ren turned back to his phone.

“Well… clearly, you’re a man who doesn’t trust easily. You’ve been hurt by the system before. And I work with the police, so…”

“Ding.” Ren formed a circle with his hand. “Exactly right. Delinquent teen has problem with authority. Story at 11.”

“...Perhaps I can sway you? Maybe if I teach you to do deductions, you could speak with me regularly, and--”

“Teach me to do deductions. You mean, teach me how to make observations and draw reasonable conclusions from them?” Ren asked, wide-eyed.

Akechi smiled, looking a little more smug. “Why, yes.”

“Great. Maybe after that you can teach me how to chew my food and drink my coffee. Hit the bricks, flatfoot.”

“I can tell you, it’s not so simple--”

“You care about appearances more than anything else.” Ren said abruptly.

“...What?”

Ren looked up, his glasses glinting in the light. “Your hair is messy and shaggy, but arranged the same every time I see you. You’ve purposely styled it that way to look like you don’t care about your appearance, to make it seem like you don’t have the time to worry. And yet, it’s always out of your face just enough, perfectly ready for a picture or interview. Your speech is stilted and excessively formal. You might think it makes you sound like an adult, but all it does is make actual adults laugh at you, like watching a child wear his father’s suit. That’s part of your appeal for interviews, I’d imagine. People find you ‘cute’.”

Akechi’s smile dropped from his face.

“And speaking of fathers. Unlike every other high school student in this country, you insist on carrying a vintage style metal briefcase. It’s been artificially distressed. The scratches on it are far too regular. And the monogram on it isn’t a sticker, so the whole thing is custom made. You specifically wanted a briefcase that you imagined an adult male professional would carry. More precisely, you seem to have designed a briefcase that a _ successful _ professional would have - a man with a family. A man with roots. A man who loves his son.”

“So in short, I _ deduce _ that you are a lonely, annoying, police-suck up with daddy issues who I have no reason to trust and every reason for me to _ not _ trust. You _ stalked _ me, you idiot. And you just tried to read my girlfriend’s texts. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Ren said all of this without showing an iota of anger. His verbal teardown of Akechi was given as if he was reading the newspaper. Ren watched, as Akechi’s expression finally became real. It was anger, irritation. A splash of grief. And more than a little loneliness.

Ren sighed. _ ‘What would Ann say if she heard me say all of that…?’ _

“Look, Akechi. I’ll tell you what I told a friend of mine. Stop trying so damn hard. If you want to talk, talk like a normal fucking person. I’m a boxer, not an interviewer.”

Akechi perked up. He followed Ren towards the train. “...Oh. Okay! Can I come to Leblanc, then?”

“Fine. If I’m there working, we can chat a bit.” Ren stepped onto the train.

Akechi followed, glancing at the sign. “Why are you taking the express train to Saitama?”

“Because I want to tell you something.” Ren said, seriously.

“Really?” Akechi leaned forward eagerly. What could possibly be so important that Ren wanted over an hour alone with him without a chance to disembark?

“I wanted to tell you to never snoop on me like that again. Not with my phone, not with the stalking, not with anything. If you want me to stop treating you like you’re a douche, stop being a douche.”

Ren stepped out of the train again as the door chimed, shutting.

He waved at Akechi as the train started the non-stop trip to Saitama, more than an hour north of Shibuya.

>>>

“So you sent him to Saitama.” Ann said, raising an eyebrow as she sat with Ren after school in the shade of a tree near Shujin’s running track. The two of them were studying in the warm July afternoon for the exams that would start on Wednesday.

“Yep. After I said the nice things, I’ll remind you.” Ren said, munching on some matcha Pocky. “And stop trying to change the subject, Songbird. Kreb’s Cycle. Come on, let’s go.”

Ann sighed dramatically, returning to her studying. _ ‘Citrate… isocitrate… alpha ketoglutarate…’ _ She looked up at Ren. He was leaning against the trunk of the tree. He had one knee propped up, the other leg stretched out; his notebook resting on his thigh. He didn’t bother with textbooks - it seemed that his notes were already sufficient. Somehow, in all the drama with Kaneshiro, he still kept up with his studies. He looked good in his uniform, she noted. Mostly because his uniforms were relatively new, unlike the majority of his casual clothes.

“Songbird, Kreb’s cycle is on your page. Not on me. Though, I appreciate the attention.” Ren said, looking up over the top of his unnecessary glasses.

Ann pouted. “I think I need an incentive for studying.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “Fine. What do you want?”

Ann thought for a moment, and then grinned. “I want to go shopping.”

“Oh? That’s it? Sure…”

“For _ you _.”

Ren blinked, looking up. “What do you mean?”

“All of your casual clothes are completely worn out! That t shirt you wear _ used _ to be black. It’s basically grey, now.” Ann said.

“I don’t know. I’m not the kind of guy to dress up. I don’t even own a suit, remember?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to make you look like a stiff. Just… let me pretty you up a little. Pleeeease?”

“Ugh. Again, with the Disney eyes.” Ren said, laughing. “Fine. I’ll be your mannequin. So long as you study hard so you aren’t a dummy.”

“I’m so happy I’ll even let the lame word play go.” Ann chirped.

Another few minutes went by. _ ‘Succinyl-CoA… succinate…’ _ She looked up again. Ren was again focused, spinning a pen in his left hand. Something occurred to Ann.

“Hey, Ren?”

“Done already? Tell me the cycle then, from the top.”

Ann winced. “Er… I just have one more off topic question.”

Ren shook his head with a little smile. “Fine, Ann. Shoot.”

Ann nodded. “I know Akechi’s a bit of a creep, but don’t you think that was a bit much…? What did he do exactly to make you send him to Saitama?”

“He was trying to read over my shoulder. While I was reading your texts.” Ren replied.“Specifically the one with the picture with the Rainbow Bridge in the background.”

“So… why is that a problem?” Ann asked, curious.

Ren glanced up at her. “...You look really beautiful in it. You always do, in pictures, and in Vague. Part of being a model. But that picture… that one’s mine. And mine alone. I don’t want anyone else to see it.”

Ann blinked, blushing. She smiled at him, her eyes dropping back down to her own notes. “You’re always surprisingly bold in public.”

“Well, we’re the only ones here right now. For another thirty seconds.” Ren looked up as Yamada and his gang approached. They were all wearing the Shujin gym outfits, running their first of six laps in the heat. Each of them had a rope around their waist, and each of them were dragging a rubber tire. Ren waved pleasantly. “Good work, guys! Five more to go!”

Ann shivered slightly, all too familiar with that pleasant tone that Ren used. The one that hid a borderline sadism for athletic training, the one that shamed you into continuing. “Why are you making them do that…?”

“Hm? I’m not making them do anything. After they heard about my bout with Makoto, they insisted on learning to box. Even delinquents can feel left out, I guess.” Ren said. “They wanted to start on the heavy bag, but they’re all beginners. Conditioning comes first.”

“Really. Conditioning by dragging around rubber tires in the heat.” Ann said.

Ren smiled, shrugging. “Something Coach liked to do when he had a big influx of beginners around the time of a major match or something that made people suddenly interested in boxing. He wanted to cut out the dabblers immediately so he could focus on the people who were serious.”

“Are you actually going to train them, if they stick with this?” Ann asked, curiously.

“I think so.” Ren said. “...I think I’ve been afraid for too long.”

“Something you figured out recently?” Ann asked, smiling.

“Something Makoto showed me during the sparring match.” Ren replied.

“Ah.” Ann replied, simply. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, even if the issue between the three of them had essentially been put to rest.

Ren waved encouragingly at the six boys running around the track. Ann eyed Ren’s response, and the way he seemed to be gleefully watching them train. It was again, a familiar expression to her.

“Ren… You’re a bit of a sadist, aren’t you?” Ann asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ren shrugged. He casually reached into his box of Pocky, holding one stick out to Ann. “Want one?”

Ann nodded. She leaned over, meeting his grey eyes. The ones that she loved; the ones that she sometimes had trouble meeting. Sometimes, when Ren looked at her, it almost felt _ physical _. Like it did right now. Her eyes dropped away as she bit down on the candied breadstick.

“Hm.”

“What?”

“Oh. You looked down. That makes you an ‘M’, you know.”

Ann turned bright red. “What?!”

“You’ve never played that game before? If someone offers you something, and you meet their eyes, that makes you ‘S’. If you look away, ‘M’.” Ren said, casually.

“I’m not! I’m neither!” Ann said, fiercely. “I’m neutral!”

“Oh. Alright, then.” He offered her another Pocky.

As she leaned forward, her blue, indignant eyes fixed on him, he suddenly leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “It’s fine, though, you know. I never look away.”

Ann squeaked, looking away again. She was glad that Ryuji had opted to ‘focus in’ and study on his own. She was also glad for the sudden interruption.

“A...aniki…” Yamada groaned, in exhaustion and pain. The second year student (and longtime smoker) panted, standing in front of Ren and Ann. Him and the rest of the gang looked awful.

“Oh? Six laps already?” Ren stood up, smiling broadly. “Impressive.”

“No… That was just two. We… we can’t.” Yamada said.

“Ah. That’s too bad.” Ren said. “I guess you guys don’t _ have _ to learn boxing from me…”

Another gang member spoke up. “It’s… it’s just… we never see _ you _ doing this kind of training…”

“...What was that?” Ren asked, his smile changing subtly. Yamada didn’t miss it.

Yamada turned around, eyes wide. He clapped a hand over the boy’s mouth. “Don’t mind him!”

“Oh, no. He has a point.” Ren went and got changed into his normal gym outfit, not the Shujin one. Black shorts, a fitted sleeveless tee. “You all ran two laps? Take off your tires.”

They did, mystified. They then stared blankly as Ren tied all six tires to his waist, and promptly took off at a brisk run. For two laps.

Ren, sweating but lively, stopped in front of the group. “You know, that _ was _ hard. Maybe you all should take a break, or stop for the day…”

The gang took the tires from Ren, tying them back around their waists. They trudged back to the track.

“Hey, guys.” Ren spoke, stopping them. “I want you to know. If you’re serious about this, it’s going to be hard. But I’m never going to ask you to do anything that I haven’t myself done at some point.”

They looked relieved, exchanging tired smiles. “So… so that’s the lesson, right?”

“Hm? Nope. Four more laps.” Ren said, waving. He sat back down, picking up his notebook again.

Ann shook her head, going back to reading biology. She wondered how Ryuji was doing.

>>>

Ryuji studied at Jonathan’s. The waitresses at the diner normally didn’t allow people to occupy booths for as long as he had, but Ren and his friends had become regulars at the place. And on top of that, they regarded Ryuji with profound sympathy. The boy looked _ terrible _. He clutched at his temples, looking panicked.

“I don’t understand any of this…!”

He slumped back, groaning. The last few days were crazy. They had beaten Kaneshiro, only to see the man dead in an apparent car accident. It was far too convenient, however. Ryuji himself had been the one to bring up the possibility of this being a mob hit. So that meant they had to lay low - they fenced the briefcase and burned the money with Kaneshiro’s image on the bills. And they concentrated on looking like normal students.

Which meant studying, and theoretically passing exams.

Ryuji groaned again. He packed up his things. _ ‘I can’t concentrate on this shit. I’m gonna go take a break…’ _

Ryuji left Jonathan’s, heading to the nearby arcade.

As he entered to the familiar sound of explosions, sirens, and chimes, he spotted something unusual. Makoto stood in front of _ Time Crisis 5 _, watching the title cinematic and demo with apparent fascination. Ryuji approached, curious.

“Prez?”

Makoto jumped. “Ryuji! H-hi!”

“What are you doing here?”

“...Shouldn’t you be studying?!” Makoto said, suddenly all business. “As the student council president, I can’t have one of my friends failing--”

“You’re avoiding the question.” Ryuji said, grinning. He nodded at the game. “Wanna play?”

“No. I… I just came to see what students are doing to waste their time, these days.” Makoto said, unconvincingly. She glanced at the light guns holstered at the console.

Ryuji shrugged. He reached into his pocket, popping coins into the machine. “Oops. Looks like I put too much money in. I can either have an extra credit, or…” He picked up a light gun, starting to play.

Makoto reached forward hesitantly, taking the other gun and hitting the ‘player 2’ button.

“Don’t let Wild Dog Escape! Action!” The game shouted.

Ryuji stepped on the pedal, his character coming out of fire and shooting. “Step on the pedal to peek out, release to reload and hide!”

Makoto nodded, and then yelped as her character was hit. Ryuji grinned, laughing as Makoto squirmed and jumped, shooting and yelling in surprise as things happened. The blonde had played this game enough so that he was able to carry them both, firing just a little before enemies even appeared on screen.

Eventually, they finished the game.

“So? Have fun?”

Makoto nodded, with an excited smile on her face. “Yes! That was awesome! How did you know where to shoot all the time?!”

Ryuji looked a little surprised at her expression, and then rubbed the back of his neck somewhat bashfully. “I’ve spent a lot of time on this thing, heh… Before Ren and you guys came along, I was pretty much on my own. From school to the arcade, y’know?”

“Ah…” Makoto nodded. “I think I get it. I used to be from school to cram school--... School! Ryuji! You need to study!”

Makoto grabbed his wrist, dragging him out the door. She hauled him back into Jonathan’s. “Table for two!”

The waitresses stared blankly, and then motioned at the booth where Ryuji had sat only thirty minutes prior. Makoto sat down across from him, her arms crossed as she watched him slowly take out his books. She was ready for a fight - surprisingly, though, Ryuji seemed grateful for the help, and was actually _ trying _.

Makoto sighed. “That should cover you for English… You know, Ryuji, I’m surprised. I haven’t seen you study before, but from what Ren and Ann told me, I was expecting a lot worse.”

“Heh. Same goes for you, Prez.” Ryuji said, grinning. “I never thought you’d be a rail shooter person. But you really looked like you were into it.”

She blushed out of embarrassment. “Ah… it’s something I always wanted to play. My father and I watched a lot of police movies, but by the time I was old enough to go to arcades, he was already gone. And, I was already going to prep school.”

Ryuji nodded. “Sounds rough… It sounds like you two were close.”

“We were. I think it’s part of the reason I found Ren compelling. He has the same sense of justice that my father had.”

Ryuji caught Makoto’s shift in tone, her use of past tense. “...Oh. So you and Ren talked…?”

“Ann, too. Everything’s… settled.”

“Right.” Ryuji said. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “...Sorry.”

“No. No, it’s fine.” Makoto said, smiling a little. “I’m glad they’re both still my friends. And you, Yusuke, and Mona as well, of course. It’s because of all of you that I was able to stand up to Kobayakawa, too.”

“Really? I _ thought _ I heard them call you to the office over the PA. What did that guy have to say this time?”

“I told him that my investigation of the Phantom Thieves had hit a dead end, but because the student exploitation by Kaneshiro was over, there was no more point in investigating.”

“I bet he wasn’t happy.” Ryuji said, concerned.

“He wasn’t.” Makoto said, smirking. “He told me a recommendation letter is off the table. I told him I don’t need it, and that my grades are going to be good enough to get me into any school I choose.”

“Nice, Prez!” Ryuji looked down at his notes. “Speaking of grades...Do you think you can help me with Japanese, too?”

“Alright.” Makoto said, looking over. “You still haven’t told me why you’ve had this big change of direction. Why so concerned with your grades, now? Not that I’m not happy about it.”

“Ah, well. It’s a bit embarrassing.” Ryuji said. “Promise to not tell anyone?”

“Okay…”

“I want to be a teacher.” Ryuji said, seriously.

Makoto stared at the blonde. She started laughing. “Oh… Oh, that’s a good one, Ryuji… ….” 

She quieted, as she noticed Ryuji looking progressively more sheepish. “...You’re serious!” Makoto said, wide eyed.

“Aheh… yeah. Y’know, ever since finding out about Yamauchi… That’s two pieces of shit in the same school tryin’ to use kids who trust them. I mean… I thought about how different my life coulda been if I had a teacher who actually had my back, right?” Ryuji said. “I know I’m not the smartest guy out there, but if I can stop just one kid from ending up like me…”

Makoto smiled at him. Actually smiled. “Ryuji. I think that’s great. I’m happy to help you. And for the record, I don’t think ‘ending up like you’ is the worst way for someone to turn out.”

“Thanks, Makoto…”

“But if you’re serious, then we need to stop screwing around.” She pulled out her phone, bringing up the web browser. “You need to start researching universities _ right now _, so you can plan your admissions strategy. That has bearing on your exam strategy, and that in turn changes how you need to study. So, in terms of local schools…”

Ryuji watched as Makoto went full academic honey badger. He motioned to a waitress to order more food. They were going to be a while.

>>>

July 12, 20xx 

“So, everything with Takemi-sensei is settled, then?” Ann asked, walking with Ren on the way to Leblanc for one more study session. It was after school, and the team had just delved into Mementos to take care of several outstanding requests. One of them had been Takemi’s former employer, a corrupt physician at her old hospital. Shiho had managed to get the name out of Takemi, passing it on to the Phantom Thieves.

“Should be.” Ren said. “We’ll check in with her later.”

“Right. Shiho mentioned that she closed down her clinic for a few days, now that she knows Miwa-chan is alive. She’s going to go help treat her with the medicine you helped her create. So… no more experiments, then?” Ann asked.

“I shouldn’t think so.” Ren said.

Ann sighed, relieved. “Good. That just leaves Kawakami, Ohya, Mifune…”

“Sorry?”

“You know. All of the random women in your life.” Ann said, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s purely platonic.” Ren said, shrugging. “And there’s also Iwai, Shinya, Yoshida… Though, it is sort of weird how so many of them are women.”

“You’re telling me.” Ann said, shaking her head.

Ren squeezed her hand. “You’ve been handling it well.”

Ann just shrugged. “I’m adding it to your tab.” They paused outside Leblanc, out of view of the shop window. Ann looked up and down the empty street before looking up at Ren.

“Kiss.”

Ren, laughing, indulged her. His lips pressed lightly against hers.

She kissed him again before he pulled away. “You’re still big time in the red, Wildcard. Let’s go in.”

They walked in, halting at the entrance.

“You’re telling me she didn’t leave you with anything.” Sae Niijima said, staring Sojiro down from across the counter. “You’d better hope I don’t find any cause to doubt you, Sakura. If Wakaba Isshiki left you a copy of her research and you’re holding out on us… I’d hate to have to speak to my colleagues in Child Protective Services.”

She glanced scornfully over at Ren and Ann, before looking back at Sojiro. “Thanks for the drink.”

She brushed by the two teenagers.

Sojiro raised a hand. “Wait! We’re not done here! You can’t just… ...Ah, shit.” He looked at Ann and Ren, smiling bitterly. “Heh. Hey, kid. Ann-chan.”

“Boss? What was that about? Who was that?” Ann asked.

“Don’t worry about it….” Sojiro said. “You guys got exams, right? There’s no customers right now, so you can feel free to use a booth.”

“Thanks!” Ann chirped. They sat down to study; Mona sprang up to join them on the bench. Behind Sojiro, a small LED blinked, carefully hidden on the shelf with the coffee.

>>>

“You’re telling me she didn’t leave you with anything. You’d better hope I don’t find any cause to doubt you, Sakura…”

Futaba Sakura listened silently to the exchange, her eyes flat behind her over-large glasses. Absently, she reached over to drink from the bottle of water that was somehow on her desk. Sojiro had probably put it there, at some point. She tended not to notice thirst or hunger until after she started drinking or eating. She tended not to notice much at all about herself, anymore.

It was part of the reason why she observed the world from behind the lens of the internet. It was safer. She could just observe, without worry that she would influence it. Without worry that she would cause pain. Or so she thought.

She played back the last thing the angry woman had said.

“I’d hate to have to speak to my colleagues in Child Protective Services.”

Again.

“I’d hate to have to speak to my colleagues--”

Again.

“I’d hate to have--”

Again.

“--hate---...”

_ ‘She hated you. They found this note at her desk at work. She hated you, and it’s your fault! It’s your fault she’s gone!’ _

She took off her glasses, her face sinking into her hands. Her mother was gone because of her. And now, Sojiro was going to get in trouble because of her as well. And they were using her as leverage against him.

_ ‘...It would be better if I was gone. If I was sealed up in here forever.’ _

Futaba keyed on the surveillance in Leblanc again. Sojiro had stepped out, leaving Ren Amamiya and Ann Takamaki. The boy who Sojiro seemed to like. Futaba felt envious of him; he seemed to have a good relationship with Sojiro. But, she also felt grateful - when she was gone, at least the man would have someone to talk to. The blonde girl was glamorous; stunning. But she always seemed even more beautiful when she was smiling at Ren.

“So after the Phantom Thieves are done laying low, then what?”

“I’m not sure, Songbird. Kaneshiro’s death wasn’t our fault, but we were still involved. I think we need to choose our next target pretty carefully, try to predict what could happen… Even if he was a criminal, Makoto’s right. It wasn’t an ideal outcome…”

Futaba put her glasses back on, turning her attention to another screen. _ ‘...They’re the Phantom Thieves…?’ _

>>>

July 16, 20xx 

“They’re finally over!” Ann cheered, practically bouncing in her seat as the Phantom Thieves met up at Jonathan’s.

Shiho blinked, looking at Ann. “You’re even happier than usual about that…”

Ren looked up; Ann clung to his arm. “Ah. That’s because I agreed to let her take me out shopping. Something about how all my casual clothes are old and worn out…”

Shiho and Ryuji paled.

“...Why are you two looking at me like that?”

“It was nice knowing you, bro.” Ryuji said.

Shiho nodded. She raised her soda in the air. “Here’s to the champ. Why do the beautiful die so young?”

“Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad--”

“Looks like you’ve finished your coffee, Wildcard. Let’s go!” Ann hauled him out of the booth, putting some cash down. “We’ve got to get a move on. First we have to find something for you to wear at the festival, and then we have _ got _ to do something about your shoes. And then your hair…”

“Wait, wait. I thought we were just looking for one new casual outfit. Like a shirt and pants--”

“Silly boy.”

Ren reached back toward Ryuji and Shiho, his normally calm expression seemingly terrified. Ann nodded to Yusuke and Makoto as they walked in. They sat down at the booth with Ryuji and Shiho.

“What’s happening with them? Ren looked terrified.” Makoto said.

“Rightfully so.” Shiho said, gravely. “Shopping. If you thought she goes overboard on _ herself _, when it’s someone she cares about, like a friend…”

Both Shiho and Ryuji shivered.

“...And he’s her first boyfriend.” Shiho said, shivering again. “We might not see Ren alive again.”

Yusuke chuckled. “Speaking of boyfriends… Ryuji, how did your meeting with Togo-san go? I saw her at school today, and she seemed like she always does…”

Ryuji looked crestfallen.

Shiho snorted, punching Ryuji’s shoulder. “He completely struck out. I told this guy, too! She’s totally not into the romance thing at all. For her, it’s all shogi, all the time.”

“I didn’t strike out!” Ryuji protested. “She didn’t even know I was hitting on her! She kept clobbering me at shogi and spouting lines out of Sengoku era dramas!”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “You still shouldn’t be proud about not even getting up to bat, Ryuji. And you’re awfully carefree already. When did you find time to see her?”

“Yesterday! After exams!” Ryuji protested. “I took ‘em seriously, I promise!”

“We’ll find out on the 19th.” Makoto said, sternly. She stared at Ryuji; the boy looked like he was going to start sweating. She then laughed, smiling a little. “I believe you, Ryuji. I was right there with you, remember? I know you studied.”

Shiho sighed, stretching. “Yeah. You two really did work hard. I think we all did. But, on to more important things! Mako-chan… Yukata for the festival tomorrow? You’re coming, right? There’s no school on the 18th, so we can even stay out late!”

Makoto looked uncertain. “Maybe. I have one, but Sae won’t be around to help me put it on…”

Shiho grinned. “Then just come over to Ann’s place with me. We’ll all get ready together.”

>>>

July 17th, 20xx 

Makoto, Ann, and Shiho got off the subway in Sumida City, near the site of the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.

Shiho, in her deep fuschia yukata, rushed ahead. “I’m going to eat _ all _ the takoyaki! Come on!”

Ann chased after her as fast as she could in her blue outfit. “Shiho! You’re going to mess up your hair! After all the work I put in, too!”

Makoto giggled, walking after the two. Ann really had fussed over them both, even forcing Makoto to doff the ‘braid’ hair band she wore. The brunette didn’t want to get too fancy, but at least agreed to wear a black hairband with an offset white ribbon. But despite all of Ann’s fuss, and the time she put into Shiho and Makoto’s hair and makeup…

Ann looked incredible. The model had effortlessly pulled her hair back into a stylish up-do; her make-up was spot on. If Makoto hadn’t seen her do it, she would have been annoyed. Ann really had put herself together in fifteen minutes., with just a bit of help from her bookish and tomboyish friends. Ren was going to have a heart attack.

Makoto caught up.

“So you haven’t even seen Ren in the outfit you picked for him?” Shiho asked, curiously.

“Mm. He got a call from Kawakami-sensei and said he had to take care of something.” Ann said. “And it was only the third shop…”

Makoto frowned. “So he really got a call out of the blue? On his personal cell phone, from your homeroom teacher? I hope she isn’t up to something untoward…”

“I’m sure she isn’t.” Ann said, quickly. She had agreed to keep ‘Becky-chan’ a secret.

“You’re handling this well.” Shiho said. “Kawakami’s cute, if you like the frazzled teacher-type…”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Where are those boys, anyway…?”

Makoto looked, waving suddenly. “Ah. There’s Ryuji! Right by that crowd… Hm. He looks awfully depressed.”

They joined the blonde, who wore his usual yellow tank top and shorts. He slouched, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He looked up. “Oh. Hey, guys…”

“Ryuji? What’s wrong?” Ann asked. “Where’s Ren and Yusuke?”

Ryuji looked up at the crowd of people nearby. A crowd largely composed of young women. “In there.” He kicked at the ground, grumbling.

“...Oh. _ Oh _!” Shiho grinned, starting to laugh. She elbowed Ryuji in the ribs. “They’re getting hit on, and RyuRyu can’t pull the same kind of action as the champ and Japanese da Vinci. Eh? Eeeeh?”

“Oh, shut up.”

Ann heard Ren’s voice from the crowd. She just caught a glimpse of him.

“Sorry, miss. I’m waiting for my girlfriend.”

“Well, why don’t we wait with you? In case she doesn’t show up.”

“Yeah! We can keep you and your friend company. It’s too bad you didn’t wear a yukata like him, you’d look _ so _ good together…”

“Don’t you think you ladies are behaving in a rather unbecoming fashion? You’re disgracing your yukata.”

“...What?”

Yusuke started waxing poetic about the demure beauty of the Japanese yukata. The women started to back away as the artist summoned his inner Fox, launching into a monologue that made up for all the previous interrupted monologues. They dispersed, revealing to Ann, Makoto, and Shiho what the fuss was all about.

Yusuke looked impressively at home in his dark blue yukata. It accentuated his tall, elegant frame; the defined lines of his face.

As for Ren… The boxer wore the outfit Ann had chosen for him. A long sleeve, but breathable linen shirt. Fitted khaki pants. A pair of Converse shoes that Ren had called ‘non-negotiable’. A simple outfit, to be sure. But it was _ how _ he wore it. He had rolled the sleeves up, revealing his defined forearms. The top button was popped, with a pair of aviator sunglasses hooked on the shirt. And, lastly, per Ann’s request - no glasses.

“Sploosh.” Shiho whispered to Ann.

Ann turned to Shiho, almost hissing. “Shiho! That’s it. No looking. No more looking for you!”

Shiho took out her phone, absently snapping pictures of the two. “Uh huh. No looking. Right.”

Makoto appreciated the view, but just shook her head, trying not to laugh as Shiho gamely held her phone out of reach of Ann.

Ann stopped, at Ren’s voice.

“So? Shall we?” He offered his hand. He looked out over the festival grounds. “We should explore a bit, before finding a place to watch the fireworks.”

Ann blushed, nodding. She took his arm.

>>>

The night had ended up a wash. Literally. The fireworks show ended halfway, truncated by a sudden rainstorm. But even before then, the evening had mostly been an irritation for Ann. First, she had arrived to find Ren surrounded by unusually aggressive women. And then afterward, he hadn’t said a word about how she looked. If anything, he had been avoiding her as much as possible for someone she was holding on to. Every time she looked at him, he’d look away. It was as if whatever he had to deal with, with Kawakami, had changed something. He had remained distant all night, with either a frown or a cold look in his eye.

Ren finished tying up his umbrella as they reached Ann’s front door. She stepped over the threshold, pausing there. Her back to him.

“Ren. What’s with you tonight?” Ann asked, quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t look at me all night. And right after we found you, surrounded by pretty girls.” Ann said.

“Hm? Oh.” Ren sounded a little off-put. Like he was searching for excuses, or words. Ann didn’t turn to look. “It wasn’t anything to do with them.”

“With ‘Becky’, then? What did she want with you, anyway?”

“No! Nothing to do with her, either!”

“Then what, Ren? Did you see me and Makoto side by side, and just decide you made a mistake? What is it?!...” She spun on her heel.

Ren was looking up, off to the right. His face was… red. “I.. ...it has nothing to do with her, either. I… I just didn’t know what to do with you.”

“What do you mean…?” Ann asked, her anger abating for curiosity.

“With you! With this!” He gestured at her. “Have you seen what you look like? It’s… you… I didn’t know whether to throw a jacket over you, or to take pictures, or to drag you home. Every time a guy looked at you tonight, I wanted to knock his head off.”

Suddenly, it made sense. Ren was looking away from her the entire night because he was too busy glowering at random guys. The entire evening, Ann had been feeling jealous; neglected. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

“I don’t get it. I wasn’t this bad, not even with Reiko. My face hurt from how much I was glaring, I…”

Ann wasn’t really listening. She watched him ramble on, still blushing. He was absolutely adorable. And in that outfit… he still looked good. Really good.

“...and you’ve been so understanding. I mean, with Makoto, Kawakami, and everything…”

“Hey, Ren?”

“Hm? Yeah?”

“No one’s _ that _ understanding.”

She grabbed him by his shirt, hauling him inside. She kissed him, hard. She paused; both of them felt their faces grow hot, breathing heavily. Ann kicked the door shut, looking up at him. She gave him a little smirk, feeling Celestine’s distinct approval at what she wanted to do next. She gave Ren a sudden, hard shove.

The boxer stumbled back, his thighs hitting the back of the sofa. He fell over it, landing on the soft cushion; he was grateful that it was large enough to save him from falling onto the floor. He got to a seated position, thoroughly confused. “Ann?! What’s up with you, what are you doing--...”

She strode around the couch. Her yukata had fallen somewhat off her shoulders, exposing the pale skin of her decolletage. She straddled him, taking hold of his head, her hands running through the soft curls of his black hair.

“I’d tell you to shut up, Wildcard.” She said, her voice smoky. “But I’d rather you left your mouth open...”

She kissed him again, her tongue pushing past his lips, into his mouth that was still somewhat gaping from the shock. She moaned softly into the kiss, feeling him recover and respond. His hands were on her waist, now.

Ren held her close, her body a pleasant weight on his lap. _ ‘This is… different.’ _ He thought, as he started to kiss her exposed neck. Up until now, he always took the lead during their ‘encounters’. Her yukata, now thoroughly disheveled, fell further off her shoulders, revealing the upper curve of her breasts, the lace border of the deep red bra she had chosen to wear. He started to kiss _ there _, too, smiling smugly against her skin as she started to moan softly.

_ ‘That’s more like it--!’ _

He then gasped, surprised as Ann started grinding her pelvis against his lap. The next thing he heard, other than the sound of his own strained breath, were her words against his ear.

“I think I’ve got your number this time, Wildcard.” She purred. She started to kiss and nibble on his ear, quietly panting and moaning as she continued moving her body against him.

The wet, hot sounds made electric, static-like sensations run down his neck and spine; the friction of her pelvis against his groin was one thing, but it was the _ sound _ . Her voice, purring, moaning into his ear. In all their previous nights, it was one of his favorite things about her. The way he could make her so perfectly _ loud _ . The way she’d pant and moan and sound… sound like _ sex _. But now, as she kissed, and whined, and panted, and whispered directly into his ear… 

“Ann…! Ann, oh, _ fuck _. Stop for a second… I’m going to…”

It wasn’t that he actually wanted her to _stop. _But she had gotten him embarrassingly close with just this; his pants weren’t even off.

Mercifully, fortunately and unfortunately, she stopped. She leaned back, a sly smile on her face telling him that she had known his weak spot this entire time. She kissed him again, this time on his lips, tugging meaningfully at his shirt.

As he unbuttoned it, he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her lips on his skin, following his fingers as the shirt was undone. He felt her slip off his lap, going to the floor in front of him. Another light kiss, on the defined, hard muscle of his abdomen. He looked down just in time to see her, kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Her eyes were half-lidded, a slight quirk in amusement at the corner of her lips as she watched Ren, breathing hard, shirt open. His hair a mess and his face red.

“...What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” She said, flicking open the top button of his pants. “Though I think I finally understand why you like going down on me so much.”

Ren closed his eyes again, the words ‘you don’t have to’ and ‘don’t force yourself’ made brief cameos in Ren’s mind, only to be shoved down into the depths as he felt Ann take hold of his erection. He stole another glance at her.

She knelt there, holding him. For the moment, her previous daring and initiative stalled as the blush on her cheeks betrayed her uncertainty. Her blonde hair was still (mostly) in the stylish up-do she had created; a few stray locks of golden hair floated into her face. Her yukata, now, for all intents and purposes was off. The fabric was nearly to her elbows. Even her bra had been pushed somewhat down by Ren, revealing where her pale skin _ just _ started to make the shift to pink at the peaks of her breasts.

_ ‘Somehow,’ _ Ren thought, as he just enjoyed the firm grip she had on him, _ ‘she can make this look beautiful.’ _ It was a combination of demure and sexy and dirty that just _ did it _ for Ren.

So, when she leaned in, starting to gently kiss the tip of his cock, he shut his eyes again. The visual combined with the sensation was going to be too much. A kiss. Another kiss. A tentative flick of her tongue. A much less tentative swirl.

He let out a strained breath, his knuckles turning white as they clenched the edge of the sofa.

“Oh… oh, _ God… _” He uttered, the unmistakable hot and wet feeling of Ann starting to go down on him. As she responded to the movements of his body, the sounds he made, she quickly became less and less hesitant.

_ ‘Holy… …’ _

The feeling abruptly stopped, with a quietly wet sound as Ann pulled away. Slowly, Ren opened his eyes. Ann was looking back at him, making firm eye contact with him. Almost casually, she pumped the base of his shaft. Words he had said just a few days earlier came back to him.

_ ‘If someone offers you something, and you meet their eyes, that makes you ‘S’...’ _

With a little smirk, she maintained eye contact, taking him into her mouth again. This time harder, faster, her tongue sliding around him. It felt incredible. It felt like... Ren's mind failed him. It couldn't be described by any expression or sound other than his head rolling back onto the sofa with a quiet curse. Ren ran his fingers through Ann's hair, speaking in a strained voice.

“Ann…! God, _Ann_. If you don't stop, I'm going to..." Ren managed to get out. He was so _close_, but didn't know how Ann would feel about him finishing in her mouth.

She paused, taking her mouth off of him. She looked at him. Smirked.

“So go ahead, Wildcard."

Ann kept going, the invitation quite clear.

Ren let out a strangled gasp, unable now to stop the spasm of his hips as he reached his climax. He felt her startle, surprised. But then he felt her swallow around him, continuing to slowly bob her head, caress and coax with her tongue. Panting, he looked again at her. She looked back at him with those blue eyes, dark and half-closed with lust. Despite what she had just done - what she was still doing - it was patently obvious to both of them who was in charge at this moment.

And so, when Ann stood up and stripped down...When she pushed him gently back, and straddled his face, he obediently drove his mouth in her hot, wet sex. Hungrily eating her out, tonguing her clit. Worshiping her. He welcomed her thrusts against his lips and tongue; he nearly hissed as she reached back and started stroking his still-hypersensitive cock.

She came, panting as Ren lapped up her quim. He sat up again as she moved off of him - for the moment. Ann, nestled into his side, again kissing and murmuring softly into his ear. She stroked him.

“Are you ready?” She murmured.

All he could do was nod. She reached into the pocket of his discarded pants, pulling out what they needed. She applied the condom herself, her lips again quirking in amusement at his reaction to her taking the initiative. He started to move to push her back onto the sofa.

She stopped him, a hand on his chest. Instead, she straddled his lap again. She kissed him as she sank down onto him, breaking the kiss to gasp and moan as this unfamiliar position stretched and rubbed and pushed in new and maddening ways. Ann muffled a loud cry against Ren’s neck; he felt her squeeze and spasm around him.

Ren kissed her. “You… ...already?”

“Ah... “ Ann mumbled. “Doing all of that... really, _ really _ worked me up. But I’m not done, Wildcard. Not by a long shot. You’re still in the red, remember?”

Ren groaned, as she started to grind and thrust against him. He gripped her buttocks, adding to the force and friction as he moved with her. He nipped and kissed and sucked on her breasts as she moved them both closer and closer.

“Ah… God. Ann, I… I can’t get enough of you...”

She bit her lip, letting out a hitched breath as she felt his cock rub up against a particularly sensitive spot inside her. “Nn… Yes… Tell me more…”

“Don’t… don’t be jealous anymore, Ann.” Ren panted, holding her close as they moved faster together. “I can’t… I won’t have anyone else…”

“More… Ren, I’m so close.” She whined softly, panting into his ear in that way that drove him crazy. “Just a little more… Ren… Ren…!”

“Ann…! I love you, Ann!”

They each thrusted hard, the force bordering on violence as they came together. Ann smiled, a light sheen of sweat on her slender body as she gently cradled Ren’s head, holding him against her breast. She kissed the crown of his head. “Ah.. ...I guess we should get to my bed…?”

“You’re assuming I can walk after that.”

They shared a soft laugh. After some half-hearted attempts to get up, they settled for sleeping on the couch, using Ann’s discarded yukata as a makeshift blanket.

>>>

June 18, 20xx 

Yui Tanaka was a pleasant woman in her 60’s. She was Ann’s nanny when the girl was born in Japan and welcomed the Takamaki family back with open arms when they returned to Tokyo. With Ann’s parents’ jobs, they were rarely at home - and so, Yui had a major role in raising the girl, and loved her like she was one of her own grandchildren.

She had been quite concerned with the change in Ann’s behavior when she started high school. It was like something had stifled the light of her beloved Kei-chan. But some time during the spring everything had changed. Ann was back to her vibrant, happy self. Even more so, in fact. And Shiho had started coming over again.

Yui didn’t press the issue - not even after the mapo tofu she found in the refrigerator. She recognized the signs of a young, pretty girl in love. She also wasn’t so stodgy that she was going to raise a fuss when she started seeing _ other _signs in the Takamaki residence. Once, a small spool of monofilament line. Another time, a gym bag that contained boxing gloves too big for Ann - the girl had stuffed it under her bed.

And finally, they were just going through certain odds and ends a little faster than before. Soap. Toothpaste.

The woman found it hilarious. Ann clearly thought she was being clever about it.

And so, Yui wasn’t at all surprised when she found that when she opened the door to the Takamaki residence in the latter part of the morning on the 18th, that it only opened a few inches before hitting a Converse sneaker that was tossed haphazardly aside. She took a peek; seeing the form of two people bundled on the sofa, under a yukata of all things.

She rolled her eyes, closing the door again, before speaking loudly.

“Kei-chan, good morning~!”

A startled gasp. A thump. Frantic movement.

“I’ve bought groceries for the week! Now if only I could find my keys.”

Yui jingled and rattled her keys. “Oh, my. I have so many. It may take me a little while to find the right one.”

Muffled, panicked voices. Another thump.

Yui slowly inserted the key into the door. “Oop. There it is. I’ll just _ slowly _ turn it, now. Thumb arthritis, you know. Terrible thing. Comes with age. So does all this self-narration.”

She opened the door, seeing Ren. 

He bowed politely. “Good morning. Sorry for the intrusion; I’m Ren Amamiya. I came to pick Ann up, but she needed a little more time to get ready.”

Yui eyed him. _ ‘Good looking. Tall. Polite.’ _ She then noted the wrinkled shirt. The bruise on his neck. She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Amamiya-san. I’m Yui Tanaka, Ann’s nanny. If you’re the one that cooked that tofu dish and took care of Kei-chan’s ankle, though, you can just call me Bachan.”

Ren smiled back. “Then call me Ren, please. ...Who’s Kei-chan?”

“Ah. Well, about that…”

>>>

Ann frantically got dressed and fixed her hair. _ ‘Oh my God oh my God oh my God…’ _

She had to get out there. Bachan _ had _ half-jokingly told her to marry whoever made that mapo tofu dish a couple of months ago, but that was after Ren had gallantly carried her home and taken care of her ankle. Today, the situation was different. It was the morning after Ann had attacked Ren on coming through the door, and ridden him into blissful oblivion on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

_ ‘I’ve been so careful, too! She had no idea! Fuck fuck fuuuuck!’ _

She exited her bedroom to the smell of breakfast cooking and laughter.

Ann’s jaw dropped.

Ren had his sleeves rolled up, wearing an apron as he chopped vegetables. Bachan was at the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious in a large cast-iron pan. Bachan had turned the news on, part of her usual routine when she cooked breakfast on weekends and on days off from school. And somehow, Ren looked like he was an established part of that routine.

Bachan turned, smiling at Ann. “Kei-chan! You’re up! How could you keep this handsome young man waiting?”

“I.. ...er…”

“Yeah, _ Kei-chan _, how could you?”

“...You told him.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Bachan beamed.

“You _ told him _.”

Ren grinned.

Ann imploded and disappeared from reality, forever.

In truth, she stomped over to the couch, plopping down, her arms crossed. Sulking.

“Kei-chan, are you sure you want to just sulk over there?” Yui asked.

“I’m _ not _sulking.”

“Sulky girls don’t get crepes.” Yui said.

Ann stood. She stalked over to the kitchen island, taking a seat on one of the stools. “Not sulking. Pouting. It’s different.”

Ren laughed, turning. He helped Yui finish off the crepes - savory, made with turkey bacon and eggs, and a vinaigrette coleslaw. He slid a plate across to Ann.

“It’s a cute story, Ann.” Ren said, smiling. “Really cute. I know you love sweets, but I never would have guessed your first word was ‘_ keikii’. _”

Ann sighed. She shook her head. “It’s embarrassing. My parents still tease me about it if I forget to call either of them on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. They ask if I called the bakery by mistake.”

Ren laughed. “That’s hilarious.”

Ann smiled at Ren’s laughter. “...I guess.”

They exchanged a look. Mutual relief that they hadn’t been caught.

Yui, to her credit, didn’t roll her eyes. “See, Kei-chan? It’s a good story. One that made your boy fall in love with you just a little more.”

Ann blinked, her eyes wide. “Wh-what? No! I mean, he’s just a friend!”

Ren frowned.

“!! Ren, no! I didn’t mean that! I mean…”

Yui raised an eyebrow.

“Erraauugh!”

Ren and Yui exchanged glances, and then started laughing.

“See, Ren-kun? She’s very fun to tease.”

“Mm.”

Ann shook her head. “This… this is not going how I thought it would go.”

The news report from the television caught the attention of the two teenagers.

“...These are the details of the message posted on Medjed’s website. ‘To the Phantom Thieves causing an uproar in Japan: Do not speak of your false justice. We are the true agents of justice. However, we are merciful. We will give you a chance to repent. Await our instruction. If you follow it, we will accept you as our own. If you do not, you will face the consequences. We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.’ Akechi-san, why do you think this announcement was made at this time?”

“The Phantom Thieves have provoked them merely by existing. This is all a nuisance, though. Both groups are simply vigilantes who tout justice, but are doing nothing but stroking their own egos. It’s possible that because of the Phantom Thieves, more and more of these vigilantes will appear, disrupting our daily lives. The Phantom Thieves will have a lot to answer for.”

Ann turned from the television to Ren.

He was already on his phone, sending a group text. Ann peered over his shoulder.

**RA: Have you guys seen the news?**

**MN: Yes**

**RS: I just did! fucking douchekechi! What’s that guys prob?!**

**YK: I just saw, now…**

**RA: We should meet and talk about this. We all have today off, right? Leblanc, in two hours.**

**MN: What about Ann?**

**RA: She’s here with me.**

**MN: At this hour?... ...oh.**

Ann elbowed Ren. _ “Seriously _!”

Ren grinned, sheepishly. Yui looked at the two.

“And what are you two conspiring about already?”

“Just making plans, Bachan.” Ren said. “We’re going to meet up with friends.”

“Oh? And what are you going to get up to?” Yui asked.

“Oh, you know. Dramatic heists. Daring escapes.” Ren said, as Ann rolled her eyes at his ‘hiding in plain sight’ act.

Yui laughed. “Fine. Fine, don’t tell me, and leave the old woman in boredom. Just don’t get in too much trouble.”

“We’ll get into just the right amount.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, the third of my 3 update cycle. The next three will take awhile as I once again run out of source material (my original drafts/etc) to draw from. And running into a busier week IRL. Thanks for following along!
> 
> I don't know why I always saw Ryuji growing up to be a teacher. Part of it is that whole 'don't want to let any other kids go through what I went through'. I think the other part is that he reminds me of Onizuka too much.
> 
> Having people walk in on Ren and Ann amuses me. The morning after sequence was by far one of the easiest things I've written.
> 
> Shiho continues to be my MVP. 'Sploosh'. Oh my God. To be clear, she has no real feelings for Ren or Yusuke - it's just 'art appreciation', you might say. And she likes to annoy Ann.


	19. Overtraining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Overtraining syndrome, or simply overtraining, is what athletes and trainers try to avoid via deloading. Symptoms of overtraining include a loss of motivation, irritability, persistent soreness and pain, or even regression of performance and skills. Worse yet, athletes may even have an increased vulnerability to illness._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things worked out this week to let me get this done after all. And it was fun, not a chore, so writing took the place of gaming/other stuff. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Okayu = congee = porridge = food for invalids

July 24, 20xx 

The festival on the night of the 18th had ended with a torrential downpour, literally and figuratively dampening the spirits of everyone in attendance. For Ren and Ann, though, the two young lovers had passed the evening in each other’s arms. And even the morning after was a moment of domestic bliss. For a brief moment, time slowed down.

And then it sped right the hell up.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryPleasesavemeOnee-samaI’msorry!”

Ren coughed, shaking his head as he tried to extricate his leg from Makoto’s grasp. She was firmly stuck on. He took a moment to consider how things had come to this.

Things had gone completely crazy after the 18th. First, the ominous threat from Medjed, which then turned into Alibaba’s deal. And that in turn turned into Futaba Sakura.

Then on the 19th, the boxer once again found he topped the exam scores for the second year students. That, coupled with the fact that he was publicly friends with the student council president, meant that he was no longer unapproachable in the eyes of a large portion of the student body. Some of the ever fickle prep school sycophants wanted to find out his ‘secret’ to studying. Others, now finding him ‘cute, in that recovering bad boy way’, wanted to find learn more about him in general.

That meant eyes were on him frequently. That meant less moments stolen away with Ann at school. That meant grumpier Ren.

Further adding to his irritability was having to save Makoto from some host in Shinjuku on his way to work at Crossroads. The girl had walked into Shinjuku, alone, at night. A high school girl, wandering alone with eyes wide as saucers, taking in the bright lights. It was like throwing bloody chunks of fish into the water around Cape Town in South Africa during white shark season.

And on top of that, the next day Yusuke had dragged him to some church in Kanda, where the two of them had been thrown out for posing like Jesus on the cross. Ren still wasn’t sure how Yusuke had convinced him to do it - probably some combination of guilt and the threat of an impassioned speech.

And _ then _, Ryuji had dragged him and Shiho right back to the same church the following night to ‘wingman’ for him with Hifumi Togo. Ren had to wear a hat and sunglasses to avoid being recognized. At least that had the benefit of watching Ryuji crash and burn, though.

And then there was Shinya. And Iwai. And Yoshida. And Ohya. And Mifune. And then Akechi, who thanked Ren for his occasional companionship at Leblanc by passive-aggressively threatening his actual friends at the subway station in Ginza.

_ ‘My profiling of the Phantom Thieves has led me to believe they are a group of juveniles. They have a relative amount of free time after school, and a hideout to slip away to… In a way, all I’ve just said about the Phantom Thieves coincides with the group you have here!’ _

Ren rolled his eyes again. _ ‘Fucking Detective Douche. He’s not wrong, but he’s basically described every group of teenagers to ever exist. Students with free time who hang out together at the same spot?! Someone call a tactical response team…’ _

And now, he had just broken into the home of his guardian, whose trust he had gradually earned over the past few months, with his pack of misfit friends. Because these misfit friends just couldn’t accept Ren’s vehement endorsement that Sojiro wouldn’t abuse a teenage girl. His companions in this break-in included his girlfriend, currently eyeing him balefully from just around the corner. Likely, she was angry not at him, but with another of his companions: the student council president, who currently clung onto his leg like a koala on a eucalyptus tree.

And there was also his best friend, who was snapping pictures of him and the student council president, because of course he was.

And there was a cat in his bag, currently perched on his shoulder with his front paws.

And said guardian was currently stumbling around the dark in front of him, because Ren just couldn’t catch a break.

“Who the hell are you?! Don’t move!”

Ren sighed inwardly. He turned, starting to walk down the hall away from Sojiro. Not that he had any intention to hide. He just wanted to know what Makoto would do if he started walking.

He glanced down. Yes. He was indeed dragging Makoto along with him. Her lower body slid along the smooth wood. She still refused to let go.

“I said don’t move!” A flashlight clicked on. Sojiro blinked. “What the hell… Kid! What are you doing in my house?! And.. ...is that Makoto Niijima? Clinging to your leg…? Are you two dating or something?”

_ ‘At least the others got away.’ _

Ann stormed out from around the corner, prying Makoto off. “No. No, they’re _ not _. They’re just friends!”

_ ‘Well, shit.’ _Ren facepalmed, feeling a headache coming on.

“Friends nowadays get that close to each other..?” Sojiro asked, skeptically.

Makoto stared at Ann, then Sojiro, wide eyed. “Er.. ...no! They don’t! Not normally. But I was startled, and… and that’s something I’d _ never _ do again.”

“Exactly.” Ann huffed, planting herself directly between Ren and Makoto.

Sojiro rolled his eyes. “Kid. I was young once, too. But if you’re going to attempt this sort of thing, you should do it in your attic. And it doesn’t work if they don’t get along…”

“What sort of ‘thing’ do you think this is? And why would they need to get along… ...Oh.” Ren coughed again, realizing that Sojiro was implying that Ren was trying to ‘ride the tricycle’. Despite his mood, he gave Sojiro a little grin. “Can you explain _ what _ wouldn’t work?”

It was Sojiro’s turn to be uncomfortable. “Oh. Uh, nevermind.”

Ryuji and Yusuke stepped out.

“...you guys are here, too?!”

Ann thought fast. “We brought you sushi from Ginza. The door was unlocked, and we rang the doorbell, but no one answered…”

Ren nodded. “And I heard the TV on, so I was worried that you collapsed or something. You’ve been looking pretty worn out lately, boss.” At least, that part wasn’t a lie. Sae’s threat to Sojiro was taking its toll.

“Ah… Right.” Sojiro said. “That makes sense. Thanks, then. For checking on me. If that’s everything…?”

Ren nodded. _ ‘Let’s just make a quiet exit. I’ll ask him again about Futaba at a better time.’ _

“Uhm, Boss? I was hoping to ask you as well. Someone else lives here, right? Futaba Sakura…?” Makoto asked.

_ ‘The universe is fucking with me.’ _

“You told her, too?!” Sojiro exclaimed. Not so much angry as he was surprised that his private life was being made progressively more public.

“Er, no, not really. I just thought I startled someone, and Ren mentioned it might have been her? I’d like to meet her to apologize, if possible…”

Sojiro looked at the team for a moment, and then sighed. “No sense in keeping more secrets. You’ll all probably just start worrying even more. Come on. Let’s talk in the shop…”

>>>

“...And so, after Wakaba passed, Futaba moved in with some relatives. And when I checked in on her, I found that they were barely giving her enough to eat… they didn’t even have a proper room for her. She was sleeping under the staircase.” Sojiro sighed, leaning back against the counter in Leblanc. The Phantom Thieves sat in a booth across from him, listening to the story of how Wakaba Isshiki had suddenly thrown herself into traffic in front of her daughter.

Ren let out a low, quiet curse. He resisted the urge to ask for a name. Instead, he asked a question.

“So how’s Futaba now, boss? It sounds like you got her out of a pretty terrible situation.”

Sojiro shook his head. “She would be finishing up middle school this year, if she would leave the house. The last time she went was a little before you got here. Every day, she’s just a little more withdrawn. She used to at least leave the house from time to time. Now, it’s a miracle if I see her outside her room.”

The middle aged man smiled, giving a short, bitter laugh. “When you told me that she actually stepped out of her room and startled you, I hoped that she was actually curious about another human being, for once. That she had just snapped out of it.”

“She won’t.” Ren said, simply.

Mona hissed. “Ren! You can’t tell him that she might have a Palace!”

Ren ignored Mona. “...You don’t just snap out of it. You can fight it, but it’s always there.”

Sojiro grunted. “...Right. I just hoped, I guess.”

“I know.” Ren said. “It’s fine to hope. It’s… It’s just not that easy.”

Sojiro sighed. “Yeah…” He looked at the time. “Hey, don’t most of you have to go to some assembly tomorrow morning? It’s pretty late…”

Ren nodded. “Right. Guys. Meet up here, tomorrow? We can talk more.”

>>>

July 25, 20xx 

Ren trudged to school, his hands stuffed in his pockets, Mona a warm ten pound weight in his bag, as usual. Ann and Shiho were at his side. Somehow, Ann was able to pick up on Ren’s mood: The dynamic duo had again made an appearance at his bedside to wake him up and drag him to school.

Ren was tired; he had slept poorly. _ ‘Too much on my mind, I guess.’ _He told himself.

He had spent a large part of the evening irrationally kicking himself. He learned from Mona that Futaba was listening in on their conversation in Leblanc. While that in itself wasn’t a huge problem - the girl already knew who they were - it was more the fact that Ren felt he had been careless.

_ ‘Right.’ _ He thought, sarcastically. _ ‘Because now I live the kind of life where I need to be careful of random listening devices.’ _

Ann and Shiho shot a glare at a girl who started to make the approach toward Ren.

And that was the other reason Ren hadn’t wanted to show up. The duplicity of the students around him made his head spin. Before the 19th, his previous exam score was a fluke. He was the delinquent convict, a guy to avoid. Now, every day, someone came to talk to him. Either to flirt, or to try to get his notes, or _ something _ . No apologies for how he had been treated, no genuine attempts at getting to know him. An easy solution would have been to ‘go public’ with Ann, but he didn’t want to drag her into the circus any further. The rumor mill already had her placed with Ren. Or Ryuji. Or Shiho. The best rumor had a love quadrangle between Ren, Ryuji, Shiho, _ and _ Ann.

Ren cleared his throat. He just had to get through a half hour assembly. It would be fine.

A light knife-hand chop to the back of his head brought him out of his thoughts.

“Whoa! You normally woulda dodged that, bro!” Ryuji grinned. “Nice to finally get one, though!”

Ren rolled his eyes, flicking Ryuji’s forehead. The blonde winced.

“Ouch. Still pretty fast on offense, though. Ready to hear Keroppi talk?”

Ren grinned at the nickname for the frog-like Kobayakawa.

“You bet. Let’s go.”

The assembly was terrible, as anticipated. Similar to the one that happened after Kamoshida. Apparently, the faculty really cared about each and every one of them, and really encouraged them all to stay safe, and focus on their studies and staying fit…

Ann rolled her eyes, whispering to Ren. “Translation: stay home and study, but go for a walk once in awhile. Like an obedient puppy.”

He didn’t reply, only snoring lightly.

Ann giggled.

>>>

A short time later, the Phantom Thieves, plus Shiho, met up in Yongen on the way to Leblanc.

Shiho paused outside Leblanc. “Welp, I’m going to head over to Takemi-sensei’s clinic.”

“Oh? She’s opened it again?” Ren asked. Takemi-sensei had spent the last few days at the side of Miwa, her former patient.

Shiho nodded, smiling. “Miwa-chan’s going to make a full recovery. You know, you should visit. Takemi-sensei wants to thank you.”

Ren nodded. He coughed again, leaning on the wall beside the door for support.

Shiho frowned. “...Hey. Hold on a second.”

She took out her phone, bringing up one of the pictures she took of Ren at the festival, holding it up as a point of comparison. Ann started to get annoyed until she noticed the serious expression on her friend’s face.

“...Champ, you look kinda pale. And you’ve been coughing all day.” Shiho said. She stepped forward, putting a hand on his forehead. Her eyes widened. “You’re burning up!”

Ann’s eyes widened. “What?!” All of a sudden, Ren’s irritability and distracted attitude made sense.

Ren shook his head. “Fine. I’m fine. Just… just need to get inside. Few minutes rest.” He pushed off from the wall. But, finally, after several days of late nights and being dragged around town, his legs finally had enough. He stumbled.

Ryuji and Yusuke helped him inside and to the attic as Ann and Makoto followed along; Shiho went to Takemi’s clinic to get supplies. They got Ren to his bed, where he flopped onto his back. Mona jumped up beside his head.

Mona meowed. “See? See what happens when you don’t go to sleep when I tell you?!”

Ryuji laughed. “Haha. What kind of idiot catches a cold in the summer?!”

“I always thought that the idiom was that idiots can’t catch colds…” Yusuke said, thoughtfully.

“He’s not an idiot!” Makoto said. “He topped the second year scores again, and--”

“That’s _ enough! _ All of you!” Ann said, nearly snarling. She was sitting on the bed, beside Ren. Protectively. She pointed an accusing finger at Yusuke. 

“Yusuke! You’ve been dragging him to the museum and church for your paintings! You made him stand in weird poses in a drafty church for _ hours _.”

Ryuji looked innocently into the air.

Ann turned to Ryuji. “And _ you _ . You dragged him back to the _ same church _, where he and Shiho had to sit and watch you strike out. Repeatedly!”

Makoto frowned. “That seems foolish, Ryuji. I thought that Togo-san had no interest? Really, you should be more considerate of Ren and Shiho’s time--”

“You’re not innocent in this, Makoto! Who had to drag you away from that sleazy host in Shinjuku, escort you home, and _ then _ go back to work in Shinjuku anyway?”

Makoto made a little strangled sound, quieting. She looked down, abashed.

Ren started to sit up. “Ann… Ann, it’s fine. We have things to do. We need to deal with Futaba. And I’m the one that wanted to help them, so…”

Ann raised her little finger.

Ren blinked, unsure of where she was going with this.

The blonde girl put her pinky finger in the center of Ren’s chest, and _ pushed _. Ren, his strength not available to him, ended up on his back again.

“And you’re the worst of them all, Wildcard. What’s wrong with you? You just studied your ass off for exams, and then we were out in the rain for the festival, and then you immediately throw yourself into work and all the things people ask you to do! I keep telling you, you’re going to work yourself to death. You have to let the rest of us deal with things!”

“You guys are my friends, and my team. I can’t let you down. I _ want _to help.”

“You’re letting us down _ right now _. Because you didn’t take care of yourself.” Ann said, firmly.

“Mmmhm. I’d say that Ann has the right idea.” Takemi said, poking her head into the attic.

“Takemi-sensei!” Ann said, standing up.

Ryuji and Yusuke’s jaws dropped; they had heard of Takemi, of course, but she was certainly not what they were expecting. The two couldn’t help but stare at the minidress, the fishnets. And the legs.

Takemi, followed by Shiho, strode over to Ren. She knelt down, taking his pulse, checking his temperature. She sighed, flicking Ren’s forehead in an affectionate but chastising manner. “Yes. A simple cold and a good degree of exhaustion. Too many late nights.”

The doctor glanced at Ann. “...Though, some kinds of late night are probably good for him. In moderation.”

Ann squeaked, turning red.

Takemi sighed. “Anyway. Shiho and I can look after Ren. I understand the rest of you might have some business to attend to.”

The team started to file out.

“...You know, Miwa-chan’s fully recovered. And my former employer has confessed to all of his crimes. Quite the change of heart.” Takemi said, offhandedly. “I’m sure that if Miwa-chan knew whoever the Phantom Thieves were, she’d be very grateful. So would I.”

The teenagers looked startled, even worried.

Takemi just smirked, winking. “Not that I’d even be able to hazard a guess… Isn’t that right, my little guinea pig?”

Ren just coughed, nodding. “Mm. Right.”

Takemi smiled, genuinely this time. She waved at the teens. “Go on. Shoo. Go do something productive. Shiho and I have this.”

Ann paused; she walked over to Ren, kneeling down beside the bed. Even with Takemi and the rest right there, she still went ahead and hugged the boy, kissing his cheek. “Just rest up, okay? We’ll be fine without you for a little while. I promise.”

Ren smiled wanly at her. “Sure, Songbird. Sorry. ...If you go to Futaba’s... _ place _, don’t spend too long. I’ll worry.”

“Right. And, don’t be sorry. Just don’t do it again.” Ann said, returning his smile.

She left. Ren’s eyes followed her across the room as she disappeared down the stairs. Shiho flicked Ren’s ear.

“Ow! Why do you two keep doing that?!”

“You deserve it. You two, flexing your relationship on all of us single people.” Shiho said.

Takemi laughed. She reached into her lab coat, taking out a small blister pack of medicine. “Here. Your main treatment is going to be resting, but these will be good if the coughing keeps you awake. They’ll also keep the fever down. Just don’t make any important decisions or operate heavy machinery. They might make you drowsy.”

“Right…” Ren mumbled.

“Good. Then I’ll leave you to Shiho, here.”

“Ah. Sensei, what about your clinic?”

Takemi stood. “Don’t worry about it. Consider this a learning experience, too. You’ve been doing well, Shiho. Especially how you handled yourself in that bus crash.”

“...The man still died.” Shiho said, frowning.

“Not due to poor medical care.” Takemi said, smiling. “You know, you’re the first student I’ve gotten to call ‘mine’. You’re setting the bar high for any medical students I’m going to get in the hospital…”

“...Oh. So you’re closing the clinic after all?” Ren asked.

“Hm? No, not at all. I made sure that my contract with the hospital allows me to work here, too. Can’t research without my favorite guinea pig, after all.” She said, cheerfully. She waved a hand at Ren casually. “Later. Don’t die.”

“Hah. Yes ma’am.” Ren said, coughing again as Takemi left him with Shiho.

Shiho sighed. “So now I’m stuck here looking after your sorry ass.”

“Mm. Sorry.” Ren mumbled. He reached for a blanket.

Shiho blinked, looking at him still in his uniform. “Oh. You should probably change, first.”

“Oh. Right.” Ren immediately started undressing.

Shiho threw a blanket at him. “Holy-- You weren’t kidding! As soon as someone’s classified as a trainer or medical, you don’t give a fuck, do you?!”

“Why would I?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. “Like I said, if I got bashful _ every _ time…”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m aware.” Ren got undressed under the blanket, changing under it as well when Shiho passed him the t-shirt and sweatpants that served as his pyjamas. She applied a cold compress, and gave him one of the pills, with a glass of water. She sat down on a chair that she pulled up to the side of the bed.

Shiho looked around at the attic. Ren had finally started decorating it a little. Some souvenirs from around town: a bowl of fake ramen, a Rise Kujikawa poster, a scale model of the Tokyo Tower. And on the wall nearest to the bed, to the right of the window, pictures of his friends, with Ann featured prominently.

Shiho smiled a little and then looked at Ren, teasing. “A Rise poster? I’m surprised you have that up.”

“Ann gave it to me.” Ren said defensively.

“Yeah, I know. That was just before you carried her home that one time, right? She told me she got it for you to try to figure out what kind of girl was your type.” Shiho said, grinning impishly.

Ren laughed. “Little did she know, by then I was already pathetically in love with her.”

There was a pause, as the two of them searched for something to say. Finally, Ren brought up the elephant in the room.

“...You know, this is the first time we’ve ever really been alone together.” Ren said.

“Hm? Right. It is.” Shiho said. “That’s a bit weird…”

“Yeah.” He almost said ‘I wonder why that is’, but the truth was, he didn’t wonder.

Between them, there was a strangely comfortable silence. A sense that the reason they never had spent any time alone together wasn’t because they weren’t interested in being friends, but because they already shared a connection.

“...I never really thanked you, you know. For that day on the rooftop.” Shiho said, finally.

“You never had to.” Ren replied. “You being there for Ann is thanks enough.”

“D’aaaaaaaw.” Shiho said, half-mockingly. She reached over, pinching Ren’s cheek. “So adorbs, you two.”

Ren swatted weakly at Shiho’s hand. “Hah. That _ was _a little corny.”

“A _ lot _ corny. But it works, for you two. Wildcard and Songbird? Come on. Those nicknames sound like they were made up by some drama-comedy-romance fanfiction author with too much time on their hands.” Shiho said. “But I’m happy for you two. I’ve known Ann for a long time…”

“What was she like, before Kamoshida?” Ren asked, curious.

“Pretty similar to now, actually. Though…” Shiho laughed. “She’s a lot quicker to act jealous, now. And a lot clingier with you than I thought she’d be. She never struck me as the girly romance type, actually. I like it. It means she’s finally looking out for what she wants, instead of trying to make everyone around her happy.”

“She is like that, isn’t she…”

Shiho nodded. “She is. You know, when we first became friends and I made the volleyball team in middle school, she dragged me around for hours to find the _ perfect _ shoes and gym gear? And for that fireworks festival, she spent over an hour on my hair and makeup. And less than fifteen minutes for herself.”

“Yeah. I can see her doing that.” Ren said, smiling.

“She’s special. So if you hurt her, I’ll eviscerate you and strangle you with your own intestines.” Shiho said, pleasantly.

“...Oh. Then, use the small intestine. It’s more mobile, and you’ll have more length to use.” Ren replied.

“Mm. I know. Medical aspirations, remember? You know, I bet Takemi-sensei could even use your corpse for all sorts of experiments.”

“Nice. Maybe transplant Mona’s brain into my head, so he could finally be human like how he wants.”

“He wants to be human?” Shiho asked. “Is that what he meows about?”

“...You know we can understand him?”

“I figured it was that, or you’re all experiencing a shared delusion of some kind.” Shiho said, with a wry smile.

“Shared de-mew-sion.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s terrible.” Shiho said, laughing. “...You know. I always figured I’d be the shovel talk person for Ann, but I never thought it’d go so pleasantly.”

“I’m used to being threatened. And in this case, it’s for a good cause.” Ren smiled, before his expression turned solemn. “You should know, though, Shiho… I’d kill myself before I willingly hurt her.”

Shiho’s expression softened. “...I know. I know you would.”

They looked at each other. In the silence, they felt the connection they shared. Something more than friendship, but not even close to romantic. It was a kinship between two survivors - between two people who had chosen to live. Two people who from time to time, still had to consciously make that choice again, even if they never came close to the precipice again.

Ren looked back up at the ceiling. “...I’m really glad I made it to the roof on time.”

“And I’m really glad that Ann got to _ you _in time.” Shiho said.

Ren blinked, looking at her.

Shiho shook her head. “Don’t worry. She didn’t tell me any details. I just had a feeling… She told me that she wanted to give you space when I was pushing her at you. That day, when you whipped that makeshift rubber stamp at Ryuji. You… you were really trying hard to look normal. I could see it. She made you promise to try too, didn’t she? She did the same with me.”

Ren just grinned at the memory of Ann slapping him on Children’s Day. “She can be scary, can’t she?”

“Yeah. When it comes to the people she loves, for sure.” Shiho waved a hand. “Bah. This is getting depressing. Let me fill in for Ann and make you something to eat.”

“Hm? You know how? Don’t you have rich and fancy parents too?”

“Please. I’m practically an expert.” Shiho said, standing. “My _ okayu _ could bring the dead back to life.”

Most practitioners of combative sports learn how to trust their gut, in one way or another. Some refer to the sense as ‘_ ki’ _ , others describe it as more like animal instinct, a way to sense impending and terrible danger. Technical boxers, like Ren, describe it more like a sense of _ rightness _ or _ wrongness _, a sort of internal ‘go’ or ‘stop’ to determine when to attack. A combination of years of training with real in-ring experience.

Right now, the boxer known as Wildcard felt a profound sense of impending doom.

“W-wait! Shiho, it’s fine. I’m not hungry. Not at all.”

“Don’t be silly. Wait here.”

In the moments that followed, Ren heard bits and pieces from the kitchen down below.

“Oh, Shiho. Do you need something?”

A muffled discussion. A sound of a pot being pulled out.

“...oh, hold on! That’s not rice, Shiho, that’s _ natto _…”

Some girlish laughter. An uncertain noise from Sojiro.

“...Boss, all these black bits are fine, right? Yeah, must be…”

A strange smell. Acrid, metallic.

Ren broke into a cold sweat. Frantically, he looked for something, anything to save himself. His eyes lit on his twin pistols, Faith and Vengeance. They had, after all, gotten him out of tight spots before...

>>>

A short time later, Makoto sighed, leading the group back toward Leblanc. “I’m glad we didn’t drag Ren in there with us. The heat might have killed him.”

Ann nodded. “And then he might have killed Pervert King Ryuji, too.”

“Will ya stop calling me that?!” Ryuji muttered. “And it’s not like Ren could do anything to me right now.”

“If you don’t like the title, then don’t stare down the shirts of _ two _ unsuspecting girls.” Ann said, smacking the back of Ryuji’s head. “I should go and tell Hifumi about it.”

“Ouch! Fine! Sorry, jeez.” Ryuji frowned. “You’re uh… not going to tell Ren, are you?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “I thought you just implied you weren’t scared.”

“You know how he gets when it’s about you! If he doesn’t get me now, he’ll get me later!” Ryuji said, thinking of ASOBIBA. His hand automatically drifted to the seat of his pants, remembering the feeling of his own shotgun being fired down his pants.

“You still haven’t told me what he did to you guys.”

Ryuji and Yusuke just shivered.

They blinked, hearing muffled shouting from inside Leblanc. The sign had been flipped to ‘Closed’ and hung somewhat crookedly.

Ann pushed the door open, looking concerned.

“EAT IT! Stop being such a pussy and eat the _ fucking okayu! _”

“_ You _eat it!”

-_ BlamBlamBLAMBlamBlam- _

_ -Blamblamblamblamblam- _

Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Ryuji, and Mona just took in the scene before them. Sojiro was behind the counter, sighing as he polished some glasses. That was pretty normal, except for the resigned look on his face. At the foot of the stairs to the attic, though, Shiho had taken up a firing position behind a stack of rice sacks, the brown bags acting like the sandbags at the top of a World War I trench. She held Vengeance in her hands and wore goggles on her face, firing rapidly up the stairs.

Ren was apparently at the top of the steps, returning fire.

“God _ damnit _! I went through all this trouble, too! Even Boss says it looks like food!”

Sojiro looked at the group of teens, shaking his head slightly and mouthing the words ‘no fucking way’.

Mona, curious, hopped up onto the counter, approaching the tray that held the rice porridge in question. He took a sniff of the curious looking mix, a grey-brown gruel with the aforementioned black bits in it. The cat turned as green as a black and white cat could before shooting out the front door with a yowl.

Shiho snarled. “Et tu, cat?!”

She aimed at the fleeing cat. The Phantom Thieves dove aside. The gun clicked empty.

Muttering, Shiho reloaded.

Ann approached. “Shiho… did you make your ...famous... okayu for Ren?”

“Yeah! And the champ’s being a little _ bitch _ about it. He wouldn’t even let me up the stairs at first!”

Makoto frowned. “Then how did you get his gun?”

“I forced my way inside. Then when I tried to make him eat, he pulled the other one on me!”

“...Wait. When you say ‘make him’...” Ryuji asked, wide eyed.

“...I _ may _ have tried to hold him down. A _ little _.” Shiho said. “He’s being such a friggin’ pansy. I only sat on him for like thirty seconds. And I didn’t even get the spoon in his mouth!”

“Shi~ho….” Ann said, sighing.

Shiho rolled her eyes. She flipped the safety on before handing the gun to Ann. “Whatever. I’m gonna go. He’s clearly recovered enough to have a lively gun battle, so, my work here is done.”

She called up the stairs. “Hey, champ! You win. Ann’s back.”

Shiho headed for the front door, grumbling. She paused, looking at Sojiro. “Sorry about the mess.”

Makoto, Ryuji, and Yusuke quickly swept up the assorted airsoft pellets while Ann carefully disposed of Shiho’s ‘porridge’. Sojiro shuddered, looking at it as it disappeared into a tightly tied garbage bag.

“She… she put _ baking soda _ in that instead of salt. And… …and then she tried to get me to taste test it…”

Ann shook her head, patting Sojiro on the shoulder. “It’s a sore spot for her. She’s good at sports and does well in school, but she can’t cook _ anything _. She doesn’t just burn water. She makes it rot. Somehow.”

Sojiro, with a thousand yard stare, left Leblanc.

Ann looked at the other Phantom Thieves. “Er… why don’t you all head home? I’ll fill Ren in on what happened in Futaba’s Palace.”

The others left. Yusuke looked back at Ann thoughtfully for a moment, before heading home. He took out the small sketchbook he kept in his bag.

Ann called up the stairs. “Ren? Shiho’s gone home. The okayu is gone, I promise. Can I come up?”

“Come alone, and with _ no food _!”

With a suppressed giggle, Ann crept up the stairs. She held Vengeance up in the air by the barrel. As she entered the attic, she blinked - Ren had overturned the wooden bench, using that as his cover. His eyes were wild, frightened. His t-shirt was torn. He looked worn out, exhausted.

Ren aimed not at Ann, but past her. “Close the door! Throw the deadbolt!”

Now _ actually _ laughing, Ann did as Ren asked. She walked over, putting down the gun before kneeling on the floor beside Ren. She hugged him, stroking his hair and back. “Oh, you poor thing. All scared of big bad Shiho.”

“She’s _ scary _.” Ren said, sighing in relief. He took a deep breath, burying his face in one of her fluffy twintails. “You smell nice.”

“That’s an odd thing to say out of nowhere.” Ann said, raising an eyebrow.

“You always do, actually. It’s just that now, freesias and pears smells extra nice with the contrast of death in a porridge bowl.” Ren said.

“Come on, you.” Ann said, giggling. She helped him back to bed. She blinked, as Ren moved the pillow aside. “You don’t want that?”

Ren nudged Ann over so that she was sitting closer to where the pillow was, before putting his head on her lap. He mumbled in a pouty voice. “No. Want lap pillow.”

Ann smiled down at him, running her fingers through his hair. “You’re being awfully needy.”

“I took another one of Takemi’s pills when Shiho was reloading.” Ren said. “I feel a little drowsy.”

“Should I go, then…?”

“No. Remember? I rest better with you here. And I want you to fill me in on what happened.” Ren said, nuzzling into her lap.

So, Ann filled him in. On the desert, on the long trip in the hot cat-bus. On Shadow Futaba, and the massive boulder that nearly flattened them all. “So… we didn’t get very far.”

Ren nodded, his eyes closed. “That’s fine… We still have until the 19th of August. And…-_ yawn- _ I’ll be better well before then…”

Ann bent down, kissing his cheek. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. You’ve got a good team around you. And, I had another talk with everyone while we were in there. They won’t drag you around town for stupid things anymore. Just when they really need you. Or, we’ll all lean on each other, instead of just leaning on you.”

“Mn… But I don’t mind.”

“You’re no good if you work yourself to the bone.” Ann said, stroking his hair.

He mumbled, his eyes closed. “But I really don’t mind. It’s because I’m grateful. For all of them. For the life I have. For you.”

“You’re sweet when you’re drugged up.” Ann kissed him again. “I should go, Wildcard, and let you sleep.”

“No.” Ren said, in a voice that sounded _ whiny _. He nuzzled into her lap further. “Stay. Please?”

Ann felt a shot through the heart at this, her resolve shaken.

“Er… Bachan might wonder--”

“Just tell her you’re with Makoto or Shiho. She won’t care. There’s no school now, remember? She knows, anyway.”

“...Knows?”

“-_ yawn- _ Knows that we’re sleeping together.”

“..._ WHAT?! _ ” Ann gasped, a hand over her mouth. “Did you _ tell _ her?!”

Ren opened an eye. “Of course not. But couldn’t you see it? She’s a cagey lady. She knows that you’re trying to hide it. She purposely looked at the wrinkles in my shirt, and the hickey you left on my neck. And then she didn’t say anything about it.”

Ann looked mortified. “Er. Well, she could still maybe not be completely sure…?”

Ren closed his eyes again. “Mm. Sure. Maybe. More importantly... you’re staying?”

Ann sighed, smiling, finding herself unable to resist needy-sick-Ren. “Fine.”

She got up for a moment, making the call. As Ren predicted, Bachan didn’t hesitate, not even bothering to listen to _ who _ she was staying with. Ann got changed, putting on one of Ren’s shirts and a pair of shorts that she had left at his place for this purpose. She climbed under the covers with him, turning her back into his chest. She smiled, feeling Ren automatically put his arms around her.

Ann’s eyes started to close. They snapped open again as she gasped, feeling a hand slide up her shirt. She swatted at Ren’s hand. “That is _ not _ resting! You’re sick!”

“It’s possible to be sick _ and _ horny.” He mumbled.

“You’re the _ worst _. You know, you could get me sick, too.” Ann gasped, her back arching as he continued to slide his hands up the smooth skin of her slender torso, starting to fondle her chest. The little sound she made told Ren what she really thought about ‘resting’.

“I’m _ definitely _ going to get you sick.” Ren mumbled, kissing the nape of her neck, his other hand moving in the opposite direction toward the waist of her shorts.

Ann sighed, her own hand drifting up and back to touch his face, his hair, her backside pushing against his crotch. “Mm… absolutely the worst…”

>>>

July 26, 20xx 

With Ren out of commission for a time, the rest of the Phantom Thieves busied themselves with Mementos requests, preparing for the proper infiltration into Futaba’s Palace, or other aspects of their daily lives that had to be addressed. In the case of a certain Ryuji Sakamoto, he was actually doing his exam review and summer homework well ahead of time.

Unwillingly.

Makoto sat across from Ryuji at Jonathan’s. She had confiscated his phone and wallet, giving him a hard stare every time his concentration wavered. He was allowed to take breaks, of course. Breaks that she timed out on her own phone. The student council president had kept Ryuji’s secret for him, but had also taken her role as his mentor _ very _ seriously.

Ryuji sighed, as he worked through the exam’s English portion. He had done markedly better than the spring exams. Instead of a D average, a solid C. Absently, he recalled how happy Makoto had seemed with him, smiling at the result. Briefly. She had then started laying down the truth bombs and telling him that while it was an improvement, getting into a decent teaching program would require a B average.

_ ‘Hm. It’s too bad, really. Makoto has a nice smile. I wonder if Hifumi-chan has a nice smile, too… can’t really call her grin of shogi-victory a smile… If only I was just a little more smooth, I could break through…’ _

“I like you.”

Ryuji snapped back to reality. “Wait, _ what _?!”

Makoto looked at Ryuji, raising an eyebrow at his sudden surprise. “It’s a simple phrase, isn’t it? In Japanese, very contextual. It can mean everything from a fondness for food, to platonic feelings, to romantic love. But in English, it’s a bit different. Generally, in English, _ ‘like’ _ covers the range from objects, to early romantic feelings. In romantic relationships, they’ll use the word ‘ _ love’ _, instead.”

“Oh. Right…” Ryuji said, sighing. _ ‘Scared me for a second.’ _

Makoto frowned. “You’ll never get tested on this, but in reality, it’s even more vague… In the police movies I watched with my father, there would sometimes be a love interest. In some of them, they didn’t really have a word for the space between early romantic to established romantic. There was _ ‘like’, _ which was not enough, and _ ‘love’ _ which was too much. Sometimes, they’d use _ ‘like-like’ _ ... And also, to add further confusion, they’ll use the word _ ‘love’ _ in other contexts, like _ ‘I love hamburgers’ _...”

“What does _ ‘love’ _ translate to, roughly?” Ryuji asked, scratching his head.

“Hrm… In reference to hamburgers? Probably _ daisuke _.”

“And what about romance?” Ryuji asked, scrawling down notes.

“It’s annoyingly imprecise. Maybe the same thing, _ daisuke. Or suki _ . Or even _ aishiteru _.”

Ryuji snapped the lead in his mechanical pencil, startled. He looked up at Makoto.

She just cocked her head to the side curiously. “Ryuji? Are you alright?”

“Fine. Fine…” He mumbled.

“Good.” Makoto smiled briefly, before turning to her phone. “Oh. You can take a break, now.”

She slid Ryuji’s phone back to him before returning to her own, opening up a text message. She smiled a little, laughing at something.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just something Eiko-chan sent me.” Makoto showed Ryuji a picture of a desk covered in _ Buchimaru _ merchandise. “She likes Buchimaru as well.”

“Heh. Who’s Eiko?” Ryuji asked.

“Oddly enough, a girl who thought I was going out with Ren awhile back. She came up to me one day to apologize for how she was talking about me… And then I bumped into her again in Shinjuku, just before Ren had to step in to get me away from that host.” Makoto said. “We exchanged numbers at some point. Oh! She wants to hang out. I’ll tell her we’re busy…”

Makoto sent another text, before glancing at her timer. “You’ve got another five minutes of break time.”

“Oh, thank you.” Ryuji said, slightly sarcastic.

Makoko just smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Ryuji sighed. He looked over at Makoto’s notes. “Why’re you still studying, anyway? Did you figure out what you want to do with your life?”

“Not yet.” Makoto said, sighing. “But at this point, I want to keep my options open. So that means keeping my grades up.”

She glanced at her phone again. She scrutinized the picture Eiko sent for a long time. “...Oh. That’s… not good.”

Ryuji leaned over the table. The picture was of Eiko with a sleazy looking guy in a gaudy suit. “Hah. Who’s the slimeball?”

“Eiko-chan’s boyfriend… He’s the same host that tried to pull me into the club.”

>>>

July 27, 20xx 

In a quiet studio in Kosei High, Yusuke had also been contemplating the nuances of love. He had been ‘contemplating’ all night and day after parting ways from the others, his brush seemingly moving of its own volition. The time of day and fatigue had meant nothing - he had to strike while the iron was hot. His artist’s block was finally broken.

He smiled broadly at the canvas, tiredly placing the finishing touches. He could hardly believe that only 48 hours earlier, he had nearly given up hope. He had, for the time, put aside trying to create something like Sayuri. But that meant he still had to hone both his skills and experience. So far, his forays into Mementos and the church had been outright failures. ‘Desire’ had been universally panned by critics, especially Kawanabe, the Director of the Japanese Art Support Foundation. The man had gone so far as to goad Yusuke at a restaurant, telling him he could still be ‘marketable’ as a brooding, tragic artist. Ren had stood up with such force that he had knocked his chair over, telling the man off.

Yusuke had been moved by his former rival and close friend’s passion, recklessly telling Kawanabe that he was going to enter the next competition and roundly defeat any and all of the ‘Foundation-supported soulless pawns’.

And then of course, came the artist’s block - hence the forays into Mementos and the church, culminating in Ann scolding them all for overtaxing Ren. Sitting protectively by Ren, and then kissing him gently on the cheek before leaving to deal with Futaba.

Yusuke smiled. He wasn’t wrong, when he realized that Ann couldn’t be the inspiration for his work. But, Ann _ and _ Ren… The scene between the two reminded him of another instance where Ann had protected Ren. Jumping on his back, hauling him away from Yusuke. Not to stop him from hitting Yusuke, but to stop him from having a real assault charge added to his record. Ann had been fearless, showing no hesitation in getting between Ren and the object of his wrath.

The door to the studio opened. Yusuke didn’t look up, focusing on just one more point in the painting. Whoever had come in knew the process - they were very quiet, being mindful to stay out of Yusuke’s line of sight.

The artist finished, looking up.

Hifumi Togo was collecting a bag that Yusuke had seen, left in the corner of the room. The girl bowed politely. “Kitagawa-kun. My apologies for disturbing you. My friend forgot her calligraphy supplies, and I was nearby.”

“Ah. No trouble.” Yusuke said, stretching out a knot in his neck. He only now realized how stiff his entire body was from nearly two days of standing and painting. “I’ve just finished.”

Hifumi looked at the canvas, curious. “Were you working through the night? Even in the summer?”

“Since the 25th, actually! Inspiration knows no time of year.” Yusuke said. “After all, while it is summer, it may easily become a bitter winter for an artist, should he not strike while the iron of creativity is hot--”

Hifumi wisely interrupted. “May I?”

Yusuke nodded, waving a hand. He was used to being interrupted. It used to annoy him, but he had come to understand that he could go on. And, as Ryuji often pointed out, it made him ‘sound like a d-bag’.

Hifumi walked around to the painting. She wore a simple white, checkered A-line dress, moving with a gracefulness and care that befitted the shogi player. She looked at the painting, a hand going to her mouth.

“Oh… oh my.”

Yusuke was confident, finally. Such a reaction before might have given him some concern, before. But now, he knew what she would say.

“It’s… ...it’s perfect. How did you..? Who did you use as models?” Hifumi asked.

“Ah. Two friends of mine. Ann Takamaki, that model from Vague. And Ren Amamiya, a good friend of mine.”

Hifumi looked thoughtful. “...Is that the same Amamiya that’s Sakamoto-kun’s friend? And the same Takamaki that’s Shiho-chan’s best friend?”

“The same.” Yusuke said, nodding. “I had forgotten that you have been spending some time with Ryuji.”

Hifumi nodded. “Shiho-chan introduced us. He seems nice, but I’m not certain how interested he is in shogi.”

“Indeed. It seems like an unusual pastime for him. Though, lately, he’s been paying more attention to his studies.”

“Oh. Really?” Hifumi asked, looking surprised. “He seems a bit rough around the edges.”

Yusuke smiled. _ ‘Ah. This is what they call being a good ‘bird-man’, is it not?’ _

“He does, but I assure you: His heart is in the right place. I’d imagine he has nothing but good intentions.”

>>>

July 29, 20xx 

“_ Please _ , RenRen! Bro! Aniki! You’ve got to help me! It’s my only chance to get it on with Hifumi Togo! I suck at shogi!” Ryuji said, sitting in _ dogeza _ in the kitchen of the Takamaki residence in Hiroo. It was around ten in the morning.

Ren wore an apron, his sleeves rolled up as he stirred the rice porridge he had going in the pot on the stove. He turned to look at Ryuji, peering at him over his glasses in a way that was both pitying and judging.

“...Er, and it would really help Makoto out.” Ryuji added. “Y’know, that’s the main thing. To help her investigate what’s going on with Eiko’s boyfriend.”

“Right. How noble.” Ren said, shaking his head. He tasted the porridge. He turned the heat down, reaching over to his _ mise en place _. “Needs a little more ginger…”

Makoto sighed. “Sorry, Ren. Really, don’t listen to him.”

“So let me make sure I understand.” Ren said, sprinkling in the ginger. “Eiko is going out with the same sleazy host that tried to drag you into an equally sleazy club. You’re worried about her and want to check the guy out. But, to reduce suspicion it would have to be a double date. And it would have to be believable.”

“Right.” Makoto said. “And Ryuji doesn’t think he can pull it off as he is.”

“So you want me to help you give Ryuji the _ ‘Lady Maiko’ _ treatment to make him your ‘boyfriend’ for this investigation.” Ren said, flatly. “Because somehow, you told Eiko that your ‘boyfriend’ is super cool, in an effort to get her to agree. And this would have the side benefit of helping Ryuji get into Hifumi Togo’s pants.”

Makoto and Ryuji gave him a confused stare. “Lady Maiko…?” Makoto asked.

“...Nothing? _ ‘Koukou Debut’ _ , then? Or _ ‘Mairunovich’ _ ? Or when Miyamura cuts his hair in _ ‘Horimiya’... _?”

Makoto and Ryuji kept staring blankly.

“..._ ’She’s All That’? ’My Fair Lady’ _?”

Ryuji perked up. “Oh! You mean that movie based off of _ ‘Pygmalion’, _ the 1913 American stage play where a country girl has to become a presentable, fancy lady. Yeah. Something like that.”

“...How the _ hell _ do you know _ ‘Pygmalion’ _ but not _ ‘Lady Maiko’ _?”

“Makoto’s been helping me study a lot.” Ryuji said, sheepishly.

Ren rolled his eyes. “This sounds like a long run for a short slide. I don’t think Ryuji really needs this from me. Maybe some new clothes, but that’s it.”

Ryuji shook his head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, man, but I’ve been tryin’ for days with Hifumi. Clearly there’s something wrong.”

“It is a bit concerning. I mean, Eiko-chan isn’t the best student, but she could probably tell if I’m faking a relationship. You could at least show Ryuji how to… ...act more like _ you _. More caring. Sweeter?” Makoto sighed, thinking out loud. “Maybe it would be better if you pretended to be my boyfriend, Ren. That would probably simplify things.”

From Ann’s room, the blonde’s voice was clear, if a bit sniffly and stuffed up. “-_ sniffle- _ Nooooo. Vetoed! Veto veto veto.”

Ren couldn’t help but smile. He reached into the refrigerator, taking out some sliced fish. He poured out some of the porridge into a bowl, topping it with green onion and the fish.

Ryuji looked at it curiously. “Whoa. Aren’t you supposed to cook that fish first?”

“Hm? It is. I cold-smoked it yesterday when I got home from the infiltration. I was mostly recovered by then.” Ren said. “And Ann’s getting better already, too. She should be fine to join us in the Palace tomorrow.”

“Good. Man, it’s been weird being short-handed.” Ryuji said. “First you missed the thing where Shadow Futaba tried to crush us with a boulder, and then Ann missed that weird dusty little town where we had to steal the scroll… Heh. Your constitution is surprisingly weak, though. Ann’s getting better way faster than you.”

It was true - Ren was sick for longer. From the 25th through to the morning of the 27th - then Ann had gotten ill on the 27th, just in time for Ren’s recovery. Ren had missed the initial infiltration, but then Ann had missed the short side-trip to the small town and the subsequent climb out of the depths of the pyramid. They had just progressed up to the main corridor and stopped there.

Ren sighed. “Nothing to do with my constitution.” He said, quietly. He looked over at Ann’s door. “I think she and Shiho learned how to cook _ okayu _ in the same place.”

Makoto and Ryuji looked at Ren in shock. Makoto shook her head. “You… you ate that…?”

Ren shivered. “Love hurts.”

Ryuji nodded as if he understood. “Totally get it. I’d eat anything Hifumi made for me. Speaking of which - will ya _ please _ help me?! I mean us.”

Ren added a little pepper. “I don’t know. Why do you need to prepare so much for a little double date? I think you’d be fine.”

Makoto shook her head. “Like I said, Ryuji doesn’t think he could pull it off. And… and you have a way with words? If you could show him just a little…”

Ren rolled his eyes. “Fine. What’s our timeline?”

Makoto sighed. “I’d like to find out what’s happening with Eiko-chan as soon as possible… But it turns out she’s going on vacation with her parents, anyway. So we can’t do anything until right around the fall term, anyway.”

“Well. We can work on it gradually, then. Let’s meet at the club room tomorrow.” Ren said. “If that’s everything…?” Ren glanced down at the tray he had prepared.

“Right.” Makoto said. She looked over Ren’s shoulder at Ann’s room. “Ann! We’re going! Hope you feel better soon!”

“Yeah!” Ryuji called. “You sound pretty gross in there!”

“Thanks, Makoto! Go fuck yourself, Ryuji!” Ann replied, in a sniffly, sing-song voice.

Ren waved to his friends, chuckling. He walked into Ann’s room. He rolled his eyes, seeing that she had again cocooned herself in blankets, trying to hide her face from him.

“Ann…”

“Still don’t like you seeing me like this.” She said. Ren could _ hear _ the pout.

“Songbird, I already have. A _ lot _.” Ren said, quirking a little smile. Under the influence of cold medication, Ann had reminded him that it was possible to be both sick and horny the previous night. Ren wondered, what exactly did Takemi put in that medicine?

“Fine. But there’s a tax, then. For seeing me like this.” Ann mumbled, her form under the covers shifting slightly.

Ren put the tray down on her desk. “Hm?”

“Kiss.”

“Then you have to get out from the blankets.” Ren replied, crossing his arms.

“No. You come in here.” The edge of the blanket lifted up a fraction. A slender hand reached out, waving at him.

Ren sat down on Ann’s bed, getting under the blanket. In the darkness, he paid the tax and then rearranged the blanket - and Ann - so that the girl was at least sitting up. He smiled, looking at her. Her hair was in her characteristic twintails; her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were tired. She certainly didn’t have the same polish as she usually did - no make up, no perfume. But, even so - she was _ adorably sick _. And so, he kissed her again.

Ann smiled. “You’re going to get sick again.”

“I think it’s a little late to start worrying about that.” Ren said. He got the tray, sitting back down beside her. “Here’s breakfast.”

“Oh. Okayu and sliced fish?”

“Kinda-sorta. It’ll taste a little different. Hong Kong style congee, and some fish I smoked earlier.” Ren said. “I thought you’d like to try something different.”

Ann happily started eating. She stole glances at Ren in his apron. It was so… domestic. The thought made her mildly giddy.

“This is _ really _ good!”

Ren smiled, modestly. “When you get serious about boxing, it’s worth paying attention to what you eat. So I learned how to cook. I thought you’d like the smoked fish. It’s not quite Finnish smoked herring, but…”

Ann, between bites, asked curiously. “How did you know I have Finnish family? I told you I was part-American, but…”

“Bachan told me. Takamäki is a Finnish name, isn’t it? Though I couldn’t figure out why you spell your name in kanji, and not katakana…”

Ann grinned, as if telling a joke. “That’s because it’s Japanese.”

“...But I thought Bachan said your mother’s last name is Takamäki?”

“It is.” Ann said, nodding. “My father’s name is Elias Takamaki. Japanese. My mother’s name is Erika Takamäki. Finnish. They’re both half-Japanese, half-Finnish ethnically, though my mother's American by nationality… They met at NYU, at a gathering for new students in the business school. They hit it off when Daddy accidentally picked up Mom’s name tag.”

Ren laughed. “That’s a cute story.”

“Mm.” Ann said. “I think so, too. Mom always teases Daddy by saying she married him out of convenience. Didn’t have to remember another name. I like our story better, though.”

“Ah. Stunning model meets not with dorky glasses.” Ren said, seriously.

“More like beautiful bad-boy sweeps frazzled blonde off her feet.” Ann said, as she finished the bowl. “Thanks for breakfast, Wildcard.”

“Anytime, Songbird.”

Ann looked significantly more perky after the meal. She hugged Ren’s arm. “I should get sick more often. … …Did you like what _ I _ made for you?”

“...It was.. …” Ren paused. What would he say to the girl who could read him like a book?

“It was food.” Ren finished. He nodded.

Ann smacked his arm. “I _ knew _ you hated it! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Because you made it for me.” Ren said, shrugging. “Of course I’d eat it.”

“...Oh.” Ann blushed, smiling. She snuggled against him more. “So. You’re really going to help Ryuji?”

“It seems like a good cause. I’m going to have some fun with this, though.”

“...Really? How?”

Ren grinned, leaning over to kiss Ann’s hair. “If you’re feeling better by tomorrow, you’ll see.”

>>>

July 30, 20xx 

The heat was on. Literally. Temperatures in Tokyo were around thirty-two degrees Celsius, _ before _ humidity. Most people spent the day at the beach, or at the pool. Or inside an air-conditioned building. Or, like Ren, Ann, and Shiho, relaxing in the shade of a tree with cold drinks. Mona was there as well, asleep, his tail flicking occasionally.

Anyone exercising or doing something active out in the sun was considered certifiably insane.

“That’s _ six _, Sakamoto!” Ren shouted, firing Vengeance at the blonde boy’s ass. “Get your chin above the fucking bar!”

Ryuji yelped, doing another pull-up in the playground under the murderous rays of the sun.

Ren returned to sipping his iced black coffee.

Shiho looked at Ren with disgust. “I can’t believe you don’t put honey, or sugar, or _ something _ in that.”

“I don’t drink my calories.” Ren said, shrugging. “It’s better for weight control.”

Ann and Shiho looked at their sugary melon sodas before glaring daggers at Ren.

“...What?” Ren asked, blinking. “Something wrong?”

“Boxing glove for a brain…” Ann muttered. “You become so stupid when it concerns boxing.”

“Yeah. Throwing calorie talk in the faces of two girls.” Shiho muttered.

“Oh. I only said it because you two are perfect. Why worry about what you’re drinking?” Ren replied, smoothly.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “If you think we’re so easy to manipulate…. Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ann.”

Ann was happily hugging Ren’s arm, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder despite the heat. “Heeee.”

Shiho sighed. “You’re strangely happy, blondie.”

“Oh. That’s because after I’m done with Ryuji, Songbird gets to dress him up.” Ren said, casually.

Shiho’s jaw dropped. “I thought you were his _ friend _.”

“He asked for it. Literally.” Ren said. “That’s still _ seven _ , Sakamoto. Do it _ again and do it properly!” _

-_ Blam- _

“OW! God!”

“I don’t understand what pull-ups are supposed to do for him, anyway?” Shiho asked. “I mean, I know you told him that having a broader back and shoulders will make him look more manly, but isn’t the date in less than three weeks? You don’t get big _ that _fast. Especially a lanky guy like RyuRyu.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Ren said. “But _ he _ doesn’t know that.”

“...Oh. Oh, you son of a bitch.” Shiho grinned, laughing as she understood.

Ren tapped the side of his nose, winking. “I told Ryuji repeatedly that I don’t think he needs my help. This is just me having a little fun. All he really needs is a wardrobe update and to stop trying so hard. He doesn’t need ‘lines’ or ‘plays’. He’s a good guy, and my best friend. If a girl doesn’t like him for who he is, fuck ‘em. ...Or not, as it were.”

Ann just eyed Ryuji. “Skinny jeans for sure. Oh! And a shirt that actually _ fits _, and isn’t an edgy graphic tee…”

“Ah. Here you all are.” Ren looked up at the sound of Yusuke’s voice.

Yusuke approached - accompanied by Hifumi.

Shiho smiled brightly, waving. “Ah! Hifumi-chan!”

The girl smiled. “Shiho-chan, so good to see you! This must be Takamaki-san. And Amamiya-san? You look different without the sunglasses and hat.”

Ren looked mildly embarrassed, but returned the smile. “Nice to meet you properly then, Togo-san. If you’re a friend of Shiho’s, then, please call me Ren.”

Ann was quiet for a moment, carefully observing not Hifumi, but Ren. She then looked at Hifumi, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Togo-san. Call me Ann! Shiho told me you were a big help at the accident.”

Hifumi and Yusuke at down in the shade with the others. Yusuke looked at Ren. “Why are you all out here? Even in the shade, it’s a little warm… I was hoping to find you at Leblanc. I wanted to show you my latest work.”

“Training.” Ren said, motioning at Ryuji. The boy was drinking water, before starting in on the push-ups.

“...Oh my. Is that Sakamoto-kun?” Hifumi asked, looking concerned.

“It is.” Ren said. “Don’t worry, though. He’s working hard right now because he wants to help a friend.”

_ ‘That’s half the truth, anyway.’ _Ren thought.

“Oh. That’s impressive.” Hifumi said, watching. “I came along because I wanted to see if he wanted to try playing shogi again, but I think I should probably leave him alone…”

Ren shook his head. “No, I think he’d like the break. I’ll get him--”

Hifumi frowned, as her phone buzzed with a text. Then another. And another. “...Ah. That’s my mother. It seems my day off is being cut short…” She stood, bowing politely. “It was lovely meeting you, Ren-kun. Ann-chan. Please give my regards to Sakamoto-kun.”

The girl left, looking at her phone, hurriedly typing in a response.

Ann frowned. “She looked upset.”

Yusuke nodded. “Her mother is essentially her agent, from what she tells me. It must be something to do with her upcoming match…”

“Hm. Overbearing parent, maybe?” Ren said. “Wonder if she’d tell Ryuji or Shiho about it…”

“Hey! Hey, was that Hifumi?” Ryuji called.

“That sounds like information for people who’ve done their twenty pull-ups, Sakamoto. _ Get back to work! _” Ren shouted.

>>>

Late in the afternoon, the team met in Leblanc, in the attic. The team sat around the table, looking curiously as Yusuke set up a stand for his painting.

“Wow, man. You finished an entire painting in just two and a half days?” Ryuji asked, surprised.

Yusuke nodded, smiling confidently.

“You seem different.” Ann said, looking at the stand eagerly.

“I _ feel _different.” Yusuke said. “I must admit. I think this was more than mere artist’s block… I see now that I was struggling… I was still struggling to get out of Madarame-sensei’s shadow.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Sensei…?”

Yusuke nodded. “Sensei. Although he was undeniably corrupt and deserves to be punished, he ultimately still taught me, and gave me a place to grow up. I have to acknowledge and accept that.”

He sighed. “As you taught me, Ren, my painting must be a reflection of my experiences. _ All _ of my experiences. I see now, that what I’ve been doing is trying to seal the unpleasant parts away. I had artist’s block not because I couldn’t see beauty, but because I was unwilling to accept contrast. Contradiction.”

“That’s quite the epiphany.” Makoto said. “Did you just come to that suddenly?”

“No.” Yusuke said, smiling at Ann. “In the end, Ann, you were part of my inspiration after all.”

Ann frowned. “...you didn’t use your _ imagination _ to paint me nude, did you…?”

“No! Although…”

Ren coughed.

Yusuke looked briefly terrified, and then shook his head. “No. I didn’t. But, it’s easier to show you all. Please. I admit, I borrowed the names of your weapons for this work, Ren. This is _ Faith and Vengeance _.”

He placed the painting on the stand. It was a departure from his previous painting, the abstract swirling madness of Mementos he had called ‘Desire’. While still fairly abstract and stylized, there were now two distinct figures in this painting.

“In a few Gnostic traditions, the figure of Satanael is prevalent. He is an angel who fell from grace because he rebelled against a God he considered false, giving humanity the ability to liberate themselves and become free.” Yusuke said, indicating the dark figure in the painting. Painted in striking, reds, blacks, and whites, with black wings.

“And, in some of these interpretations, Satanael was not alone. He was given the knowledge and strength to break free by Sophia - Wisdom.” Yusuke indicated the figure painted in softer whites, silvers, and other warm colors. Clearly feminine, though, with arms wrapped around the darker one. She was either protecting him, or restraining him. The ambiguity of it was perfectly painted. Either Satanael was tired and weary, or utterly bent on his own self-destruction.

Yusuke seemed a bit sheepish. “I painted through the night and most of the day after I saw you taking care of Ren, Ann. The image of you two struck me. I must apologize to you both - I went ahead and used you as models.”

Ann looked both embarrassed and pleased. “I… that’s quite an honor, Yusuke. I think it’s beautiful. Ren? What do you think…”

She trailed off, looking at Ren. She just caught him quickly rubbing his eyes, before replacing his glasses and nodding at Yusuke firmly. 

“I’m no artist, Yusuke, but I think this is a big step in the right direction. You acted like you were excited about ‘Desire’ because you _ had _ to be. It was the thing you were betting on. This time, though, we can all see that this isn’t a bet. You’re certain.”

Yusuke smiled gratefully before sitting back down.

Mona hopped up onto the table. “Well. Let’s get down to business. Are we all ready to go back into the Palace?”

“Ann and I are pretty much recovered.” Ren said. “And I think we’ve gone after all the Mementos targets we can at this point. While I was out, you guys took down Fukurai. So maybe Ryuji might get his 100,000 yen back…”

“Dude! I thought you were going to stop mentioning that?” Ryuji groaned.

“What? The 100,000 yen of Phantom Thieves money you spent? On getting a 100,000 yen Holy Stone? For 100,000 yen?” Ren asked, smiling.

Ryuji sighed.

Ren continued. “And while Ann was out, we took down the Shadow Takase couple.”

Ann looked relieved. _ ‘No more Becky visiting Ren, then…’ _

Ren frowned. _ ‘I hope she’ll still do my laundry.’ _

“And as for Palace prep, since we don’t have a map this time, I don’t think there’s much more we can do.” Mona said, glancing at Makoto.

Makoto didn’t interpret this as a challenge. She simply agreed. “It looks like it’s a pyramid, but really, it’s full of technology. We’ve got rope and tools to jam pressure traps, but we can’t count on them for everything.”

Ren glanced at Ryuji. “Is there anything you and William can do about the tech?”

“Not as far as I could tell. The wires and everything else in the walls feels too complex. If I short something out or try to trip a switch, I can’t predict what it’ll do…”

Ren nodded. “That’s too bad… As for the enemies, looks like mostly mummies. The slow moving kind, but we’ll get swarmed even if they don’t manage to turn into their other forms. Only headshots or things that completely destroy their bodies will work.”

Ren paused.

“Try not to light me on fire this time, Songbird.”

“You’re just no fun, Wildcard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I've tried to spread the roles/work of the Phantom Thieves around a bit, Ren still gets overworked. He's a prototypical 'fixer'. If you tell him about your problems, he'll assume it's because you want him to do something about it. Also, his friends just like to lean on him because he's reliable.
> 
> I'm not planning on changing Futaba's Palace a whole lot. I think as it was written, it was a fitting and emotional journey for her - and will do the same for Ren, giving him a chance to reflect on his own progress with his own recovery. As such, a lot of the traversal of the Palace will be happening 'behind the scenes' or told in flashback/summary form.
> 
> Fun fact/P5:GtD trivia: The interaction between Makoto and Ryuji was originally written as a one-shot ShuAnn piece I had. It was Ren working through English homework with Ann (she had offered to help him with his English in exchange for help with everything else). Ren lies about needing help to spend time with her; Ann lies about not having an umbrella so they're forced to share one. It was cute, but didn't really fit into the timeline/pace of GtD. Glad I was able to use it for these two, though.
> 
> To forestall any will they/won't they questions: Dunno! We'll see :D
> 
> I'm not Japanese. But my understanding is that the phrase 'aishiteru' is very rarely used in actual conversation, even between lovers or married couples. Something like "I deeply cherish and care for you, forever." Not something to be said lightly. Hence Ryuji breaking his pencil on hearing it.
>
>> Yusuke smiled. ‘Ah. This is what they call being a good ‘bird-man’, is it not?’ 
> 
> Hehehe. Oh, Yusuke. He means wingman, obviously.
> 
> Pygmalion/My Fair Lady - Poncy gentleman makes a wager that he can transform a crass country girl into a society lady. Origin/inspiration for many beloved stories, both Western and Asian.
> 
> Ann's parentage/background - It always made me snicker a bit that Ann could be so freaking blonde despite being half-Japanese. So it made more sense for me to have her parents each be half. And it created the amusing story of Takamäki meeting Takamaki. Just because the parents are background characters doesn't mean they don't get to have a cute romance.


	20. Roadwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Any serious boxer knows that no matter how talented you are or how hard your punches are, if your conditioning is poor, so too will be your boxing. Running, or ‘roadwork’, is an integral part of a boxer’s training. This isn’t just running at a jogging pace for miles, though. This will include various types of interval training including sprints, backpedals, lateral movement, and even some shadow boxing. The ultimate goal of roadwork is to develop anaerobic conditioning, aerobic recovery capacity, and mental focus._
> 
> _And it has the nice side effect of weeding out the undedicated._

August 2, 20xx 

Sojiro Sakura was a man who appreciated routine. It was the reason why he didn’t care that Leblanc didn’t draw many new customers - he liked having his regulars. It was also part of the reason he was so hard on Ren at the start. At first, he just saw him as an interruption to his routine. A delinquent kid who was just going to make his life harder. Of course, he had been wrong - Ren was now an integral part of his life, too. Not that he’d ever admit it to that cocky brat.

He sighed, as he left the kitchen of his house to enter the hall to Futaba’s room. This, too, had become part of his routine. This part of his daily tasks, he could have done without… It wasn’t that he didn’t care for Futaba. It was just difficult, to have the only evidence of her being alive and in his life be an empty tray from yesterday sitting outside the door. Sojiro picked it up, replacing it with another large tray. On it, was grilled fish and rice for breakfast; a wrapped sandwich for lunch. Another wrapped sandwich for dinner. He placed it on the floor outside Futaba’s room, collecting the empty one that was there and knocking on the door.

“Futaba… There’s food for you, here.” Sojiro said, gently. He waited for a moment, before leaving. These days, Futaba didn’t even let him in to put the food on her desk. With a quiet sigh, he turned back down the hall to head over to the cafe.

Inside the room, Futaba sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, her head down. She listened for the knock, and then the steps down the hall.

_ ‘Thirty seconds.’ _

Yesterday, he had waited thirty-five seconds after knocking on the door and before heading back down the hallway. The day before that, thirty-two. And before that, forty. It was variable, but the trend was definitely downwards.

_ ‘Good. Then tomorrow, it’ll be less than thirty… and then twenty… and then he won’t wait.’ _ The orange haired girl though. _ ‘He’ll just leave, and then he can start forgetting about me. He’ll just go work at Leblanc, and spend time with that Ren guy, and I’ll just.. ..and I’ll just disappear.’ _

She started to sob quietly. She thought of the happy memories she had with her mother and Sojiro. Going to get sushi. Having his curry. The last laughter she could remember was with Sojiro. Didn’t she have a chance, then? Didn’t she have a _ chance _ at being happy, if she could just open the door?

“...I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to die.”

_ ‘You have to.’ _

Futaba hugged herself tighter, pressing her closed eyes against her knees as she whimpered involuntarily. She knew what she would see if she dared to look up. The one person in the world she desperately wanted to see alive again, but couldn’t.

_ ‘Just disappear. It’s what you deserve. You ungrateful little bitch. You killed me, and then you ask the ‘Phantom Thieves’ for help. You said you felt guilty - then why are you trying to live?’ _

“Please… I’m sorry. Just please go away…” Futaba mumbled, crying quietly.

_ ‘I never will. I’ll be here in your heart, forever. The Phantom Thieves can’t save you. Just die. It’s the only way Sojiro will be free. Do you want him to end up like me?’ _

In her heart, Futaba despaired. It was foolish of her to even imagine a way for her to have a happy ending. At the end of it all, it didn’t matter if she _ wanted _ to live when she _ had _ to die.

There was no way out.

>>>

“Move it! Move!” Joker shouted. He ducked a swipe from a mummy, his left blade punching through the dusty, dried flesh of the monster’s chest. Impaled, the animated corpse lunged at Ren, impaling itself further as bandaged and dessicated arms reached for the young man in black. Ren broke several discolored, rotted teeth with his pistol as he pushed Faith into the snapping mouth of the undead, firing two bullets that blew the monster’s brainstem out the back of its head.

With a roar, Ren charged forward, using the impaled undead as a shield as he fired over and over with Faith, precision headshots clearing a path forward. He was flanked by Yusuke, whose katana formed a razor sharp barrier alongside Ren.

Meanwhile, Ann and Celestine conjured an inferno behind them, turning pursuing mummies and undead jackals into ash. Mona backed her up with Zorro; gales of wind knocked more of the undead into the growing flames, and then swept the fires further back to engulf even more of their pursuers.

Ryuji and Makoto covered the corridors they ran by, taking hurried, fast shots at the undead monstrosities that were lurching at them from the sides. The team was beset on all sides. The six Phantom Thieves moved as quickly as they could, working as a cohesive unit. After they had gotten out of the sub-dungeon and past the first pictographic puzzle, they were taken to the start of a stone maze by Shadow Futaba. The moment they set foot inside of it, they had been fighting for their lives.

“It should be this way!” Makoto yelled, motioning. The tactician of the group had of course been memorizing the blank stone corridors in her incredible mind. Even without a map, she would be able to guide them out. If it were a typical maze. “Quick! Before it…”

A wall slammed shut, and another opened. 

“...Changes.” Makoto sighed. She then let out a startled scream as another undead creature grabbed at her. Even as Queen, Makoto did not deal well with horror-movie themed things. Several shots rang out from her Detective Special, taking the creature’s head off.

It was of course, a constantly changing maze. Even the advantage they had in Makoto was only helpful until the stone walls shifted again. The team was forced into the new pathway, finding their way blocked by another horde of lurching mummies. Cursing, Ren turned around - the way back was blocked, too.

“Fox, Panther!”

Yusuke nodded; he and Goemon took a defensive stance, a dome of ice forming over the team, with the exception of Ann.

Her mask disappeared, Celestine appearing behind her. She raised a hand in a haughty, dismissive gesture.

Maragion tore through the undead, reducing them to ash. The area outside of Yusuke’s dome was turned into a sea of fire and ash.

Yusuke let his defensive barrier fall as the wave of flame washed past them all. Ren looked at them both critically - the two Phantom Thieves looked tired, sweat beading on their heads despite the cool air in the tomb. Ren passed them each some coffee from the shop.

“Fuel up. We’ve got to keep moving.” Ren said. “Let me know if you can’t carry on, though. If we have to ‘reset’, we will.”

Shadow Futaba gave the group a small portable switch when they first entered the maze. When triggered, it transported the group back to the start of the maze - their injuries fully healed, strength restored. But, hours of progress gone.

Ann shook her head, drinking the coffee. “We’ll hang on as long as we can, Joker. We’re not done, yet!”

They moved down the corridor quickly, hearing the rustling and groans of more mummies awakening to replace the ones Ann incinerated. They were endless. The team had already learned that an assault to try to clear the maze to allow them to work through it at their leisure wasn’t an option. Even if they set up a fortified firing position, the monsters simply kept coming as fast as they could kill them.

“Queen, is _ any _ of this familiar?!” Ren shouted. His crossed blades fended off a pack of undead while Anubis materialized behind him, his newest Persona stunning the cursed corpses with holy light. Yusuke immediately cut them down before they could recover.

Makoto shook her head quickly, firing several shots at the incoming shambling horde. “No! It’s completely changed!”

A gust of wind flattened them before Mona cast healing spells on the group. “I’m running low!” Shouted the cat-bandit. “Mana’s nearly out, so’s ammo!”

“Me too!” Ryuji called, flinging his last grenade. The explosion wiped out the oncoming horde. The team found themselves at a crossroads - and every direction was blocked with undead.

Makoto let out a quiet whimper, but kept firing away. “This is why I don’t watch those movies!”

“...Because you thought that if you did, you’d find yourself in the middle of an Egyptian techno-pyramid in an unsolvable maze with hordes of the undead?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. He threw himself into one of the pathways, losing himself to his blades and guns. The sound of slicing and stabbing was punctuated by gunfire from his pistols. He spun off one corpse, kneeling down and retracting a blade as he drew Vengeance, firing point blank into the head of a leaping jackal.

His fighting style in the Metaverse had gradually shifted over the last few incursions into Mementos and the Palace. Instead of using guns _ or _ blades, he found himself using both, combining the melee attacks with unexpected use of his firearms. It was something that might have bothered him, before - literally bringing a gun to a fist fight. Or knife fight.

But it got results. Not enough, though. Despite his efforts he found himself forced back to the crossroads, standing back to back with his allies.

“I’m out!” Makoto shouted. She switched to her tonfa, the whirling metal slamming into the skulls of the oncoming horde.

Ann’s hand, enveloped in flame, guttered and winked out. She panted, as her mask reappeared on her face. She drew her SMG, starting to fire.

Yusuke used only his sword, now.

Ryuji butt-ended a mummy in the face before reversing his shotgun, blowing its head off. He then raised the automatic weapon defensively as another one growled, reaching for the blonde. The barrel of the gun was the only thing keeping its gnashing teeth from Ryuji’s throat.

Mona continued chain-casting healing spells, his falchion blade lashing out from time to time.

Cursing, Ren pulled out the switch that Shadow Futaba had given him. He thumbed it.

The team was instantly transported to the start of the maze in a blaze of glowing green light.

Ryuji swore, kicking the wall of the maze, next to the door. “Fuck this place! That’s the fourth time!”

Ann sighed. “This is insane. There has to be a better way.”

Mona shook his head. “This is wrong. This must have something to do with her cognition in the other world.”

“Probably.” Ren said. He thought of Futaba’s situation, her crippling agoraphobia and likely depression. “A constantly changing maze. Her other self led us here, but there’s no way out. I think this is how she sees her situation. She wants us to help her, but in her heart, she’s nearly given up. For Futaba, around every corner there’s just more monsters…”

Yusuke made a thoughtful noise. “If this has to do with her cognition, then would the answer lie in the real world? Similar to when sensei’s cognition had to be changed regarding the door to his private studio.”

“Possibly. It’s hard, though. None of us really know her, and none of us really have a way to get to her.” Ren sighed. “We should take a break, anyway. We’ve been at this for hours, and we made even less progress on the last run. Throwing ourselves at this over and over again isn’t going to offer any brilliant solutions. I think we need to go out and see if we can discover anything more about Futaba.”

Ren thought of the last attempt at learning more about Futaba. Where they had ended up basically breaking into Sojiro’s house, with Makoto clinging desperately to his leg. He shook his head, with a rueful smile on his face.

“On second thought - let me see if I can discover anything on my own. Give me some time, though. I don’t want Boss to get suspicious of anything.”

>>>

August 3, 20xx 

At nine o’clock in the morning, the city wasn’t yet brutally hot. On a trail beside the Tama River, there were a few older people out for their morning constitutional; there was the odd tie-wearing salaryman, taking the scenic route on their way in to work this Wednesday morning. There was also a solitary high school student doing some dynamic stretching before starting his roadwork.

Yesterday, Sojiro hadn’t really offered any meaningful information on Futaba, despite Ren’s careful questioning. It was understandable - he was a private person. While he liked Ren, he saw no reason for the boy to really get involved in his life. Even after the ‘break in’. To Sojiro it was enough that Ren knew about Futaba. And so today, the Phantom Thieves took another break from the Palace infiltration while they considered their options.

Ren breathed in the morning air, the smell and sound of fresh water a temporary refuge from the sprawling metropolis surrounding the riverside park. It was his first early morning run in a long time. Waking up early had become less and less of a struggle. He had his bad days, of course. Days where Ann would have to show up at his bedside to get him up if they had spent the night apart. Or if they’d been together, she’d gently kiss him awake and coax him out of bed. Or if that didn’t work, she would start poking him. She wouldn’t let him forget his promise to _ try _.

As he knelt down to re-tie his Mizuno Shadow running shoes, he smiled to himself. Like waking up early, lately, it hadn’t been as difficult to try. Though, there were still days where he just lingered in bed. Just to get Ann to remind him that he should get up, leaving his eyes closed until she started feathering those gentle kisses on his eyelids. She knew he was faking. He knew that she knew. Neither of them cared.

The boxer grinned a bit stupidly at the memory before he tapped his smartphone. It was strapped to his bicep via an armband; he started his run tracking app before beginning to jog down the pathway. He had left his bag at Shinoda’s before walking down to the river, and Mona had wisely decided to stay home after his last experience riding along during one of Ren’s runs.

As Ren warmed up at a leisurely pace, he was reminded of why he had been avoiding these runs up until now: it was time to think. There wasn’t much else to do, after all. But, for the same reason that he found waking up early less of a struggle, he found being left alone to his thoughts less haunting, now.

Instead of regret over what he lost, he thought of what he _ had _. A reliable group of friends who inexplicably cared for him more than he cared for himself. Ann. And of course, a worthy mission.

Ren thought of the progress they had made before running into the impassable maze. The team had watched as the pieces of the mural slid together properly, triggering a playback of Futaba’s memory. The pictograph turned into a flickering video of a modest home. A man in a suit arrived, speaking to someone - presumably a relative of Futaba.

_ ‘We found this note in Isshiki-san’s desk. It says that she was tired of all the stress in her life. Between work and taking care of Futaba, she had enough. She wasn’t living her life anyway, so there wasn’t any point in being alive.’ _

The woman turned to Futaba.

_ ‘She hated you. They found this note at her desk at work. She hated you, and it’s your fault! It’s your fault she’s gone!’’ _

As Ryuji had said, it was _ fucked _ that someone would say this to a child. Suddenly everything about the Palace made sense - Shadow Futaba seemed to be helping them, guiding them through the dungeon. But there were still traps and shadows. It had been clear to Ren, because he himself had experienced the same thing. She wanted help. She desperately wanted the pain of her existence to stop… but she didn’t think she deserved the help.

Futaba, like Ren before her, like Shiho, wanted to live, but was determined to die.

This had galvanized Ren’s will to save Futaba Sakura.

As Ren jogged down the trail, someone fell into step beside Ren. The boxer glanced over; it was Akechi, smiling pleasantly while wearing a stylish tracksuit and runners, a smartwatch, and that manufactured smile. If he could have sparkled, he would have.

“Fancy meeting you here. What are the chances--”

Ren didn’t break his stride as he cut him off. “Cut the act. Remember what I said about stalking. Don’t you have something better to do? Hey, I think I saw another group of teenagers hanging out yesterday at the arcade. By your ‘deductions’, they could be Phantom Thieves! Get moving, flatfoot.”

“I’m not stalking you. I merely asked Sakura-san where you could be, because I wanted to apologize. I want to clarify. I wasn’t accusing you all. I was merely pointing out how many groups of teens could qualify as being suspects. I realize now I was being overly exuberant in my duties as a junior detective…”

“Sure. Fine.” Ren said, cutting him off. Listening to his pedantic speech was grating on his nerves and ruining his good mood.

“Is it okay if I run with you, then?”

“Do whatever you want.” Ren said.

They jogged in silence for a few minutes. Akechi smiled, waving at two giggling highschool aged girls who clearly recognized him. He glanced at Ren, wondering if the other boy had noticed. He frowned at Ren’s reaction - or lack thereof.

Ren didn’t comment; he didn’t even seem to notice the girls in the first place. It wasn’t that he was being standoffish or rude right now - rather, he was seemingly completely focused. Either on the run, or his own thoughts. Or both.

Akechi smiled. “You’re so determined, even at this pace. You know, I was expecting a more rigorous routine. When I found out you were a boxer, I had thought--”

“Warm-up’s over.” Ren said, almost robotically. He abruptly increased nearly to a sprint.

Akechi blinked, watching as Ren left him literally in the dust. He increased his own pace to keep up. He felt his legs start burning toward the end of the 400m interval, catching up to Ren. The boy wasn’t really waiting for Akechi. Instead, he bobbed and weaved, his hands cutting the air quickly as he shadow boxed for a few moments, practising in particular the shuffling and lateral movements critical for defense.

“Interval training?” Akechi asked, catching his breath quickly.

“Something like that.” Ren said, his voice clipped. He was saving his breath. “Next one’s in thirty seconds. It’ll be three sets of four, and then a rest at a jog.”

Akechi, for once, stopped talking to save his breath. He nodded. After the thirty seconds was up, Ren immediately turned and burst down the trail again.

Around half an hour later, the two boys stood at the riverside, panting. Ren looked at Akechi with newfound respect. While the brown-haired boy had struggled at the end, he had at least managed to finish the run.

“I have to hand it to you, Akechi. Most people wouldn’t have been able to keep up.”

Ren continued to move his body lightly, standing on his toes as he shadow boxed to the beat of the music playing in his earbuds. He had taken off his glasses; they were completely fogged.

Akechi nodded, wordlessly. He stared at Ren in mild disbelief. The boxer was still moving as if his body didn’t burn with lactic acid. His own limbs felt heavy, wooden. His stomach churned, making him regret having breakfast.

“Normally, people tend to fall off on the last stretch if they haven’t done this before.” Ren said, performing a 1-1-headslip-3 combination. “Coach used to call it ‘rolf’-work instead of roadwork. People would puke.”

The Detective Prince just nodded again, swallowing a lump in his throat. The last thing he needed was for Ren to talk about that.

“I mean, it was kinda hilarious. We’d get all these beginners whenever a big boxing match happened or some movie came out, and we’d just go out for roadwork. People in town used to call it the ‘Takeda Pain Train’, or the ‘Vomit Comet’. Literally a trail of blown chunks all along the road.”

Akechi turned pale, and then green.

Ren _ seemingly _ didn’t notice. 

“I mean, it was kind of gross, too. You know, one time, this big guy was so sure he knew how boxers should train. So before his first roadwork, he slammed back this full bottle of intra-workout supplement drink. He ended up looking like one of those fountains in Dome City. And the _ sound _ he made, it was all like ‘bleeeeerrrrrgh’… And then he started crying… Of course, it didn’t help that Kana-chan was beside him, wafting the smell of her bacon breakfast sandwich at him. She didn’t even really eat them, you know. She just carried one during this kind of roadwork to fuck with new people.”

“Urk… bacon…”

“Yep. Bacon. Greasy, salty, thick bacon.” Ren said, nodding. “With runny eggs.”

“Ah! Akechi-kun~!” The girls from before approached, smiling. They were roughly the same age as the two boys, and pretty. “It _ is _ you! Do you normally run here? Oh… Who’s your friend? Are you taking up boxing?! That would be _ so _ cool.”

“I… ..I… …Bleeeeerrrrgh!”

Akechi ended his run by vomiting onto a pretty girl’s shoes.

>>>

Elsewhere in Tokyo, someone else felt like vomiting. Namely, Makoto Niijima.

Makoto and Ryuji stood in front of one of the many beautiful displays in the Maxwell Aqua Park in Shinagawa; hundreds of fish flitted back and forth behind them. Makoto was staring at Ryuji with an incredulous, disgusted expression on her face in contrast to the looks of wonder and excitement from the other aquarium goers around them. Ryuji had a hopeful grin. One that seemed to say, ‘Eh? _ Pretty good, eh?’ _

Makoto shook her head slowly. “That was… awful. Never, ever say that again. Not to a girl, not to anyone.”

“But… ...but this website said it was a surefire ‘panty dropper’...” Ryuji said.

“A _ what _?!”

“...Y’know. A really hot line. Something that makes girls want you.” Ryuji said.

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Don’t you remember anything Ren said? He said you have to act natural. I don’t think reading and then quoting websites that use the adjective ‘panty dropper’ is natural. For _ anyone _.”

This was a ‘practice date’ for Makoto and Ryuji, for their planned sting operation on Eiko’s host boyfriend. The mission was to learn to at least act sort of like a new romantically involved couple. On Ren’s advice, they had gone with the aquarium. There would be plenty to see and talk about. Unfortunately, Ryuji also decided to take the opportunity to try out some lines.

“But _ natural _ with you is just… ...like studying and stuff.” Ryuji said, awkwardly.

“Ugh. I can’t believe Ann made me get dressed up for this.” Makoto muttered. She wore a modest - but cute - red and white sundress, even exchanging her hairband for a red one as well. “She’d die if she knew this dress was sullied by that line. I feel gross just for hearing it.”

“Well, how about this one--”

Makoto put her hand over Ryuji’s mouth, before pointing a finger at him with the other hand, glaring up at him. “No. Stop it. As your Student Council President, I _ forbid _ it.”

Ryuji nodded. “Mmph.”

Makoto sighed. She turned, heading toward the underwater tunnel-tank, one of the aquarium’s main attractions. She smiled a little as they stepped into the tunnel. It felt like they were truly at the bottom of the ocean, with 180 degrees of water around them. She let out an involuntary gasp as a huge manta ray appeared, gliding silently overhead.

Ryuji walked alongside her. He was, as per Ann’s want, wearing a t-shirt that actually fit and stylish jeans. For once, he looked less like outright delinquent and more like high school _ ikemen _. Instead of looking at Makoto or the fish, he instead smiled back at some giggling girls before getting an elbow in the side from the president.

“You shouldn’t be trying to flirt with girls you aren’t here with. Especially in front of the one you’re _ supposed _ to be with.” Makoto said, sternly. “What do you think Eiko would think if she saw that? What do you think _ Hifumi _ would say if she saw you do that when you’re with her?”

“Sorry.” Ryuji said. “I’m just amazed what Ann and Ren pulled off with just clothes and accessories. I mean, I’ve never gotten attention like that before!”

Makoto eyed Ryuji. The clothes did make the man, sort of. He had also borrowed a pair of stylish sunglasses from Ren, currently situated just above his forehead. And a nice wristwatch. She sighed. “You know. Natural with me is studying because that’s all we’ve done together. We haven’t really talked.”

Ryuji sighed. “Right. So… ...you like… ...clothes and sweets and stuff?”

“...What? No. At least, no more than a normal person.” Makoto said.

“Aren’t girls supposed to like those things?” Ryuji asked, confused.

“We aren’t some other species, Ryuji.” Makoto said, her irritation growing. “You need to stop operating out of some playbook.”

“Well, fine. You’re not exactly most girls, anyway.” He shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Makoto said, slowly raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re not _ normal _ . I mean, you’re crazy smart, and you have that photographic memory thing where you friggin’ _ incept _ things with your brain. Most girls wouldn’t be like you, anyway--...”

Makoto turned abruptly, storming off down the tunnel.

“Makoto? Come on, Makoto! Wait!” Ryuji called.

He ran down the tunnel, apologizing as he bumped into a few people. Most gave him understanding looks, having seen Makoto storm by. He turned into a small sitting area lit only by the bioluminescence of jellyfish. Makoto was sitting on a padded bench, facing the silently floating bell-like creatures. In the light, the girl’s pale skin seemed to glow as well. Her reddish brown eyes stared out at the silent water. To Ryuji’s relief, she wasn’t crying. He never dealt well with crying girls. He paused, by the bench. 

“Uh… Makoto? Can I sit?”

“If you don’t mind sitting beside a girl who isn’t _ normal _.” Makoto shot at him, huffing.

Ryuji sighed, sitting. “...Yeah. I deserve that. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, y’know. I meant to say, you’re… different.”

“Not better, Ryuji.” Makoto said, cracking a slight smile. She knew he was trying, but wasn’t quite done with being annoyed yet.

“Ugh. Sorry. I mean… you’re cooler than that. You’re really smart, and you always know what to do. You can go toe to toe with RenRen in a fight, and he actually listens to you. We all do. I mean… I think that’s _ better _than being normal.” Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Makoto looked down at her feet. “Thanks, Ryuji… Sorry for storming off like that. It’s a bit of a sore spot. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to act like ‘other girls’ growing up, and I don’t really react well when people point it out.”

“No. It’s really my fault. I just have a really hard time saying stuff without sounding like an ass. That’s why I think acting natural won’t work. On Eiko or on Hifumi.”

Makoto frowned. “What _ would _ acting natural be like, to you? What sort of things would you talk about?”

“Well… even though I don’t run on the team anymore, I still follow a lot of the competitions and stuff. And you know my thing about airsoft guns. But girls don’t want to hear about that stuff…”

“Really? You don’t remember how I reacted when you gave me the Detective Special?” Makoto asked.

“Well. Like I said, you’re different.”

Makoto smiled. “I guess that’s true. I never really got into the same things that other girls talked about at school. I was always looking for the next action or police movie to watch with Dad… He loved Blade Runner because of the Detective Special, funny enough.”

“For real? He was a gun otaku too?!”

“Hah. No.” Makoto said, laughing at Ryuji’s momentary deflated look. “But he was a policeman, remember? Dad loved the fact that Rick Deckard still used a revolver, even a futuristic one. Dad carried a revolver, too. A Nambu Model 60.”

“Right. The standard issue sidearm of the Japanese police. It’s an older type of gun, for sure, but incredibly accurate. Did you know…” Ryuji trailed off, sighing. “Sorry. Lame date talk. I mean…”

Makoto shook her head. “You light up when you talk about things you’re interested in, did you know? I think that’s what Ren meant. If you fake it, even I can tell. If you just act like yourself, it’s… I don’t know. It’s fun?”

“I guess.” Ryuji said. “Still, it’s hard to imagine any girl geeking out about a Nambu Model 60.”

“The groupings when fired in single action can be around 50 millimetres at a distance of 25 metres.” Makoto said, smiling slightly as she glanced sideways at Ryuji.

“...Yeah! Super accurate! Most revolvers are like that. I mean, the reason why some countries switched wasn’t because of accuracy, but in response to criminals having guns with bigger magazines.”

The two relaxed, finding common ground as they chatted.

When they left, even though they walked at a ‘friend’ distance and didn’t hold hands, they received nostalgic smiles from older couples who were also enjoying their summer day at the Shinagawa boardwalk. Makoto shook her head furiously, laughing as she gestured with a comically large dolphin stuffed toy. “No! I _completely_ disagree! _A Better Tomorrow_ _2_ was a good movie, sure. The action was top notch. But the story was nothing compared to the first one.”

“Pffft. Figures you’d like the sentimental one. You know, you _ say _ you’re not like other girls, but really…”

“You’re the one that said that!” Makoto protested, poking Ryuji with the snout of the Dolphin. Which she had named ‘B-Chan’, for ‘bottlenose’.

“You’re the one that agreed!” Ryuji laughed, fending off the plushy cetacean.

Laughing, the two nearly ran headlong into Hifumi.

“Oh!” Makoto gasped. “I’m sorry!”

“No, no. It’s my fault-- Ah! Sakamoto-kun?” Hifumi asked, looking at Ryuji. “I almost didn’t recognize you! ... ...Are you on a date?”

Ryuji blinked. “Oh! No, not at all. Togo-san, this is Makoto Niijima, a friend of mine. We were… ...uh, we were…”

Makoto thought fast. “...He was helping me shop.” She gestured with the dolphin toy. “For my little cousin. Ryuji’s really good with kids, so I thought I’d get his opinion.”

Hifumi laughed. “Really? I think I can see that…”

Makoto glanced at her phone. “You know, Ryuji. I should go. Kasumi-chan’s birthday party is starting soon. I’m sure she’ll love the dolphin. Thank you!” The girl politely excused herself, leaving Ryuji and Hifumi behind.

Ryuji’s eyes followed Makoto. He felt mostly grateful. But as he started chatting with Hifumi, actually managing to make her smile outside of shogi, he found himself wondering - how would have the rest of the conversation gone with Makoto?

How would have the rest of the day gone?

>>>

“Feeling better?” Ren asked, handing a sports drink to Akechi.

Akechi took it, looking less green as he drank the electric blue liquid. He grimaced. “Isn’t this usually sweeter?”

“You shouldn’t drink your calories.” Ren said, automatically. He drank a bright red version, tilting his head back. “I got the sugar-free version.”

“Right.” Akechi said. He eyed Ren, as the other boy gulped down his drink and then stared out at the gently flowing river. They were seated several metres away from where Akechi had thrown up all over one of the girls’ shoes. Initially, they were horrified and upset. The other one had started to take out her phone to take pictures of the famous Detective Prince blowing chunks all over a pretty girl’s shoes.

But then, Ren had stepped in. Somehow, he had talked down both girls. Part of his success, of course, was how he looked. He had his glasses off. His hair was perfectly messy, and a reckless, charming smile was on his face. There was a light sheen of sweat. The girl with the ruined shoes, in the middle of yelling at Akechi, had abruptly halted at the smile, her cheeks turning rosy.

_ ‘Why don’t you take those off, miss?’ _ Ren had asked, indicating her shoes.

Wordlessly, she agreed - removing articles of clothing seemed like a _ great _ idea.

Then, he carried her to a nearby bench. Her friend with the phone, instead of taking pictures of Akechi looking ill over his rejected breakfast, took pictures of her friend being princess-carried by an athletic, cute boy with a nice smile.

Ren then purchased new shoes for the girl before sending her on her way.

“Thanks, by the way.” Akechi said. “That girl was going to take a picture of me and my.. ...accident. It would have gone viral.”

Ren shrugged. “Probably.”

“Why did you help? I can’t be one of your favorite people.” Akechi asked.

“Call it an overdeveloped sense of responsibility.” Ren said. “You wouldn’t have run like that if I weren’t beside you, pushing you.”

“But you didn’t say anything to me.”

“Just having someone training alongside you makes you work that much harder.” Ren said.

“Like a training partner.” Akechi said.

“Or a rival.” Ren replied.

There was a moment of silence.

Ren sighed, standing. “I’m late. See you, Akechi. I wasn’t being sarcastic about you doing well. You obviously keep up with conditioning, at least.”

“Late for what?”

“Training.” Ren said. “That was just roadwork. There’s still weights, shadowboxing, heavy bag.”

“Ah. At Shinoda’s?” Akechi asked.

Ren frowned. “Did Boss tell you, or is this more of your ‘deducing’. And by that, I mean stalking. And by that, I mean ‘de-douching’.”

“I asked Boss.” Akechi said, firmly. “I’m not following you around anymore.”

“Good.” Ren turned to leave.

“...Can I come with you?”

“Why? You going to sign up?” Ren asked, somewhat sarcastically. “You haven’t had enough?”

“Well, I did practice a little karate growing up…” Akechi said, thoughtfully. “Perhaps we could show each other some techniques? After all, was it not Bruce Lee who said ‘absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own?’”

“Do whatever you want. Just try not to throw up anymore. Both actual vomit and pompous name -dropping.” Ren said, waving a hand. “You owe me 15000, by the way. Those shoes you ruined were Geox.”

“..._ 15000!? _ Surely, you must be joking. There cannot be--”

“And speak like an actual fucking teenager. Jesus. If Shinoda’s there, he’ll eat you alive.”

Fortunately for Akechi, Coach Shinoda wasn’t there - he was out with his pro and high level amateur boxers at a summer training camp in the mountains. And so, Ren found himself with the unlikeliest of training partners in Goro Akechi. Weight training, shadowboxing (or shadow karate), and the heavy bag passed by amicably enough. They chatted as they worked, mostly about their respective training regimens. Akechi did manage to speak like an actual teenager and stayed focused on the physical training. There was no obvious attempts at getting information out of him, no ‘deductions’. But, there was some unsettling feeling buried under the positive experience that Ren couldn’t shake.

Like he was eating a candied apple that might have a razor blade hidden within.

At the end of the session, they sat side by side on the apron of the ring.

“It’s hard to believe you were arrested for assault.” Akechi said, bluntly. “You don’t seem like the type.”

“That’s not something I like to discuss. With anyone.” Ren replied.

“Ah. ...My apologies. Perhaps we should exchange ideas, then, instead.”

“I told you. Not interested.”

“I meant in the ring.” Akechi said, his tone changing slightly.

Ren perked with interest. For a moment, Akechi sounded _ real _, instead of speaking with a voice suited for an interview. “Rules?”

“Stop short.” Akechi said. “That way, we can each use our respective styles without worrying about injuring each other.”

“Alright.” Ren agreed.

The two entered the ring. Ren took an orthodox boxing stance, his left foot and hand forward. Akechi stood in a stance that Ren recognized as _ kokutsu-dachi _, a rear-leaning position that allowed easy retreat and counter-attack. He raised his left hand in a knife-hand, his right was held at his chest.

The automated buzzer Ren had set went off, signalling the start of the match.

Neither combatant moved.

Ren stood, his weight on his toes, his shoulders jogging slightly as he moved forward and back. Akechi made miniscule adjustments to the distance.

_ ‘It seems we’re more similar than I care to admit.’ _ Ren thought. He was primarily a counter-puncher in his previous boxing career. It seemed that Akechi was similar, the two making miniscule feints to try to provoke an attack. Ren smiled slightly. _ ‘Though, it’s not like I can’t take the initiative.’ _

The leader of the Phantom Thieves darted forward. He sidestepped the front kick from Akechi, his arms lancing forward in a basic 1-2 that the Detective Prince backstepped from. But, Ren pressed the attack. He stayed ‘inside’, his right hand parrying a left jab, before he lowered his knees, driving them up simultaneously with his left fist toward Akechi’s rib cage. He stopped short, just letting his wrapped up fist brush the boy’s torso.

“That’s a left body.” Ren said, before coming up with his right from in-tight again. “Right uppercut.”

Akechi pushed back, just a foot or two.

Ren barely dodged the point-blank _ mawashi geri _, stumbling - only to catch the light brush of a thrust kick in his solar plexus.

Akechi smiled - his eyes colder, his smile looking different than usual. Performing a roundhouse kick to the head from that in-tight required flexibility, power, and above all, regular practice… Not just doing a little karate while ‘growing up’. “That’s a thrust kick. Point for me.”

Ren returned the grim smile. “You know. That roundhouse kick would have taken my head off.”

“I deduced that the inter-high champion from Kamakura would be able to dodge that.”

“What did I say about stalking?” Ren said, taking his stance again.

“It was merely something that Kamoshida said, was it not? It came up during my investigation of the Phantom Thieves.”

“Right.” Ren started circling, adding lateral movement. Akechi frowned slightly in irritation; clearly, he was used to more straight line attacks. He kept having to adjust his position. Ren moved in, his fists cutting the air with sharp exhales, forcing the Detective on the defense.

Akechi dodged a punch, returning with a spinning roundhouse that led into a follow up kick from his other leg, keeping Ren at bay.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” Akechi asked. “That the Phantom Thieves weren’t operating when you were arrested.”

Ren’s jab turned into a stiff-arm, blocking Akechi’s vision for a moment - enough for him to step in, delivering a right that stopped just short of clocking him in the head, scoring a ‘point’. “Why do you say that?”

Akechi stepped back. He scored a ‘point’ on a deceptive hook kick. “If you can indulge me, another deduction. You do not seem like the type of man to randomly assault someone, unprovoked. Thus, you were either provoked, or you were wrongly convicted. Either way, your accuser could have been a good target for the Phantom Thieves.”

Ren shook his head. “That’s a leap. You know nothing about me.”

“I know enough.” Akechi said, smiling as he closed in. “I know that you have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, as you say. In particular, to your friends. And in one case, one might call it outright devotion.”

“Then you should know better than to bring her up in a fight.”

“This isn’t a fight. Merely an exchange of ideas.”

“Then shut your mouth and keep exchanging.” Ren growled.

Akechi _ grinned _. He moved forward in a flurry of spinning and thrusting kicks, forcing Ren back with his reach.

Ren started to react by moving into his familiar ‘Detroit Hitman’ stance, preparing to deliver flicker jabs and chopping rights, or his favorite check hook…

His other self suddenly railed against the barriers of his subconscious. Although Ren couldn’t understand his words in the real world, the message was clear.

_ ‘Don’t show him any more.’ _

Ren stopped suddenly. Another roundhouse kick flew up, stopping just short of the boxer’s neck.

Akechi frowned. “...That’s a point.”

“That’s the match.” Ren said, coolly. “I need to go. See you, Akechi.”

Ren climbed out of the ring. He gathered his gear, nodding to the Detective as he left the gym.

Akechi watched him leave, a slight smile at the corner of his lips. He quietly gathered his own things. The Detective Prince only asked what he did to see _ how _ Ren would respond. Of course, he already knew the entirety of Ren’s circumstances. He had started looking into him more during the train ride Ren had sent him on - after all, there wasn’t much else to do on the express line to Saitama. As part of his role as the ‘left hand’ of a conspiracy, he had access to whatever records or information he deemed necessary. His surprise at learning that Amamiya was one of Masayoshi Shido’s victims was… compelling. 

It was _ interesting _ that Ren’s life had been all but destroyed. It was _ interesting _ that his parents’ life was more difficult. It was _ interesting _ to Akechi that Ren’s entire future had been taken away in a petty act of revenge, but in spite of it all, the boy was living his life.

In truth, it wasn’t interesting at all.

It was infuriating.

How could this _ random boy _ have his life destroyed, but still be doing so well? Without trying, Amamiya had a group of trusted, devoted friends. His parents were alive, and loved him. Some of his teachers were coming around. Even his peers were starting to admire him. He could even charm random bystanders, when he, the Detective Prince, was standing right there. And, he had love. Real and bewitching love, with a beautiful girl.

Even though he hadn’t suffered nearly as much as Akechi.

It wasn’t fair, and it created uncomfortable, unfamiliar feelings in the Detective Prince. There was _ one _ familiar feeling, though. He hated Amamiya for his happiness.

Akechi’s smile widened in cold mirth. He started chuckling to himself as he walked away from Shinoda’s.

_ ‘It’s a shame that they keep me on such a short leash…’ _

>>>

Sojiro looked up as the bell on the door tinkled. “Sorry, we’re closing in a few-- Oh, hey, kid.”

Ren nodded at Sojiro, flipping the sign for the shop. He looked like he had come freshly out of the bath house. He headed directly for the attic. This wasn’t unusual, for them. They had a good relationship, but not one founded in small talk. Which is why Ren knew something was up, when Sojiro asked:

“Hey. What do you think of this Kona stuff we got recently?”

Ren paused. He turned to look at Sojiro curiously - the man certainly didn’t need Ren’s opinion on this. He put his bag down on a table, going to the counter. He accepted the small cup the man offered, taking a sip. He wrinkled his nose.

“Over-roasted. This is supposed to be brighter, but it just tastes burnt. You should have a talk with your supplier.” Ren said. He walked around the bar, rinsing out the coffee cup and placing it back among the others.

“Right. Right…” Sojiro mumbled, going back to polishing the counter.

Ren headed back to where his bag was, but lingered, looking at Sojiro.

Sojiro looked back.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

“...Ugh. The way you _ stare _. It’s creepy.” Sojiro muttered, shaking his head. “And you’re such a smart ass. I don’t know how you get so many girls looking at you.”

Ren smirked. “Is this what you wanted to do? Discuss all my fine qualities? Don’t forget devastatingly handsome and charming.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sojiro laughed. He quieted. “...Hey. You’re… you’re doing alright, right?”

“...Most days.” Ren said. “On most days, I am.”

“Most days…” Sojiro repeated. “What… what did you do to get to that point?”

_ ‘Got pulled into the mind of a serial rapist slash pedophile, met the second love of my life, tried to commit suicide, got slapped by her twice, kissed her before I was sorted out completely, then had sex with her immediately after getting closure with the first love of my life.’ _

“It’s hard to put a finger on it.” Ren said. “What I can tell you, though, is that some things are beyond my control. I can’t control how I feel each morning. Sometimes, I don’t want to get up. And if I had my way, I wouldn’t.”

“Then why do you?” Sojiro asked.

“Because… ...because she keeps trying.” Ren said. “Ann keeps trying, even when I don’t feel like I want to.”

“...Right. Of course.” Sojiro said, nodding. “You’re a lucky guy, you know?”

“...I know.” Ren said. He headed to the stairs. He paused. “Hey, Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you let me stay here, with you?” Ren asked.

“I told you. Remember? A friend of your coach is an acquaintance of mine. He asked me to do him the favor.”

“Really.” Ren said. “You’d let some random delinquent into your house based on an endorsement from a man you’ve never met, and as a favor to an _ acquaintance _.”

“Don’t look a gift attic in the mouth, kid.”

“Fair enough.” Ren said, dropping it for the time being. “And Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Futaba will be fine.”

“Thanks, kid…”

Ren nodded, heading up the stairs. _ ‘I’ll make sure of it…’ _

>>>

August 4, 20xx 

Futaba woke up. To her disappointment, it was still the same ceiling. The same feeling. When her tormented heart finally let her sleep, she always drifted off with the faint hope that when she woke up, things would be different. That somehow, the rest would change her outlook.

There was, of course, no change at all.

She heard the footsteps of Sojiro approaching to collect yesterday’s tray and to leave today’s. She wondered how long it would take for him to stop coming at all. His footsteps were like sleep - she hoped that when she heard them, something would change. Something would be different, to take away some of her daily pain. But, he would knock. Put the tray down. Wait an increasingly short time, and then leave.

He didn’t knock this time. She heard the sound of something being placed on the floor.

She swallowed the tears, the urge to cry out. _ ‘...Already? Already not knocking. He’s already going to walk away. Zero seconds…’ _

_ ‘Are you surprised? Worthless child, you--’ _

“Morning, Futaba.”

She blinked, hearing his voice from lower down than usual. She realized now that he was sitting down on the floor, his back against the door.

“Hey. You don’t have to talk. You don’t have to even listen. I just… I just want to talk a bit. Let an old man ramble a little, okay? Heh... It’s a privilege of being semi-retired.“

Futaba trembled, torn between guilt and joy. He hadn’t given up.

“You know, Ito-san said the funniest thing the other day. You remember Ito-san, right? He’s the regular who always asks for the stupidest things, like 261 degree lattes made with saffron, but then laughs, and asks for black coffee… Same joke, every time. Well, this time, he wasn’t joking. He wanted to get this extra fancy latte for this woman he met. A guy his age, acting like that…!”

Futaba allowed herself a little, trembling smile. The spectre of her mother still stood there, beside her bed. But if the orange-haired girl just closed her eyes, and focused on Sojiro’s voice.

“...Maybe not that funny, right? But like I said. I just want to talk. Remember that guy you met in this house the other day? Well, I don’t know if you met him. But he was here. Ren. He’s a good kid, like you. Been through a lot, too. He told me that he got through some of his stuff because he had someone who wouldn’t give up on him, even when he gave up on himself.”

“...So, Futaba. It’s okay if you want to give up, sometimes. Because I’ll be here to try for both of us. I promise.”

>>>

“Wait. Wait… Isn’t that door new?” Panther asked, pointing. The team had gotten a bright and early start today, since they weren’t sure how much longer it was going to take to get through the maze. There was indeed a new door carved into the stone beside the entrance to the maze. In front of it, stood Shadow Futaba in her Egyptian-inspired attire. Glowing yellow eyes regarded the team quietly, lingering for a moment on Ren.

“You’re late.” Futaba intoned. She turned, stepping through the door. As she did, the entrance to the maze rippled, and vanished.

“...What the _ fuck _ . After all we went through, things changed, just like that?!” Ryuji snarled, walking after her. “I’m going to give her a piece of my mind. That little _ shit _…”

“Skull! Wait!” Yusuke shouted. He knelt down, pointing at the stone floor just beyond the door. “...There is an irregularity here. The cut and color of the stone.”

Ren looked down; his Thief’s Eye indeed highlighted a potential trap. He rolled one of their looted items - a ball made out of solid gold - into the doorway.

A massive blade shot up from the irregularity, cleaving the ball in half.

“Holy…” Ryuji muttered. “Didn’t she just show us the door?”

Yusuke frowned. “Perhaps this is what they mean by _ tsundere _.”

Ren laughed. “Not really, Fox. But nice try. Mona - we got anything for that?”

Mona nodded eagerly. He stepped forward, taking out a small aerosol can. In the real world, it was a can of computer duster. Here, though…

The cold spray froze the blade mechanism completely, allowing the Phantom Thieves to step through. They found themselves in a large chamber, with a multitude of mirrors around the walls. In the center of the room was another pictographic mural puzzle. Working together, the team solved it quickly. It was an image of Futaba on her knees, in her Egyptian pharaoh dress. She had her hands over her face, helpless as Wakaba Isshiki threw herself into traffic.

Ren sighed quietly. “She was right there when it happened…”

The mirrors around the room flickered to life like television screens. It was CCTV from the intersection. Footage of the accident played from every conceivable angle. The din of traffic. A screech of tires and honking. A crash, and thud. And then silence, save for the cries of a young girl.

They all played out of sync from each other, creating a scattered cacophony of screeching tires, impacts, and raw grief.

Ann pushed her mask up, her heart sinking as she watched the screens. “This… this means she constantly thinks about this, doesn’t she? She thinks about it from every possible angle and direction, but everything’s still the same. Her mother is gone, and she… she blames herself.”

“It seems like it.” Ren said, softly, as he reflected on his own experiences. “I think this is why she was so desperate for outside help. Her entire mind is wracked with guilt. The maze was there because she really didn’t see a way out. She wants help, but can’t accept that she deserves to live.”

Ann took Ren’s hand, squeezing gently. “Let’s hope that the maze’s disappearance means that her heart can hold on a little longer.”

“William.” Ryuji said, growling. He raised his hand, clenching his fist. “Mazio.”

Bolts of lightning struck out, shorting out or shattering every one of the mirrors.

The others looked at him in surprise.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I just… the sound. I don’t think that helped her, but I couldn’t just let it go on.” Ryuji mumbled.

Ren shook his head. “No, Ryuji. It’s fine. I was about to do the same.”

The mural rippled, turning into a door. They stepped out onto a ledge, overlooking the great corridor. A beam of light shot out from a mirror in the room, striking the next door in the corridor. It glowed, and then slid open. As they started to climb down to the corridor, the tomb shook. There was a distant sound, as if it was above and outside of the pyramid.

Yusuke frowned. “That.. cannot be good.”

“Agreed.” Ren said, simply. “From how things have gone in the previous Palaces, we’ll have to assume that’s going to be something we’ll need to deal with.” 

He hopped down to the corridor, making his way up the stairs.

Ryuji grinned. “So, we’ll need something heavier?”

“Can’t hurt.” Ren said. They reached the next door. Instead of going through, Ren turned to the door beside it. “Mona. Is this another safe room?”

Mona nodded. “It’s got the right feeling. Want to take a break?”

Ren shook his head. “Not really. I think Futaba needs us to move fast, if that maze was any indication. I don’t like the fact that we have no idea what fixed that problem for us. It means we might run into something else at any minute. But, we should stop for a second just to check our gear. We’re all outfitted for heavy fighting against hordes of undead, right? We should probably rearrange some things.”

Ren pushed open the door, glancing back at his friends. “We’ll just be a minute.”

When he turned back, the safe room was gone. Instead, he stood in something that looked like a production control room of a TV studio. There was one window in the middle, overlooking the Velvet Room’s arena. There was a myriad number of screens in the room, each of them showing a different ring. Ren tilted his head curiously. He stepped forward toward the window, looking down on the ring. It had been a long time since he had been forcibly pulled into the Velvet Room. After Madarame, it seemed like Igor had been oddly _ happy _ with him. He had just sat quietly from the judges’ table, while Caroline and Justine put him through his paces, either introducing him to a new ability, fusing, or enhancing Personas.

This time, though, he wasn’t dressed like a boxer. He instead wore a button down shirt and dress pants, and had a headset on. Like a TV producer in a pro arena.

“Welcome, Trickster.”

Ren wasn’t surprised anymore as he looked to his side. Igor had materialized, speaking in his low, guttural voice.

“Igor.” Ren said, simply. He just waited, knowing that the ‘man’ would inevitably start speaking riddles to him.

“Your Road to Rehabilitation is going well, Trickster. You have unlocked substantial power.” Igor said, his smile sinister, as always. He gestured - one of the screens changed, showing a highlight reel of Ren’s use of his ‘Black Wing’ ability first against Madarame, and then once again against Loveless. It was made to look like a highlight reel of a boxer, down to the height, weight, and reach of Ren listed on the sidebar.

“But you will require… More.” Igor said, waving his hand again.

Multiple screens shifted, showing the multitude of Personas that Ren had accumulated. Each of them were standing in one of the boxing rings.

“You have already chosen the path of sacrifice, Trickster. There is no going back. Choose.”

“Choose what? Choose one to fight? Two to fight, like when I have to fuse them?” Ren asked.

Caroline’s voice cut in. The small girl sat on one of the desks in the room, her legs kicking. “Not this time, Inmate. You’re lucky. Now you just have to choose. And then they’ll fight. To the death.”

Justine nodded, standing at Ren’s side. “Yes. This is a group fusion, Trickster. You will sacrifice up to five.”

To say the least, this was unsettling. Fighting for his life in the boxing ring below was one thing. At least there, if he killed, it was by his own hand. Even if he killed, he would have at least paid for it in sweat and blood. But now, he stood over all of the rings in the universe of the Velvet Room, where he would pick and choose which part of himself deserved to live. It was somehow… worse. It was callous. Cold. Disconnected. The spectral beings looked up at the cameras pointed down at them.

It was irrational, Ren knew. These beings weren’t alive, not in the way that he and his friends were. They were his to use as he saw fit. But, as his eyes looked over each screen in turn, he still felt it. These were a part of him. They were his allies, who knew him and his tendencies more closely and intimately than anyone else could.

He started to raise his hand, to choose which ones to betray.

Igor’s voice halted him. “Though, Trickster, there is another way. If this upsets you.”

Justine frowned, glancing through her notes. “...Master? What are you…”

A look from Igor silenced her.

“You have unlocked great power, Trickster. As I said. There is no way forward without sacrifice. But, if the thought of choosing so many troubles you… Choose _ one.” _

Ren followed Igor’s eyes to Arsene.

“...Arsene? Why?” Ren asked, curious.

“He is the source of your ‘Black Wings’. If that is the power of Arsene, unfused, what do you imagine would be the result if you combine him with another? Choose him. Sacrifice him, and add his essence to another of your choosing.”

Igor’s words became nearly deafening, though his volume hadn’t changed at all. It somehow made Ren’s head hurt, made him want to drop to his knees. He knew. To make it stop, he just had to choose Arsene. Choose Arsene…

Ren cocked his head to the side, listening for something, anything from his other self. There was only silence.

Ren looked at the screens, starting to raise his hand toward the one showing the spectral thief.

By chance, his eyes drifted over one of his newer Personas - Atropos, the eldest of the Sisters of Fate. She stood there, watching Ren quietly from behind the screen with her glowing golden eyes. The woman was clothed almost entirely in black, holding a pair of scissors poised over a thread.

As Ren’s hand neared Arsene’s screen, Atropos’ fingers on her scissors tensed slightly. Barely perceptible on the screen. The space between the blades of the scissors narrowed a miniscule amount toward the thread.

_ ‘It is not for me to say, Trickster. I am but the youngest. Should you meet my sisters… Perhaps they will tell you. Atropos may show you mercy.’ _

Ren halted. Forcibly, he touched four other screens. Isis. Thoth. Anubis. Horus.

The overwhelming force of Igor’s voice faded from his mind as if it wasn’t there, leaving Ren dazed as he watched the four screens. Each of the Personas were warped into the form of a boxer, and then transported to the main ring visible through the window. There, Ren watched in mute horror as a mockery was made of his chosen sport. It was a four way battle royale, the Personas beat each other to death in a brutal, bloody fight that could hardly be called boxing.

The victor staggered to the center, raising its fist before falling and dying due to its injuries.

The bodies vanished into vapor, before reforming with a dragon’s roar.

Justine made a note on her clipboard. “Ah. Seth.”

Caroline scoffed. “About time, inmate.”

Ren looked over his shoulder. Igor was gone. He searched inward, noting Arsene’s familiar presence. His original Persona and most trusted partner was none the worse for wear. Ren sighed.

_ ‘...What was that?’ _

>>>

Much later that night, Ren stared up at the now-familiar ceiling of Ann’s bedroom. The girl was smiling as she snored softly, snuggled up against his side. Usually, the sight and sound made the boy smile. But for the first time in awhile, he was haunted by his thoughts. Carefully, he extricated himself from Ann’s side, gently kissing her cheek as he pulled the sheets back up over her. He pulled on some sweatpants, going to the kitchen.

He poured himself a glass of water. He rubbed his chin, thinking as he sat down at a bar stool.

_ ‘You have already chosen the path of sacrifice, Trickster. There is no going back. Choose.’ _

Ren shook his head. _ ‘There was a time where my biggest concern was whether I’d be able to fit a date in with Reiko after training with the Coach and Kana-chan. Now I’m debating the finer points of morality in relation to picking parts of myself to die. If they _ ** _are_ ** _ parts of myself…’ _

The experience had made Ren consider again the implications of collecting Personas. What did it mean, for him? Who was he, really? He felt a certain kinship with Arsene… Were the others merely passengers, then?

Somehow, that made the idea of sacrificing them even worse.

_ ‘How the hell did I get here?’ _ He thought, shaking his head. He glanced at the door leading to Ann’s bedroom, with a slight smile. _ ‘Not that I mind where I am _ ** _too_ ** _ much. Though… I wonder.’ _

_ ‘It’s a shame, isn’t it?’ _ Akechi had said. _ ‘That the Phantom Thieves weren’t operating when you were arrested.’ _

Ren took out his phone, something suddenly occurring to him. Something he hadn’t checked before. Perhaps because he didn’t think there was anything to be done. Or perhaps because the damage to his life had already been done.

He tapped the ‘Red Eye’ app.

“Masayoshi Shido.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ikemen - cool looking guy
> 
> A Better Tomorrow/A Better Tomorrow 2 - classic HK cinema, John Woo directed. Much recommend.
> 
> To clarify, at no point am I making any commentary about fighting style vs fighting style, which is better, etc. I find those discussions pretty pointless. It's just that boxing is a relatively rare thing for people to get into. Karate in Japan? probably a bit more common.
> 
> 'Left hand' - Occasionally used term in fantasy novels etc to refer to a designated 'cleaner' or else someone who does the dirty work for an important person. As opposed to the 'right hand', who is the clear second in command
> 
> I wonder if anyone picked up on it, but way back in 'Dementia Pugilistica'/'Deloading' (Chapters 8/9), Ren's suicide attempt and being late to the party at the Wilton served another purpose - missing seeing Shido. In his state of mind, and the way I've written him, he either would have lost it and tried to kill the man, or he would have fallen further into his own depression.
> 
> Now, though, he's ready to start thinking about it.


	21. Flinch Reflex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The flinch reflex is the natural human reaction to something moving quickly at the face. This manifests in a few pre-programmed responses. First, the eyes close. Then, the body stiffens up and the head and neck twitch away from the threat. Finally, the breath gets held for a moment. This is obviously problematic for a boxer - closing your eyes, stiffening up, and holding your breath in response to a punch is a good way to get punched even more. Boxers who cannot control this reflex are said to have ‘punch eye’. In modern times, due to the growing knowledge on head trauma and CTE, safe ways have been designed to train this out of fighters. For instance, having your trainer ‘fight’ you using foam pool noodles._
> 
> _Prior to this, the old fashioned way was hard, full contact sparring. Where you get over the instinct to flinch, or end up on the floor._

August 5, 20xx 

Futaba smiled a little as Sojiro said his goodbye for the morning, leaving. He had stayed for a full ten minutes this time, telling Futaba all about his day yesterday. And all about Ren, the boy who was staying in Leblanc’s attic. Sojiro’s voice soothed her; it made her think of happier times, better memories. It made her wonder if her memories of her mother and Sojiro were so beloved, then why were the memories around her death so...

_ ‘So selfish.’ _

Futaba hid her eyes, knowing what she would see if she dared to look up. The spectre of her mother sneering down at her.

_ ‘You haven’t changed. You are so utterly selfish. Don’t you know? Just to bring you food, he already has to wake up earlier. He already has to work more. And what’s his reward? He gets to sit there on the hard floor and talk. Just to keep your worthless self alive.’ _

Futaba whimpered, shaking her head. “He… he _ cares _ about me. He doesn’t want me to give up! He…”

_ ‘You’re ruining his life. Say what you want, but you’re nothing but a burden… You’re so pathetic that you can’t even open the door to thank him. Useless…’ _

>>>

Meanwhile in the Metaverse, all seemed lost for the Phantom Thieves.

The team had worked through what seemed to be the final leg of puzzles and traps in the Chamber of Sanctuary, including a cunning ‘bridge of light’ that the team had to activate. And, a series of mirrors and gemstones that reflected and refracted the beam of light that they recognized as the key to unlocking the next door. They did this with the guidance of Shadow Futaba, who with quiet whispers or vague gestures directed the thieves at least in the _ direction _ of where they should go next.

But, she led them right into the waiting arms of a deity: Mot, the Coffin-Borne God. Futaba’s cognition of the ancient God of Death. The thieves fought valiantly, eliminating the summoned serpent-women, Lamia, quickly and efficiently. Mot himself, though, was safe within the confines of his monolithic coffin.

The coffin creaked open. A scaled hand reached slowly out of the darkness within. The air in the area became colder; whispers that sounded like the scratching of insectoid legs across dry stone filled the silence. 

With a clatter, Makoto dropped her tonfa. She clutched her own shoulders, shrinking down with a whimper as despair took her. “N.. no… Sae… not to Sae…”

One by one, the thieves were beset by their own deepest fears and uncertainty, unable to move.

Even their erstwhile leader stood still, his head bowed. The coffin containing Mot made a cold, grinding sound of stone against stone as it moved, sliding closer and closer to Ren. The door of the coffin slowly swung open, revealing only two clawed hands reaching from the darkness and glowing eyes. A voice, dry and cold and echoing, spoke quietly. And yet, the words filled the heads of the thieves. There was nothing but Death.

“Ha… ha…. Ha…. The vaunted Trickster amounts to this…? Arsene chose such a weakling. No matter. Soon, your suffering will end. All come to know Mot at the end of things. Come to me, Trickster. Come and join me forever…”

Ren took a single, unsteady step forward.

Ann could only watch in horror. The despair forced upon them didn’t need to show the blonde anything at all. No visions, no old doubts or fears. It simply allowed her to watch as Ren stepped toward the waiting arms. He raised his own arms, as if to accept the clawed hands of his new master.

-_ Shing- _

Ren smiled. Both of his blades deployed to their full length, skewering the God within the coffin.

The voice of Death let out a pained cry. “Uraah! What!? How?!”

“Hm? Oh, well, you see, the pointy end goes into the other man.” Ren replied, nodding at the twin black blades that were currently stabbed through Mot’s chest. “Or, if you’re referring to how I withstood your attack? Well. Let’s just say I’ve dealt with more frightening things.”

Joker put a boot into the coffin, feeling the sole contact something solid. With a disdainful kick, he shoved Mot off his blades, retracting them back into the devices hidden on his forearms. With a wail, the God vanished, coffin and all.

The rest of the Phantom Thieves stood slowly, shaking off the after-effects of the despair curse.

Ryuji shivered. “Dude… how did you stand that? Didn’t it show you something awful…?”

Ren shrugged. “It’s as I said. I’ve just dealt with something worse than Mot, I guess.”

“Maybe you should tell us what you did to get that resistance, Joker.” Makoto said, standing and collecting her tonfa. “I thought that was going to be the end.”

Yusuke nodded in agreement. “Indeed. That was… unsettling. And it may not be the last time a fear-based attack is used.”

For a moment, Ren’s eyes took on a glassy, distant look. Like the thousand-yard stare of a war veteran, remembering a past trauma.

Ann frowned, concerned. She nudged Ren. “Wildcard? You okay?” Through this latest infiltration attempt, Ren had been a little quieter than usual. And now that odd expression on his face...

Ren smiled brightly, as if the expression was an illusion. “Yep! Hey, let’s all move on.”

Mona scampered ahead through the next door. They were faced with another mural puzzle. Just like the times previous, the team rearranged the panels. There was a soft click and beep as the picture was correctly descrambled.

“Futaba, pulling on her mother’s clothes…” Yusuke said, looking at the picture.

The team watched as the mural blinked into static and then faded into ‘real’ footage of the memory. Futaba was wearing normal clothes, now. She held something, a pamphlet of some kind.

“Mom…? I’m tired of eating alone all the time. It’s always just convenience store bentos…” Futaba said, tugging on the hem of her mother’s skirt.

Wakaba Isshiki said nothing, just hurriedly putting away dishes. Her face was hardened, furrowed in irritation.

“Mom? Please? Can we go on a trip together, then, if we can’t eat together all the time? I found some places that wouldn’t be too expensive, and--”

Wakaba put the dishes down. She smacked Futaba’s hand away from her skirt, before whirling on her daughter and snatching the paper out of her hands. “Seriously? Are you that selfish?! I’m working myself to death to support you, and all you can think of is yourself.”

She shredded the paper in her hands. “A trip. Useless…”

The team watched in silence, unable to find words as they watched the Futaba in this memory start to cry. Wakaba coldly turned away, and the memory ended. The beam of light in the gem shot forward, dissolving the mural and wall and opening the next door in the great corridor below.

“That was a pretty extreme response…” Ryuji breathed, shaking his head.

Makoto nodded. “Sae’s snapped at me like that, before. Sometimes, stress makes people say awful things.”

“But all she wanted to do was spend time with her.” Ann said, her arms crossed, holding her forearms. “It’s not like she was asking for much. And it’s not at all how Boss described Futaba-chan’s mother…”

Ren sighed. “Reality might not matter. If this is how Futaba remembers her, that’s enough to drive her into blaming herself. She’s convinced herself that she’s responsible.”

Shadow Futaba faded into existence in front of them. Her expression, previously impassive and neutral, looked downcast; saddened. “...That’s because I _ am _ responsible. I have to die. I _ will _ die.”

“Futaba-chan, no! It’s not your fault. Just wait--” Ann stepped forward, reaching for the girl. She vanished before she could get to her.

“Whatever happened yesterday to get us past the maze must have been just temporary.” Mona said. “We need to hurry up before it’s too late!”

“Right.” Ren nodded. He jumped down, followed by the rest of the thieves. They walked up the corridor, coming to a stop in front of the next door. This one was stone, like the previous ones. But it glowed with vertical bars of green light, in a circuitry-like relief. Yellow tape emblazoned with ‘caution’ crossed the front of the door, along with a ‘PRIVATE: DO NOT ENTER’ sign.

Ryuji lightly kicked the door. “It won’t open, and there’s no other way in.”

“This door… it looks familiar.” Mona murmured.

Makoto put her hand on the sign, thinking. “...Ah! It’s like the door to Futaba’s room in Boss’ house!”

Mona nodded. “You’re right! It must be her cognition that no one can enter.”

“I’m surprised you’ve made it this far.” Shadow Futaba spoke, reappearing before them. “Beyond this door lies the Pharaoh’s Chamber, and your goal. You require my permission to enter…”

Ryuji blinked. He then jerked a thumb at the door. “Fine. May we enter? Pretty please?”

The linen-clad girl shook her head. “No. I cannot give you permission. You must get _ her _ to invite you in…”

Mona sighed. “The Shadow is part of Futaba, but not Futaba herself. We need the real one to allow us into her room… Looks like we’ll need to return to the real world to speak with her.”

“That’s going to be problematic.” Yusuke said. “Boss hasn’t really given us permission to speak with her. And he himself said she refuses to let even him inside.”

“Yeah…” Ren said, frowning. “He spoke to me about her, indirectly. It might have been what triggered the maze to disappear, actually. But if I bring it up, he won’t really say much more. I’m not sure what we can--”

“We’ll force our way in if we have to.” Ann said, fiercely. “We can’t leave her like this!” Ann said. “Right now, that girl is convinced that everything is her fault, and that she’s all alone in the world! Right now…”

She looked at Ren.

_ ‘Right now… she’s like how you were.’ _

Ren looked at her for a moment and just nodded, understanding completely.

“We’ll do what we have to, Songbird.”

Ryuji looked at Yusuke and Makoto. “Y’know, we should put together a calling card, too. There’s no telling when we’d get another chance to deliver one.”

“True.” Makoto said. “From the design of the pyramid and the maps we found, there isn’t much left before the Treasure Room. But why are you looking at me? Isn’t this something you and Yusuke do together?”

Ryuji looked sheepish. “I uh, looked at my old calling cards. They seem pretty lame, honestly. Can you help me think of what to write?”

Makoto gave a little shrug. “Sure.”

The bottle blonde grinned and looked at Ren. “Any other things to consider, RenRen?”

“That rumbling and the other sounds we’ve been hearing outside the pyramid…” Ren mused. “Like I said before, we have to assume that it’s something we have to deal with, and it sounds big. We’ll need to upgrade our firepower and assume that we’re in for a fight.”

Ryuji laughed. “God, I was hoping you’d say that. When we get out of here, everyone should turn over their weapons to me. I’ll see what I can do.”

Ann nodded firmly. “I’ll have a word with Shiho for medicine.”

“Great. See if you can’t find something to enhance our defenses, too, Panther.”

Mona grinned, his fangs protruding toothily. “Everyone knows what to do? Let’s move, then!”

>>>

**RS: calling card’s ready!**

**RA: Nice. That was fast.**

**RS: well, you know. this is like my thing now**

**MN: ...I came up with the entire thing. And Yusuke did the drawing.**

**RS: dude, be cool**

**AT: Lame, Ryuji. Lame.**

**RA: Right. We’ll go tomorrow, assuming we get everything we need ready.**

Ren stood behind the bar of Leblanc, late in the evening. He brewed coffee for tomorrow. It was incredible how useful Leblanc’s drinks had such a profound effect on their energy in the Metaverse. As he poured it into a thermos, he smiled wryly.

_ ‘Should add it to Leblanc’s advertisement. Great taste, clean finish, revitalizes you for boss battles… Maybe just one more cup, and then we’ll be good to go.’ _

The truth was, he had plenty of coffee. On nights where he couldn’t make any, he called Kawakami in to make it. He kept telling her, she didn’t need to show up in the maid outfit, but ‘Becky’ seemed to enjoy making him uncomfortable.

But Ren couldn’t sleep. He was worried about the Palace somewhat, true. But he was more concerned with what happened the previous night, at Ann’s place.

_ ‘Masayoshi Shido.’ _

_ ‘-Beep- Palace found. Please state keyword and location.’ _

He had a Palace. The man responsible for _ everything _ had a Palace.

Ren thought… Well, he didn’t know _ what _ to think. As Futaba’s Palace had shown them, you didn’t need to be evil to have a Palace. You simply needed to have distorted desires. That being said, the man had tried to sexually assault a woman right in front of Ren, and then had ruined his life simply for getting in his way. And then he had gone after his parents.

But that was..._ personal _.

Ren knew the moment he brought it up, the Phantom Thieves would jump at the chance to help him. They would throw themselves into danger just to give him the chance to what? To get Shido to confess to the fact that he had framed Ren? Or to give Ren the chance to take a terrible, final vengeance?

At the very least, Ren wanted to know _ why _. He wanted to know why the politician had gone so far to take everything away from him.

But he couldn’t ask his friends to step in. He couldn’t ask them to risk themselves for something so personal, that had no real bearing on anyone else.

The bell on the door chimed. Ren looked up; he thought he had locked the door. “Sorry, we’re closed-- Oh. Hey, Songbird.”

Ann strode in. She smiled at Ren, taking a seat at the bar across from him.

“It’s late, you know. Does Bachan know you’re here?” Ren asked.

“She does. She doesn’t seem to care, so long as it’s you.” Ann said, laughing a little.

Ren smiled, starting to put away the coffee supplies. “I’m glad she likes me.”

“You know, rolling my ankle that day might have been the best thing that ever happened. She tried that mapo tofu, and after she did, she said…” Ann trailed off.

_ ‘Kei-chan, I don’t care what he looks like, or what he does. You _ ** _marry_ ** _ this boy.’ _

Ren raised an eyebrow, watching as Ann turned carmine, clamming up. He grinned. “Well? What did she say?”

“...Er… ..nevermind!” Ann stammered. “A..anyway. I noticed you were really quiet today. Is everything alright?”

Ren shrugged. “It’s a dangerous Palace, and there’s a lot at stake.”

“There always is.” Ann said. “So what’s different this time?”

Ren paused. What could he tell her? The girl he loved, the one that could see right through him. He realized all he could do was tell her the truth. At least, _ one _ of the truths.

“It’s hard to see all of this.” Ren said. “Seeing what Futaba’s going through is like seeing what I went through all over again. It makes me want to do everything I can to help her. But, at the same time, it’s hard to think about. If we succeed, what then? Does she have to deal with depression like everyone else? Or is it a cognitive re-write, and she gets to start over? If it’s the first thing, well, that’s shitty. If it’s the second…”

“You’d wish someone could have done that for you. Just hit a cognitive reset button, and make your feelings change…”

“It sounds almost sick to say it out loud.” Ren said. “Being jealous for someone making a full recovery.” He sighed, leaning on the counter. He looked down, as Ann squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“But you’re still going to help her. That’s because you’re a _ good person _, Ren Amamiya. I wouldn’t love you this much, otherwise.”

Ren took Ann’s hand, kissing the back of it. “Thanks, Ann. That means a lot to me.”

Ann looked at her hand, then at Ren. “That’s all I get?”

Ren leaned forward over the bar, looking amused. “I like it when you’re greedy.”

“Mm…” Ann pressed her lips against his softly. He smelled even more like coffee, now. He didn’t wear cologne, but she firmly associated the scent with Ren, now. With being close to him. With sleeping beside him. With… _ sleeping _ with him.

The bell over the shop’s door chimed. They separated, looking up as Sojiro walked in. “Hey, kid. You still up? I wanted to-- Oh. Ann-chan… ...sorry. I must have been interrupting.”

Ann blushed, sitting back on her stool. “Er… No. Not at all. This is your shop after all, Boss!” She said, awkwardly. “Here, I’ll just leave, I…”

Sojiro sighed, shaking his head. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Ren probably tells you everything anyway. Ren… I wanted to talk to you. I need help. Futaba… Futaba’s refusing to eat.”

>>>

August 6, 20xx 

The team gathered upstairs in Leblanc, listening as Ren relayed what Sojiro had told him. Futaba was refusing to eat and drink. The trays of food were no longer being taken into her room, and the door was locked. He was afraid that forcing his way in would provoke her to do something rash, and he hoped desperately that someone closer to Futaba’s age might be able to talk her into opening the door willingly.

Ryuji cursed softly. “Fuck… We need to go, _ now _.”

“My thoughts exactly, Ryuji. You have the calling card, I know. How are we on gear?”

He pushed Faith and Vengeance toward Ren.

“I’ve increased the magazine capacity and changed out the compensators. You’ll have more bullets, obviously. And I’ve been watching how you fight…” He nodded at the compensators threaded onto the ends of the guns. They were heavier, now, and sloped to a point underneath the actual barrels. “In the thick of melee, if you ‘punch’ someone with a barrel, it’ll stab, too.”

Ren nodded. “Thanks.”

“Yusuke, for you, a Mark 12 SPR. It’s somewhere between your assault rifle and the sniper rifle you used during the train heist. We have no idea what range we’re going to be at, so I figured this would work out. Ann, nothing I give you is going to beat the firepower you and Celestine pack anyway, so I’ve just upgraded your UMP to have a bigger magazine and faster rate of fire in case something gets past your Persona.”

Ryuji looked at Mona. “And here, Mona. Slingshots aren’t really my thing, but the range should be better.”

Makoto looked relieved as Ryuji took out the Detective Special, seemingly unchanged.

Ryuji grinned, catching Makoto’s reaction. “Don’t worry, Makoto. I kept it pretty much the same. Higher caliber now, though.”

“Thanks, Ryuji. Ann, we’re good on medicine and other supplies?”

“Yeah. Shiho gave us some more KT tape, and Takemi-sensei gave us a bunch of stuff as well.”

“Then, let’s go.”

>>>

They had successfully talked their way into Futaba's room and entered the Metaverse - only to find themselves faced with wrath on wings.

“Misfortune will fall upon all who dare to approach the tomb of the pharaoh! They are cursed! You have no right to interfere!”

The Phantom Thieves were scattered behind the scant cover offered by the rubble littering the broken top of the pyramid. Gunfire and blasts of flame, ice, electricity, and nuclear energy lanced into the air. The sphinx-like monster shrieked mockingly. It was amazingly agile, curling around the attempts to injure it.

Ren raised his guns. “Seth.”

The black dragon appeared behind Ren. It roared a challenge to the sphinx, but didn’t move from its spot beside the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Instead, Ren’s guns glowed red; a single dot of a similar color appeared on the sphinx’s chest. Ren found his hands moving of their own accord, tracking the flying monster.

He squeezed the triggers. One-shot Kill, or in this case, Two-shot, struck home on the target that Seth had painted.

The monster recoiled, struck. For a moment, it hung still in the air as if it was shocked it could be hurt. The Phantom Thieves took full advantage.

“Celestine!”

“Johanna!”

Fire and radiation combined in a glowing beam that struck a hole through the sphinx’s wing. It was followed immediately by the jackhammer sound of Ryuji’s USAS-12, loaded out with explosive slugs.

The monster shrieked in pain, flapping its wings to ascend.

Yusuke aimed through the scope of his SPR, his keen eye allowing him to follow the monster upward as he shot it repeatedly. Mona expertly manipulated the wind to ensure his long-range shots hit home every time. Eventually, though, the monster got too high for even Yusuke to reach.

Mona looked up, wide-eyed. “Is… is it going to dive bomb us?!”

Makoto’s eyes snapped to Mona. “Can you tell when?! If you know when, we can use it as a chance to counter-attack when it gets close!”

Mona could only watch as the sphinx flitted back and forth. “I… I don’t know! I can’t tell!”

Suddenly, the sphinx folded its wings, diving down at the group.

“Take cover! Get your guard up!” Ren yelled.

Yusuke put his gun aside, drawing his sword as he summoned Goemon. “I can shield us! Goemon!” He raised his blade, forming the dome of ice that he had used in the maze before.

“No! Fox, it’s moving too fast! It’s too risky!”

“I have this, Joker! Just get behind me!” Yusuke shouted, taking _ jodan _, or high guard.

Joker slammed into him, knocking him away just as the sphinx struck the ice barrier. It smashed through as if the barrier wasn’t even there, sending the thieves, stone, and dust flying.

Ren was _ gone _. There was silence, other than the slow flap of wings as the team took stock of their injuries and their missing leader. Ann searched frantically with her eyes, seeing nothing - nothing but blood, the broken half of a black blade, and a gaping hole in the top of the pyramid.

“No… Ren… Ren!” She screamed.

Yusuke staggered to his feet, wide eyed. “Ren..? Ren, where…”

He took in the scene before him. Ryuji and Makoto, slowly getting up, using healing items. Mona, desperately casting spells. And finally, Ann, devastated. Pulling out her SMG, and firing wildly at the monstrous enemy in futile anger.

_ ‘...Ren. He… he saved me. He sacrificed himself… …’ _

Yusuke screamed a challenge at the sphinx, looking up. His eyes flashed a golden, glowing yellow.

>>>

Ren groaned, lying in a very uncomfortable bed of broken stone. He looked up - far in the distance, sunlight poured down from the ceiling where he had crashed through, the glare from the light obliterating the scrolling green binary in the air. He tried to stand, wincing.

_ ‘Hip’s out. Definitely dislocated.’ _

“Ugh. Atropos…”

The Persona appeared, standing poised with her thread and scissors. She looked down at Ren somewhat distractedly. “Hm? Oh, Trickster. It’s not your time, yet… How can I help you?”

“Mediarama.”

She nodded, pointing with her scissors. The green light focused around Ren’s right hip; he grimaced, not so much from the pain, but more at the sound of his hip joint going back into place with a wet-sounding clunk. Before the Persona disappeared, she looked out across the chamber. There, stood an orange-haired girl.

Futaba. She had followed them in. She was standing in front of the mural of herself and her mother, staring up at it. She hadn’t even noticed Ren’s sudden entry into the chamber.

“Trickster. That one… that one’s fate will be decided today. The length of her thread…” Atropos faded back into Ren’s mask. Ren stood up gingerly, approaching Futaba.

“...This… this is the inside of my heart.” She murmured. “She showed me. I mean, the other me. She showed me all of this. My memories. I don’t know what’s true and what’s not, anymore. I.. I know mom didn’t hate me, but then… why do I remember it like this?! Why can’t I let it go?!”

She turned to Ren, her eyes confused, pleading. “Why?... I… I want to remember a Mom who loved me. A Mom who was happy. But every… every time I do… I get scared.”

Ren looked at the mural, and then Futaba. The girl trembled, holding her forearms so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“It’s because it hurts, doesn’t it? To remember her like that.” Ren said, softly. “Because when you remember that, you also have to face the fact that you’ll never see her like that again. You have to live, wondering why the one you loved, the one that loved you, was taken away from you.”

Futaba said nothing, but inclined her head slightly. 

Ren thought of the depths of his own guilt, the guilt he still struggled with. How he sometimes wished his parents abandoned him. How he wished they had started hating him for ruining their lives together. It would have made _ sense _, in a perverse sort of way.

“At least if she hated you and killed herself because of you, then you’d have a _ reason _for her to be gone.” Ren said. “Things would make sense. But if your memories are wrong and it was a lie… Well, you really have nothing but uncertainty. No guarantees. You might never know why your Mom died. You don’t even know where your life is going to go. You could be happier than you could ever imagine. Or you could be completely, totally worse off than you are now.”

“...You’re really bad at this talking someone off the edge thing.” Futaba said, looking at Ren.

“I’m actually one for one. Or two for two, depending on how you keep score.” Ren replied, a wry smile on his face. “But, as someone who chose uncertainty, I’ll tell you - I’d choose it again. Every time. At least then, you get to try. And even if you feel like giving up sometimes, I do know there’s people who care about you. People who’ll push you to keep going…”

Futaba’s eyes widened as she remembered Sojiro’s words. _ ‘...So, Futaba. It’s okay if you want to give up, sometimes. Because I’ll be here to try for both of us. I promise.’ _

Futaba looked at Ren, curiously. “You’re not going to just tell me that the memories are fake? You’re… you’re just going to leave it up to me?”

“I am.” Ren said, nodding. He summoned Arsene, the thief appearing at his shoulder. “From what Boss told us, and from what you’ve described, I’m pretty sure they’re fake. Or at least, warped.”

As Arsene floated up into the air, Ren reached up with his gloved hand. “But… this is your life. There are things that happened to you. It’s your right to remember what you want. It’s your right to _ feel _ however you want. You’ll never hear me telling you to ‘be brave’, or to ‘cheer up’. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to shout, shout. If you need to fight, fight.”

Ren started to make the ascent back to the hole in the ceiling at the top of the pyramid.

“Up until now, you’ve felt the way you’ve felt because someone manipulated you. No matter what you choose today… at least you finally get to choose.”

>>>

Yusuke gritted his teeth as he and his post-Second Awakening Persona, Gorokichi, held off another dive bomb from the sphinx. He was now strong enough to block the devastating attack, but it required both Mona and Makoto to heal him frantically after the attack. Ann was attacking recklessly, angrily. She lashed out with her whip as the sphinx briefly clashed with Gorokichi, the flaming lash cutting into the monster.

It turned to her, peering at from behind its massive spectacles. With a sneer, it slammed a paw down at Ann. Too fast to dodge.

Ann stared up at it, wide-eyed. Her need for revenge for Ren, her Wildcard, had gotten the better of her.

Ren shot through the hole in the floor on Arsene’s black wings; he tackled Ann, the two of them tumbling away as the paw smashed the ground where Ann had been standing.

“...! Ren! You’re alive!”

“Yep. Mostly.” Ren winced. His tackle had taken him into some rubble. “Sorry. I was in the chamber below, and I--”

He was interrupted by the relieved kiss he got from her, before she hauled him to his feet.

Ren took stock of the situation. “Second Awakening for Fox?”

Ann nodded. “It’s the only reason we’re still alive up here. But we can’t keep this up! It keeps dive bombing us, and we spend all of our time healing. We need--...Futaba-chan!?”

Ren spun. “Oh. I probably should have checked to see if there were stairs…”

Futaba looked up at the sphinx. “...M...Mom…?”

“You…!” Cognitive Wakaba screeched. “You… you _ killed _ me! You stood in my way! I wish you had never been born!”

“That… that _ thing _ is her mom?!” Ryuji cried.

Mona looked sadly at the orange-haired girl. “She must be Futaba’s cognition of her mother… This Palace is born of her desire for her mother to be alive again, but warped by her feelings of guilt and despair. So in here… her mother is alive, but wants Futaba dead.”

Futaba whimpered, dropping to her knees. She thought she had made a decision. A decision to live, to throw away the false memories. But now, confronted by the screaming voice of her mother. So loud, and so familiar…

“I… I can’t face her…”

“Futaba Sakura! Remember!” Her Shadow appeared, approaching. “You’re the reason she committed suicide. That’s what you remember, isn’t it? Why do you think it was suicide?”

“...The..the note. She wrote all of her complaints about me.” Futaba murmured.

“Yes. Think hard. Was that suicide note real? Why didn’t they let you read it yourself? Would your mother truly have said these things to you? They used you! They trampled over your young heart! They hurt you, and now they want to hurt Sojiro! Your name… your name was Futaba _ Isshiki _ ! It’s now Futaba _ Sakura _! Your mother loved you.. Sojiro loves you! Don’t let them take him away, too!”

The words of Futaba’s other self resonated with her. They truly did. But the monstrous sight of her mother, the hysterical screams of ‘it’s all your fault’ and ‘just die’ dominated her senses completely. She stared at the massive, familiar face. It was too much. The hateful expression, the angry tone. The exact Mom from her memories.

Ren knelt in front of Futaba, blocking the sight of the monster.

“Choose, Futaba. Whatever you choose… We’ve got your back.”

_ ‘...If you need to fight, fight.’ _

Futaba shut out the voice of the cognitive version of Wakaba Isshiki, maniacally screaming at her. She stood up.

“It… it was all a lie! Mom loved me!”

A disembodied voice suddenly caught Futaba’s attention.

_ ‘What denies you is an illusion. A curse put upon you by the heartless. You knew this from the beginning… but you cowered in fear. What will you believe? The lies of convenience, formed by the corrupt? Or the truth in your heart?’ _

“You’re right. I knew… I always knew. I won’t… I won’t let these lies control me anymore! This monster isn’t my mother… It’s just a fake! Another illusion created by the adults who ruined my life! I’ve had _ enough _!”

Shadow Futaba glowed… and vanished, replaced by a glowing green UFO. It reached down with metallic tendrils, ‘abducting’ Futaba.

She was so enchanted by the inside of the UFO, the multiple screens and the sheer wealth of information in front of her that she barely heard the contract being recited to her. She glanced at the words of Necronomicon, being relayed both by speech and being recorded on one of the screens. She swept it aside. “Bah. TL;DR…”

She called down to the Phantom Thieves. “I’m fine! This is my Persona! You gotta help me! Take that monster down!”

Glowing green light emanated from the UFO, completely healing the team.

Ren clenched a fist, taking his stance. He flashed a grin at the rest as they took positions around the top of the pyramid.

“Here - use these!” Futaba called out, hacking into her distorted Palace.

Two ballistae appeared on either side of the pyramid top.

“Skull! Queen!” Ren called.

“We’re on it!” The two charged to the emplacements, standing by as they aimed.

“Fox, after we shoot her down… Keep her pinned!”

Futaba called out. “...Now! Fire!”

The ballistae rang out, launching massive projectiles into Cognitive Wakaba. Ryuji and Makoto immediately rejoined the group, watching in exhilaration as the sphinx smashed to the ground, leaning on the edge of the pyramid top.

“Gorokichi!” Yusuke drew his sword. He reversed his grip, stabbing down. Gorokichi followed suit, his daitou stabbing through a paw of the creature and pinning it to the edge of the pyramid.

The Phantom Thieves drew their guns.

“How… how _ dare _ you! Children who disobey should _ die _!”

“Shut up! You’re not my mother! You’re just a monster, born of my own weakness! Take her down!”

“You heard her!” Ren called. He dashed forward, summoning the Black Wing armguards. The move felt effortless, now. His blades cut and slashed into Cognitive Wakaba, the cursed weapons now leaving bleeding wounds that refused to close. She snarled, swiping her free paw at Ren - she connected as he blocked. He was still knocked into the air toward the edge of the pyramid.

“Joker!” Ann called. She lashed out with her whip.

He caught it, the leather wrapping around his wrist. Ann braced her boot against some heavy rubble; Ren swung around, and back up - he launched himself into the air, landing on the head of the beast. He punched down repeatedly, stabbing and slashing. A black blade stabbed into an eye. With a cruel grin, he swept his arm to the side, bisecting the monster’s eye as the blade cleaved a path out the side of its eye socket.

With a roar, it reached to swat at Ren again. Makoto intercepted, continuing the all-out attack as she leapt up and slammed her tonfa into the beast’s paw repeatedly, feeling the satisfying crunch of bones reverberate through the metal. As she fell back from her assault, booming shotgun blasts from Ryuji struck the monster in the face. 

Mona and Ann struck next, combining again to launch a massive firestorm into the monster as Ren narrowly dodged it, leaping back to join his comrades.

Yusuke grunted, as Cognitive Wakaba knocked Gorokichi’s blade free from her paw. She took off into the sky again.

She hovered.

Futaba’s eyes widened at the readings. “...Oh no. Cover your ears! Quick!”

It was too late - the sphinx screamed, afflicting the Phantom Thieves with despair. All of them, save Ren. His immunity to the fear-based attack held true. He looked around for options.

_ ‘No supplies left. Nothing to cure this…’ _

He looked at the monster. It was just hovering, cackling as five of the six Phantom Thieves were incapacitated. It didn’t bother flying out of range, just watching and waiting for them to succumb to their fear.

_ ‘Overconfident, are we…?’ _

Ren dashed to a ballista. “Seth!”

The dragon materialized, letting out a challenging roar. It flew toward Cognitive Wakaba. Snarling in response, the sphinx shot into the air, preparing for a dive bomb to finish the Phantom Thieves.

Futaba’s voice crackled on over Ren’s radio. “I know what you’re planning! I’ll tell you when to shoot!”

Ren focused on Seth as Futaba’s voice told him to get ready for the shot. He aimed straight up.

“Seth… One-shot Kill.”

The dragon roared; Ren’s chosen firearm, in this case, the ballista, glowed. At the same time, the attacking sphinx’s chest glowed the same color, the target successfully ‘painted’ by Seth. However, Cognitive Wakaba was committed to the attack and confident that nothing could stop her during the dive. She folded her wings at the zenith of her ascent, screeching as she plummeted toward the top of the pyramid.

“Now! Shoot now!”

Ren aimed the ballista almost straight up, and fired.

The projectile struck the chest of Cognitive Wakaba with the combined force of her downward dive and the powerful blast from the siege weapon. It hit with such impact that it pierced _ through _ the monster in a spray of blood, knocking it off its collision course. It struck the side of the pyramid, nearly knocking Joker off his feet.

It clawed its way back up, leaning on the side.

“Fu.. Futaba! How _ dare _ you… If only you had never been born...”

“No matter what you say… I choose to live! Finish it!”

Joker drew Faith and Vengeance, aiming both weapons. He fired, the high calibre bullets penetrating the forehead of the sphinx, sending it tumbling down the edge of the pyramid and coming to a rest on the desert sand. Futaba descended from the UFO, landing softly on the top.

>>>

August 7, 20xx 

“Wow. So… just a normal summer vacation now. Until Futaba-chan recovers, anyway.” Ann said, lying on the couch in Ren’s attic, browsing on her phone. After the Phantom Thieves had narrowly escaped the Palace, Futaba had fallen into a light stupor, waking up only to munch on whatever food and to gulp down whatever drink Sojiro brought. Fortunately, Takemi-sensei didn’t seem to be concerned.

“Pretty much.” Ren replied. He had tried poking Futaba a few times and asked about Medjed. In her stupor, she had woken up slightly just to mumble ‘easy peasy, sleepy first’. “It’s beyond our control at this point. If the Boss is right and she’s going to wake up in a few days, then we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. It’s going to make me a little crazy, though.” 

“Then let’s go do something!” Ann said. She sat up. “I heard you sent Makoto and Ryuji to the aquarium on a practice date. We should go, too. I mean, you’re my boyfriend, but I feel like we haven’t really done the dating thing enough.”

“Not a bad idea.” Ren said. “Let me just call my folks. It’s Sunday.”

“Oh. Should I go downstairs for a bit, then?”

“Hm? No. They want to talk to you, too.” Ren said.

“Hm? Why?” Ann asked, looking surprised.

“I told them you were my girlfriend, the last time I called.” Ren said, nonchalant.

“Oh, okay.” Ann said. She returned to looking at her phone. “So it looks like the Maxwell aquarium’s open until...Wait. What?”

“Well, they kept asking ‘what about that pretty blonde girl’ from the video call where you stumbled into the room, and I got tired of deflecting.” Ren said, waving a hand. “So I told them you were my girlfriend.”

“How are you so nonchalant about this sort of thing?” Ann asked. “You just went and told your parents, like that?”

“It’ll be fine, Songbird. It’ll make them happy that I have someone. Especially someone like you.”

“Like me?” Ann asked, unable to hide her smile.

“You’re obviously fishing for compliments.” Ren said, laughing. “But fine. Pretty, cute, compassionate. Light of my life.”

He moved his computer, placing it on the table in front of the couch. He sat beside Ann, and dialed for home. Kenji and Inoue appeared on screen. 

“Ah! Ren! Oh. And this is Takamaki-san, isn’t it?! The blonde girl from before. The one you’re dating~” Inoue said, in a teasing, sing-song voice. 

Kenji raised an eyebrow. “Wow, kid. Does she have an older sister, or a single aunt--Ow!”

“Takamaki-san, thank you for looking after Ren!”

Ann smiled, her initial worry disarmed by the friendly, open way in which Ren’s parents spoke. “Not at all. We look after each other. And please, call me Ann.”

“So polite, too. I’m glad we told Kana-chan that she has nothing to worry about--”

“Wait.” Ren said, his expression going from mildly amused to grim. “You told Kana-chan that I’m dating Ann?”

“Well, yes.” Inoue said. “She did ask how you were doing.”

“When did you tell her?” Ren asked, with growing urgency.

“Just today! She was helping out this morning at the inn, but we told her we were going to call you at eleven. She disappeared right around nine, though…”

“Ka-chan, oya-ji. Gotta go.” Ren abruptly closed his laptop, standing. He looked at Ann.

“Songbird. You have some clothes here, right?”

Ann nodded, slowly. She pointed at a bag on the shelf against the wall.

Ren grabbed it, handing it to her. He reached under his bed, pulling out another bag - one that looked suspiciously like a ‘bug out bag’, a kit designed to let someone survive on the contents for 72 hours without any additional resources. He grabbed Ann’s hand. “We need to go. _ Now.” _

“Wha? Why? The aquarium doesn’t close for hours, we have plenty of time…” Ann said, confused as Ren started dragging her along.

“No. Not the aquarium. Although, the crowds might be helpful… ...No. We need to just concentrate on getting away from here. It takes around an hour and a bit to get here from Kamakura if there’s no traffic. In traffic, maybe two hours. Either way, Kana-chan will have had time to get here by now. And my parents unwittingly tipped her off - they told her they’d be calling me around now, so she knows where to find me.”

“...Why are you so afraid of the girl that you consider a little sister?” Ann asked, more curious than afraid.

“I’m not afraid for _ me _ . I’m afraid for _ you.” _ Ren said, seriously. “Remember? Grew up in a pro boxing gym? Shodan in judo? Overprotective of me? Wanted your IN?”

“Come on, she can’t be that bad--”

“_ She’s _ the reason I’m immune to fear based attacks.” Ren said, his previous, glassy-eyed look returning as he recalled the memory.

They bolted downstairs, hand in hand. Ann still didn’t quite believe Ren, looking more amused than scared. They nearly ran into Yusuke, Ryuji, Makoto, and Mona. The four of them had been coming upstairs.

Ryuji blinked. “Oh! Hey, just the two we wanted to see. Seeing as how we’re just waiting for Futaba, I figured we might as well go do something fun. What do you think about the beach, or--”

“Right. Whatever you want. Look, me and Ann have to disappear for a bit. Don’t try to call me, my cell won’t be on. We’re going off the grid for a few days. If someone comes around looking for me, or especially Ann, tell them we’re going to Kyoto.”

“Hey, wait! You’re supposed to help with Eiko and Hifumi, remember? You can’t just…”

The bell above the door chimed.

The team looked up.

In the doorway stood a beautiful girl with long, violet hair. Her eyes were a vibrant green. She was roughly Futaba’s age and height but her build was entirely different. Instead of painfully thin, she was athletic, clear even in her floral print summer dress.

“Renpai!” Kaname shouted. Smiling, she walked up to Ren, her arms open for a hug.

“Ah. Kana-chan…” Ren said. He smiled; he was happy to see her, truly. But he still stepped forward, casually putting himself between her and Ann as he gave her a quick hug. “I can’t believe you came all the way to visit! Does Coach know?”

“He lent me the van, and Ueda-san drove me.” Kaname chirped. “Who are all your friends?”

Introductions were made; eventually the group ended up sitting around one of Leblanc’s booths. Kaname was charming, showing none of the ferocity that she displayed during his last match as one of his corner team. Ren, however, wasn’t fooled.

“So, thanks for looking out for Renpai.” Kaname said to the group, sipping at her coffee. She smiled brightly from her seat beside Ren.

Ann sat on the other side of him, not quite sure what to make of this girl. She seemed friendly enough, but Ren seemed oddly tense. On guard.

Ryuji, Mona, and Yusuke nodded numbly. The three had obviously been bewitched by the third year middle-schooler in front of them. Somehow, this girl was one of Ren’s main trainers when he was actively boxing, and she was supposedly as fierce as her father, Shinji. They all had heard this and in their minds conjured an image of a girl with Amazonian proportions. Certainly not this petite girl with pretty hair and a cute smile.

“You know, I’m wondering. What kind of training did Ren do, with you and your father? I sparred with him once. My background isn’t boxing, so my movements should have been unfamiliar. But he was fearless, and quick to adapt.” Makoto asked. She was actually more curious about Ren’s natural resistance to fear-based attacks, but certainly couldn’t ask about the Metaverse.

Kaname smiled, waving a hand. “Part of it was just talent. But it’s true. Ren worked really hard, especially at the training camp Dad had me run.”

Ryuji blinked. “Training camp? And you were in charge? But you’re just in middle school.”

“Mmhm. I got to take Ren and a few other boxers to this cabin we have in the mountains for a few days.” Kaname said. “It was really fun. I got to practice being the head trainer. Ne, Renpai?”

She beamed at Ren, with a little giggle.

Ren winced slightly. The rest of the team couldn’t see the iron grip Kaname had on his elbow as her fingers dug into the muscle of his forearm.

“Er… yeah. Made me the boxer I am today.” Ren said, uncomfortably.

Ryuji looked thoughtful, and then grinned. “Hey. We’re all in town, right? And we’re just waiting around with nothing to do. Do you think we could try having one of those training camps with you?”

Ren, looking alarmed, hissed at Ryuji. “Sakamoto! Stop. Stop _ right now _. You don’t know what you’re asking!”

Ryuji laughed. “Dude. Chill. It’s just a training camp, right? It’ll be fun. Besides, I’m sure Kana-chan has a great program set up!”

Ann smiled at Ren reassuringly. “Right. And isn’t Kana-chan like a sister to you? I’d really like the chance to get to know her.”

Kaname smiled at Ann. “Oh, yes. I’d love to get to know all of you as well. _ Especially _ Renpai’s special someone.”

>>>

August 9, 20xx 

On Tuesday, the team rode in a van driven by one of Coach Takeda’s trainers, Ueda; Shinji Takeda himself couldn’t make it, as he was running another camp for his boxers at the beach. Kaname looked back at the Phantom Thieves, plus Shiho, smiling happily.

“We’re nearly there! This is going to be a lot of fun! And thanks for being okay with letting me run the camp on my own. And Shiho-san, thanks for coming as well! It’s always useful to have a second person with an athletic training and first aid background.”

Ren sat in the back row, silently. After Kaname left Leblanc, Ren advised them all to cancel. To not go through with this, with any excuse they could think of. But they all overruled him.

Yusuke, Mona, and Ryuji for obvious reasons. Mona was even curled up in the front seat alongside Kaname, purring. The three boys had been completely charmed by the friendly, bubbly girl. Makoto was curious if Kaname’s training would allow for the rest of the team to be immune to fear-based attacks as well. And, Ann was driven by a good-natured desire to become closer to the person that Ren saw as a sister. None of them could believe that this small girl could be as frightening as Ren suggested.

Overall, the team was enthusiastic. Not only for their personal reasons, but because this was also a chance for fun: team building and training for the Phantom Thieves away from the confines of the city, and a chance to get their minds off Medjed’s threat and Futaba’s semi-coma. Kaname had even accepted the weak excuse that they were interested in the training camp because of the upcoming Sports Day they had after the summer break. In fact, she was so happy about running her own training camp that she had barely listened to why the group wanted it.

But the team’s positive mood didn’t change Ren’s expression a single bit.

The van came to a halt. Ren glanced outside, a grim smile appearing on his face. He reached into the back of the van, grabbing his Camelbak hydration pack and some protein bars.

Kaname looked back. “Alright, this is it! Everyone out!”

The team filed out. Kaname reached back, stopping Shiho. “Ah. Shiho-san, this part isn’t for you. You’re medical staff, so you can stay in the van.”

Kaname stepped out, stretching after the long trip.

Ryuji and Yusuke stared briefly at the girl, her lithe form even more obvious in the t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. They were oblivious to the fact that Ren was already kneeling down, tightening up the laces on his shoes. He then checked the straps and mouthpiece on his Camelbak hydration backpack and ensured it was full.

“Right. So we’ll start here.” Kaname said enthusiastically. “I’ll take your cellphones, please.”

She beamed at Ryuji as he handed his over.

Ryuji blushed at the smile, his hand on the nape of his neck. “Heh… this is gonna be fun, huh? So. Where’s the cabin?”

Kaname locked the phones into a metal lockbox and pointed at the start of a trail. It looked rough, with just enough space to move single file. “Closer to the top of the mountain.”

Makoto frowned, looking around. “...Aren’t we at the bottom?”

“Yep!” Kaname chirped. She got back in the van, slamming the door shut. “It’ll take you about two hours to get to the top, if you’re in good shape. There isn’t any real climbing, though! Just a few rock scrambles. The chains are already bolted to the stone, so you don't have to worry about that, so long as you’ve had your tetanus shots.”

Ann looked at Ren. “She… she’s not serious, is she?”

Ren didn’t respond, starting some dynamic stretching.

Yusuke approached the van. “Wait… wait, Kana-chan, I don’t even have water--”

She threw a single, half-filled bottle onto the ground in front of them. Her expression changed, the pleasant smile disappearing and replaced by something between disgust and nonchalance. “That’s _ Coach Takeda _ to you, dirtbag. I see the rest of you idiots brought at least a bottle. Dinner’s in two hours. If you’re more than 30 minutes late, you don’t eat. That means you have two and a half hours. Better move it, fuckers.”

Ann’s eyes widened. “Wait! You can’t just--”

Kaname’s glare at Ann silenced her. The blonde stared in disbelief as the face of an angel turned into the face of a demon.

Mona popped up onto the door, leaning out the open window. “...er… welp! Guess you guys better run--”

Ryuji hauled Mona out of the van. “You’re going to suffer too, cat!”

The van left a cloud of dust as it continued up the mountain.

“What the fuck, man!?” Ryuji said, watching the van go. “RenRen! Why didn’t you warn us?!”

“Kaname Takeda. Fourteen years old. 150cm tall. 40kg.” Ren said, continuing his warm up motions. “Sho-dan in judo at a nearly unprecedented age. Nearly the prefectural boxing champion, failing only because she _ fouled out _ of the championship match. She was disqualified, but the girl who won by default never boxed again. Not due to injury. Due to psychological trauma. I love her like she’s my sister, but she’s basically boiling hatred and fury in a tiny, cute, green-eyed package.”

“You… you could have told us!” Ryuji protested.

“I did.” Ren said. “I texted you all of this two days ago, but you ignored me. Check your phones ...oh. Right. She took our phones. Because all of you agreed to this camp. All of you dumb fucks who thought she was just a cute little girl, and that I was being dramatic.”

Ann looked at Ren, the glassy expression in his eyes. “Ren… ...we’re going to be okay, right?”

“Oh. _ I’ll _ be okay. I’ve got nothing to prove to her, and I know what to expect. You guys, though… Well. We’ll see.” Ren started running up the trail at a speed somewhat faster than a jog, leaving them in the dust.

“R-Ren! Wait!” Ryuji called, starting after him.

“No honor among thieves!” They heard their noble leader yell.

“What?!”

>>>

Shiho sat alongside Kaname on the front porch of the large cabin at the site of the training camp. They each had a cold drink; even on the mountain, the weather was on the warmer side. It was a rustic setting, but surprisingly well-equipped. There was both an indoor kitchen and an outdoor cooking area; there was even a hot spring and bathing area nearby. In the yard, a makeshift boxing ring was set up on packed dirt, with wooden posts and rope.

“Er… Kana-chan-- I mean, Coach Takeda, are we really going to withhold dinner if they don’t make it?”

Kaname turned to Shiho, smiling. “Shiho-san, please, call me Kana-chan! You’re medical staff.”

_ ‘...She’s just like Ren. She completely compartmentalizes fighter versus trainer…’ _

“Oh. Okay. Kana-chan, then. And you can just call me Shiho. But are we actually going to withhold dinner?”

“Mmmhm! Don’t worry, though. Humans can go without food for days. They’ll live.” She said, brightly.

“...I don’t think you’re really understanding why I have a problem with this.” Shiho said.

“Oh, Shiho. You’re so kind. You’ll make a great doctor. Takemi-sensei’s right to trust you so much.”

“Thanks. ...wait. I don’t think I mentioned Takemi-sensei to you—”

Kaname stood. “Ah! Renpai’s made it…”

It had been approximately two hours.

Shiho blinked, looking up. “Really? I don’t see-- Oh…”

Ren entered the clearing in front of the cabin from the trail entrance alongside Ann. They were both dirtied, with a few scrapes and cuts. Makoto was right on their heels.

“Great!” Kaname said, smiling. She stood up, approaching the three Phantom Thieves. “A little slower than expected, Renpai. You slowed down a bit to guide these two? How kind. But where are the others?”

Ren shook his head. “They couldn’t keep up, so they were left behind.”

Kaname smiled pleasantly. “That’s the Takeda training camp spirit! Dinner’s ready.”

>>>

Ryuji groaned, limping along along the trail. His bad leg had been getting better in the past few months, but he hadn’t had to subject it to such stress, not since the original injury. Yusuke and Mona were just a few steps behind him.

“Oh… oh man, this sucks…”

“Indeed…” Yusuke mumbled, looking even paler than usual. “I don’t understand how Ren, Makoto, and Ann were able to move so quickly.”

“Ren takes his training seriously, and Ann goes with him a lot to exercise for modelling. And Makoto… ever since her sparring match against Ren, she’s been doing martial arts again, too.” Mona said, panting.

“Right. We’re nearly there! And we’ll make it on time for dinner.” Ryuji said, climbing over a fallen log. “Maybe we should slow down a little? I don’t want to be sweating too much when we see Kana-chan again…”

“You’re _ still _ interested in her?” Yusuke asked, incredulous. “That girl took our phones and sent us up the side of a mountain with half a bottle of water. She had the expression of a demon...”

“I bet it’s just an act. You know, ‘welcome to camp’ and everything. Besides, did you see the way she was smiling at me?! I mean, this hike hasn’t been _ that _ hard. We just passed that sign that said we’re only 100 metres away from the end!”

“What about Togo-san?”

Ryuji paused, looking at a series of boulders with chains hammered into the faces. A rock scramble obstacle. He rubbed his palms, and then put his hands on the chain, starting the semi-climb.

“Ah, come on. It’s not like me and Hifumi are dating or anything yet. I mean… she’s been warming up to me, though… ...Bah. Just let me feel popular, for once! Come on, food and a pretty girl are waiting for us! Less than 100 metres, now!”

>>>

“So _ that’s _ why you told us to ignore the signs…” Makoto said. The girls, plus Ren, were sitting at the picnic table in the cabin’s clearing, eating dinner. Beside Kaname, a kendo _ shinai _ was propped up on the edge of the table.

Ren nodded. “They were Kana-chan’s idea. The ‘halfway’ sign is actually placed about a third up the trail. And the ‘100 metres’ one is maybe actually 1000 metres back from the finish, and it marks the worst part of the trail. The hardest rock scrambles, the steepest inclines.”

Makoto frowned. “...Once you realize the signs aren’t true, you’d already have adjusted your pace… In fact, it could be _ crushing _ to someone thinking they’re on track…”

Kaname smiled, snatching up some short ribs with her chopsticks. “Yep! It’s a great way to train mental fortitude! You get mentally destroyed, but you still have nearly a kilometer to go! It’s great. It’s a shame Renpai was there to spoil it for you.”

“...Training isn’t really how I’d describe it.” Ann muttered. Indeed, what Kaname had described was a form of psychological torture.

“Hm? What would you call it, then?” Kaname asked, smiling at Ann.

Ren looked at Ann. He shook his head slightly.

“Er… nevermind.” Ann said.

“That’s what I thought.”

A rustling on the trail alerted them to the arrival of Ryuji, Yusuke, and Mona. The three looked _ terrible _.

“That… that was _ not _100 metres...” Ryuji gasped. His eyes went to the table, with the spread of barbecued meats and roasted vegetables. He moved to sit down.

-_ Clack- _

The shinai smacked down onto the seat, blocking Ryuji. “You’re 31 minutes late.” Kaname said, smiling.

Yusuke’s eyes widened. “But… but there’s so much food, still.”

“You’re 31 minutes late.” Kaname repeated, as her smile disappeared. Her grip on the shinai tightened _ slightly _.

Ryuji looked at Kaname. She still wore her shorts and t-shirt, her long violet hair in a ponytail. She was still so _ cute _… He ignored his gut instinct and boldly forged ahead.

Ryuji moved the shinai aside. He started to sit. “Hey, come on. The signs were wrong, Kana-chan, so we--”

“_ Coach _ . _ Takeda _.” Kaname said, standing. She planted the tip of the weapon on Ryuji’s chest, and then with a surprisingly strong push from her arm and small body, the blonde boy was on his ass, staring up at her in surprise. “And you’re 31 minutes late. Remember what I said? More than 30 means no food. Dinner’s for winners. Help yourself to some water, though. You’ll need it. That little run was just the warm up…”

>>>

“So… hungry…” Ryuji groaned.

Yusuke just nodded. The two looked like they were going to become transparent.

Kaname had just put the group through their paces for evening drills. It had been calisthenics, strength and agility exercises, and then boxing specific work: shadow boxing, heavy bag, and mitts. ‘Coach Takeda’ was skilled at more than just psychological warfare - she even skillfully taught the beginners, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ann basic skills and combinations. Her practice had been brutal, but instructive.

Of course, the entire time, Kaname had sat in front of Ryuji and Yusuke, casually snacking on leftovers. Despite the girl’s small size, she could put food away.

Ren glanced at the two as he finished stacking the wood he had split as part of his own back and shoulder workout. “I warned the two of you.”

“She… she can’t be serious about not eating after all of that.”

Ren smiled slightly, nodding at a cooler that was sitting on the front porch. “She isn’t. Look inside that cooler.”

Ryuji and Yusuke nearly bowled each other over, opening the cooler to find sandwiches made with the leftover short ribs and vegetables.

Ryuji, tearful, started eating. He spoke with his mouth full. “Coach Takeda… you care…!”

Yusuke nodded in agreement. “This… this sandwich is _ sublime _…”

“She’s brutal, but she isn’t unreasonable. Kana-chan knows she can’t work us nearly as hard if we aren’t fed.” Ren said, as sat down next to the other two. They were joined by Mona.

Mona mewled. “This really is good training. I don’t see how this made you immune to fear based attacks, though, Ren.”

Ren got his thousand-yard stare for a moment. “...Don’t want to talk about it.”

Ryuji frowned. “Yeah, but--”

“No.” Ren said, with finality. He sighed. “I wouldn’t really wish that training on anyone.”

“I’d laugh at you for being afraid of a 40 kilo girl, but after today, I get it.” Ryuji said, shivering. Kaname running drills was a complete 180 from the girl they met at Leblanc. She was truly creative in her use of insults, profanity, and that shinai. “Ann got it really bad, though…”

Mona glared at Ren. “You’d think her _ boyfriend _ would stick up for her more.”

“I asked Ann if she was okay with it.” Ren said. “She told me that if she wanted Kana-chan to respect her, that it wouldn’t help if I stepped in…”

Ryuji shook his head. “Ann’s tougher than most people give her credit for. Still, after what happened… Where is she, anyway?”

“The girls are all in the hot springs.” Ren said. “It’ll be our turn after.”

Mona stood up, stretching. The timing of this was not at all related to the thought of Ann and Kaname being naked in steaming hot water. “You know, I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll see you guys when it’s our turn.

Ryuji eyed Mona, and then started to stand as well. Not at all related to the thought of Makoto and Kaname being naked in steaming hot water. “Y-yeah. Me too. I think I’ll--”

Ren’s hands clamped down on Mona’s collar, and Ryuji’s shoulder. He forced them back down. He smiled, with an expression not unlike Kaname’s cold mirth. “No. No, I think you two will stay right here with me.”

>>>

Ann muttered, washing the last bit of caked in mud from her hair in the outdoor bath that was fed by the nearby hot springs. She sighed, as she finished, slipping into the hot water. “That was brutal…”

Shiho laughed, splashing water at Ann playfully. “You literally asked for it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I guess. Makes me wish we had listened to Ren.” Ann said. Many of the drills involved army crawls through mud, or agility exercises with car tires, also in mud. And in one case, flipping a truck tire. In mud. It wasn’t even rainy out - the mud had been kindly provided by Kaname and a garden hose, somehow ice cold in the middle of the summer. And each time, Kaname found reason to make Ann repeat the course… But, she had pushed ahead.

Makoto smiled at Ann from across the steaming pool. “I’m impressed, though. You handled it well.”

“Thanks, Makoto.” Ann replied. “You did really well, too.”

“I agree.” Kaname said, as she made her appearance. She took off her towel as she slipped into the water with a sigh. “You all handled everything I threw at you. Even the two boys who were late. It makes me feel better about Renpai…”

Ann blinked. “What do you mean?”

“If you all know him, you know his situation.” Kaname said. “I wanted to see if the people he calls friends are made of stronger stuff than the people who abandoned him. So far, so good.”

“Why do you call him Renpai, anyway?” Makoto asked.

“We went to school together for a year, Makoto. When I was in first year of middle school and he was in third. Ren… senpai… Renpai.” Kaname said, with a grin.

“That’s cute.” Shiho said. “You must care about the champ a lot.”

“Mmhm. I do, Shiho.” Kaname replied, stretching. She let herself slide further into the water, closing her eyes at the relaxing feeling of the water. “We grew up together, so he’s an important person to me. Even had a crush on him for a little bit. I got over that, though.”

Ann nodded, looking at Kaname. “So, how did you two meet, then?”

Kaname waved hand dismissively, smiling at Ann. “That’s a boring story. He came in, joined my dad’s gym. He’s only a little older than me, so we spent a lot of time together. I’m more interested in how _ you _ two got together.”

“Oh! Well…” Ann related the story of how she and Ren met, leaving out the Metaverse related components, obviously.

“And so, after Reiko left, we started dating officially.” Ann finished.

“That’s sweet.” Kaname said, smiling. “So the moment that girl was out of the picture, you got together with him.”

Ann blinked. “Well, I wouldn’t put it like _ that _…”

“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything.” Kaname said, apologetically. “When you help train pro boxers, you tend to get a bit blunt with your language. So you’ve been together since the fourth of June! That’s great.”

Ann nodded. “Yeah…”

“What was the one month anniversary like? I bet it was amazing. You should have seen what he did for the girl before you.”

Ann thought back. At that time in July, they were still waiting for Kaneshiro’s change of heart. And, Makoto was still working out her feelings for Ren. They were under a lot of stress, really, and didn’t really have a chance to do much, other than ‘sleep over’ a few times.

“Uh, actually, we didn’t…”

“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Kaname said, shrugging. “I mean, not all relationships are going to be the same, right?”

Kaname finished washing up, looking at the girls as she stood, leaving. “Take your time! I’m going to get some things ready for tomorrow.”

The girls watched her go.

Shiho shook her head. “...That was passive-aggressive to the point of being aggressive-aggressive.”

Ann sighed. “You know, she hasn’t called me by name once since I was introduced to her.”

“Hm. I suppose that’s true. Why do you think that is?” Makoto asked.

“...Probably because she doesn’t think I’m going to be around long enough to bother remembering.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy. 3k hits, the kudos, the comments. You guys are making me blush!
> 
> Took a couple rewrites and moving things around.
> 
> Ryuji - Over the past few chapters, I've been laying the grounds for him gradually becoming more focused on the fame and fortune aspect of what they're doing. Now, as he cleans up his academic act and his wardrobe a bit, he's further going into 'omg girls' territory. He's not a bad guy - he's just like that friend of yours who suddenly lost a ton of weight and looks great, or the guy who just started working out. Really happy about his newfound fortune to the point of being a bit annoying with it.
> 
> Kaname - Initially, her name was Kyoko. I think when I first posted 'Standing Eight', there was even a paragraph or two where I forgot to change the name. Inspiration for her looks was Kyoko Hori from Horimiya - short, tiny girl with a violent temper. Changed the name because I felt like it sounded too similar to Reiko. And Kaname is the other inspiration (See Full Metal Panic). This chapter took a few writes, re-writes, and moving things around a bit because she came off as too much yandere for no good reason. (IE, some of her 'punishments' were waaaaay over the top). Happier now with how she turned out. In particular in the next chapter (undergoing edits/final read through currently). Don't be too hard on her. She has reasons - only one of which is blatant sadism
> 
> In the original one shot, she was still the girl who had gotten over Ren, but was highly overprotective. At one point, Ann in that story quips that between Futaba and Kaname/Kyoko, Ren had a hit squad of scary little sisters who could destroy your life via the internet, and via many broken bones.
> 
> Training camp mini-arc mostly for fun, but also to resolve a few 'outstanding' issues in my mind in Ren/Ann's relationship


	22. Gasshuku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The gasshuku, literally ‘lodging together’, is a time honored tradition in martial arts. It is a special training event that lasts several days for the participants. Training is often done in creative ways, such as performing kata on a forest slope, or thigh deep in the surf on the beach. It allows students the unique experience of immersing themselves in the martial art while cohabiting and socializing with their fellow students. It is a unique team building experience._
> 
> _Provided that people get along. Otherwise, it’s several days alone with people that have both the desire and capability to beat the crap out of each other._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boxing intensive chapter. Definitions!
> 
> Clinch - grabbing onto another fighter, trying to lock their arms down. Forces the referee to break up the boxers for a second; can be used to recover/stall/frustrate an opponent
> 
> Swarmer - Aggressive infighting style, crowds an opponent, taking away space and timing. Tend to be shorter fighters with good 'chin', power, bobbing/weaving
> 
> Chin - Refers to ability of a boxer to take a hit
> 
> Bolo punch - Punch with motion similar to using a machete. Large windup, odd circular motion. Often used as a distraction for the other hand

August 10, 20xx 

Ren and Shiho stood outside the cabin, preparing breakfast. Or more accurately, Ren prepared breakfast and prevented Shiho from getting anywhere _ near _ the barbeque or stove. He did let her make the coffee, though. Under close supervision.

Shiho started to pour out the coffee into mugs for the team. “They’ve been out there for awhile, champ. How did we get off so easy?”

“Because I got up earlier than everyone else and did my roadwork, and I needed to make breakfast.” Ren said. “Also, you’re one of the trainers on this camp… And you’re only what? 12 weeks out from your ACL surgery? She gave you a trail suitable for that, for your run.”

“How did she know?” Shiho asked, curiously. She absently picked up the salt, starting to add copious amounts to one mug. “...Did she research all of us?”

Ren took some fish off the grill, putting it on a serving plate. “She noticed the surgical scars on your knee in the hot spring. She asked me if it was an ACL, and roughly when it was done. She knows that it’s around 8 months of recovery before you’ll be allowed to do any pivoting or sudden deceleration type sports. That’s salt, by the way.”

“Oh, I know it’s salt. This is Ryuji’s mug.” Shiho glanced at her knee; she was wearing shorts. She had healed extremely well; her scars were nearly invisible. “Wow. She’s that observant? I’m glad it’s just that. She said something yesterday about Takemi-sensei, and I don’t think I mentioned her…”

“Oh? It’s Ryuji’s? There’s hot sauce over there, too.” He said. Ren then added, placidly. “As for knowing about Takemi-sensei, that’s because she’s also researched all of you.”

“..._ What?!” _

“Mmhm.” Ren said, flipping another fillet. “She takes training camps seriously. She wants to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone attending. _ Especially _the weaknesses. She tailors her… encouragement.”

“...So all that mud was for Ann?”

“What else would a pretty blonde model hate more than being covered in muck?” Ren said.

“She _ does _ hate that kind of thing…” Shiho said. “But she’s not like a whiny bitch about it…”

“We also have nothing for dessert, the entire weekend.” Ren grinned.

“...Oh. Shit.” Shiho laughed. “What about the others?”

“For Yusuke, Kana-chan’s gotten hold of one of his sketchbooks. She’s threatening to burn it if he doesn’t keep up. That yell you heard last night was her burning a blank sketchbook with the exact same cover as punishment for trying to sneak more food. The actual one is somewhere safe. For Ryuji, it’s a two-pronged attack. She’s flirting with him just enough to make him think he has a chance, and then for negative encouragement, she just beats his ass with that shinai.”

“Not his leg?” Shiho asked.

Ren shook his head. “She’s not like that. You’ll notice she isn’t letting Yusuke do anything that might hurt his hands or his eyes, the two most important things for his career. For Ann, nothing near her face or anything that would risk a visible scar. For Makoto, and really, everyone, nothing with an undue concussion risk. For Ryuji, she’s going after his butt because his posture is terrible and it makes him straighten up. She’s a monster, but not a _ monster _.”

“...Wow. What’s Makoto’s ‘motivation’?” Shiho asked.

“Kana-chan keeps adding ten seconds to all of Makoto’s times, or subtracting ten centimetres from anything that involves jumping a distance or height, without telling her. It’s driving her Excellency insane, I guarantee it. But it’s making her try even harder.”

“...And for you?”

Ren grinned. “I’m off the hook, this time.”

“...So that’s why you don’t care about the torture?”

“They _ literally _ asked for it. Despite my warnings.” Ren replied.

“I’m really curious what she did to you to freak you out so much…” Shiho said. “Kana-chan says that the story of how she met you was pretty boring.”

Ren nearly dropped his spatula. He shook his head, laughing a little. With his eyes slightly glassy. “When I first joined the gym, she terrorized me endlessly. She was the only one close to my weight at the time… She’s the fastest and most ruthless boxer I’ve ever sparred with. And then she decided that she _ liked _ me. So she terrorized me _ more _, and scared the shit out of every girl who so much as looked at me. You know one morning, I woke up to find her standing over my bed with an application for a marriage license? I was maybe ten years old. My parents thought it was ‘cute’. And then there was the training camp…”

“What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just glad she’s over her crush on me.” Ren looked up.

“How’d she get over it?” Shiho asked.

“When I started third year in middle school, I had a talk with her. Instead of trying to avoid her, I told her I just couldn’t see her that way.” Ren said. “She took it surprisingly well.”

Ren looked up as the remainder of the Phantom Thieves filed in.

Yusuke was holding a half-burnt, blank sketchbook, still warm from when Kaname had burned it on the run. Ryuji was rubbing his backside, but with a markedly better posture. Makoto had a furrowed brow, looking like she was doing mental calculations. And Ann was drenched, somehow, in the dry weather. Covered in mud. Mona, who had wisely been hiding, sprang out.

“Ann-dono! Can I bring you a towel?!” He meowed. This was obviously his chance to steal Ann away, he thought.

She walked by the cat, almost kicking him as she numbly made her way to the table with the rest of the team. In unison, they looked at Kaname, who brought up the rear, her shinai over her shoulder.

She smiled. “Yes, you can sit.”

They sat.

“..Oh. And eat.”

They started eating. Yusuke shivered, putting down the sketchbook. It clearly wasn’t his, but Kaname had placed a few copies of some of his sketches in the front few pages to create the illusion.

Ren sat down beside Ann. He leaned over to her.

She flinched, life coming back to her eyes. “Ah! Ren, don’t! I’m completely muddy, and--”

“Don’t care.” He said, kissing her cheek. “Come on, guys. Eat. Isn’t this _ great? _”

They all stared at Ren with expressions of profound regret, mixed with irritation at his ‘I told you so’ smile. Ryuji’s spit-take after drinking his coffee spiked with salt and hot sauce immediately loosened the group up, though. They started chatting and laughing. During meal times and breaks, Kaname actually turned off ‘Coach Takeda’. Mostly.

She laughed at Ryuji. “Seriously? You haven’t heard of that? That’s like most well-known Sengoku poem in Japan. Even elementary students know…”

“..I only just started taking school seriously!” Ryuji protested. “I’ve been spending a lot of time on it, honest. Just ask Makoto!”

“Oh. You two are together?” Kaname asked, innocently.

Makoto choked on her rice. “Wh-what?!”

Ryuji shook his head rapidly.

The two made eye contact with each other; they _ may _ have blushed.

“Er… anyway, Ryuji. Kana-chan’s talking about the poem where a Zen master asks the three warlords, Tokugawa, Hideyoshi, and Nobunaga what they’d do if a bird doesn’t sing.” Makoto said. “It’s also a bit of a game, sometimes.”

Kaname nodded. She pointed at Ren. “Renpai. If a bird doesn’t sing…”

“Wait for it to sing.” Ren replied, smiling. “Tokugawa was my favorite. And it’s a good answer for a counter-puncher."

“I’d make it sing.” Makoto said. “Hideyoshi’s mine. Yusuke?”

“...Hm. I suppose I’d paint a picture of it.”

Ren snorted. “Not really a choice. But very you. You’d pluck it nude first, though?”

Ryuji laughed. “Hah. I guess I’d just get rid of it?”

“You mean kill it.” Kaname said. “You’re a Nobunaga guy, eh? Seems right. And you?”

She looked at Ann.

“...I think I’d make it _ want _ to sing.” Ann said, thoughtfully. Like Yusuke it was an ‘off menu’ answer.

Kaname made a non-committal sound. She glanced for a moment at Ren, before looking directly at Ann. Her eyes were _ challenging _. “If the bird doesn’t sing, I’d wait for it to sing. As long as it takes.”

>>>

During the day’s training. Kaname took every opportunity to remind Ann that while the blonde was Ren’s current girlfriend, Kaname was the one who seemed to know him _ completely _ . She knew all of his tendencies in boxing, as well as his preferred meals for training. But it went beyond boxing. She brought up inside jokes; stories. Small things, like his favorite song ( _ The Way You Look Tonight) _, his favorite brand of shoes (Converse), and, worst of all…

Just before dinner, the team was working out in the rope and pole ring. For the beginners, mitt-hitting. For Makoto and Ren, sparring with gloves and headgear. Ren frowned, glancing at his handwraps. They were starting to look pretty ratty. He took them off, starting to reach into his bag for a spare.

Ann smiled, stepping forward. She knew how to do this - and it would have the double whammy of showing Kaname that she knew something about boxing, and that Ren trusted her enough to do the wrapping properly.

Kaname cut her off, stepping forward. She glanced at Ann briefly, before looking at Ren. “Hands.”

Ren looked up. He smiled. “Heh. Thanks. Just like old times, right?” He held out his left.

Ann dropped her roll of cloth. For the first time, she found herself _ not _ wanting to remember the first night they made love. How it started with resolving things with Reiko. How it started with Ann smiling shyly at him, handwraps ready, because she had practiced. How it started with a single word.

_ ‘Hands.’ _

Kaname, thankfully, didn’t kiss Ren’s palm like Ann did, that night. But she did look up at Ann, with a too-friendly smile on her face. “You know, I’m the one that taught Ren how to wrap his hands up. He’s done it the same way, ever since.”

And in that instant, the way that Ann had memorized, the thing she learned from Ren - was from Kaname, instead.

Ann bit her lip, watching as Ren got into the ring. _ ‘Just how ‘over him’ are you…?’ _

Ren jogged his shoulders, looking at Makoto. “Well, Your Excellency. Ready for round two?”

“Makoto’s not your opponent, Renpai. I am.” Kaname said, stepping into the ring opposite from him. “For old time’s sake.”

Ren grinned. For a moment, a different kind of light flashed into his grey eyes. “For old time’s sake, then. Ring the bell, Morgana.”

Morgana, a little hammer clenched in his teeth, smacked the bell.

Kaname laughed. “Smart cat. Hope he’s good enough to bring you bandages after I’m done with you.”

“Bring it, shrimp.”

They took their stances; neither of them wore headgear.

Ryuji blinked. “H-hey! Coach Takeda! Headgear!”

“Don’t need it.” Kaname said. She fought in an peek-a-boo stance similar to Mike Tyson; it somehow made her an even _ smaller _ target.

“Ren! You’ll kill her! You’ve got like 20 kilos on her!” Ryuji said. “You--...”

Ren paid no attention. He was already in his trademark hitman stance, not bothering to start with the standard orthodox he’d use to sometimes feel an opponent out. He moved forward aggressively, immediately lancing rapid-fire jabs at Kaname with variable angles and speeds.

Kaname shot forward. Her stance wasn’t just for show - she bobbed and weaved with the upper body lateral movement expected of the style, but in addition to this, her footwork was sublime. She closed the distance while taking only glancing blows, and the more squared-up position of her pelvis allowed her to not only shift her weight effectively, but also switch her stance from southpaw to orthodox and back.

Pivoting, she drove a hard left to Ren’s liver, grinning fiercely around her mouthguard as she anticipated the feedback in her fist.

That feedback never came, as Ren turned his body, his right foot sliding back as he pivoted on his left.

The check hook nearly took Kaname’s head off as she dodged. Instead, it clipped her shoulder, sending her stumbling.

Ren pressed his advantage, immediately launching a hard chopping right at Kaname’s head as she was recovering her balance. With his superior range, height, and power, it would be a devastating blow.

Kaname wasn’t there. She turned her stumble into a bob by dropping her knees and stepping forward. Her short reach turned from a disadvantage to an advantage as she rose into a short uppercut that clipped Ren’s chin.

They both stumbled away from each other after the exchange, breathing hard in exhilaration.

Kaname grinned. “Nice check hook, Renpai. That body blow used to give you fits.”

“I developed that hook for _ you _, Kana-chan. Never thought you’d figure out how to counter that right, though.”

“Well, you know. Ever since I retired, all I’ve done is watch _ you _.” She dashed forward, once again penetrating Ren’s range with a series of short hooks and jabs.

Ren fended her off with flickers and stiff-arm jabs. “You mean ever since you were disqualified.”

“I elbowed someone _ once _…” Kaname muttered. She dove back in, her feet and hands a blur. She swarmed him: she was aggressive, crowding Ren’s range with constant pressure and attack, moving in and out of range at will. She buzzed like a wasp; Ren winced as he took a multiple hit combination to his abdomen and chest as he protected his head.

Ann watched, eyes wide. She had never seen Ren box, but in the Metaverse, he never looked like he was struggling this much. But her surprise increased as she watched him _ smile _.

Ren grinned. He dipped his knees, rising and whipping his arm in an almost circular motion, the bolo punch striking Kaname in her solar plexus. The force of the blow knocked her back, out of her effective range. His left immediately followed her with several hard jabs.

She briefly took a southpaw stance, dashing forward and putting her shoulder into Ren’s jab, sending it aside.

Her left slammed into Ren’s body, before her right shot up and hit his chin. Before she could throw further combinations, though, Ren slid his right foot back - and then launched another check hook, pivoting off his left and sending his more aggressive opponent into the ropes.

The two exchanged blows and combinations in a furious spar.

The bell rang. The two combatants stared each other down for a moment, before breaking into huge grins. Kaname moved forward quickly, throwing her arms around Ren in a hug, laughing. 

“Renpai, you haven’t lost a step!”

“Neither have you, Kana-chan. No elbows or trips that time, though? Not even a headbutt?”

“I didn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours. Your girl would be mad at me.”

“Heh…”

Ann looked at Makoto. “Makoto… was your spar with Ren _ anything _ like that?”

The brunette shook her head slowly, leaning over the ropes. “I… I thought it was. I mean, he was being serious with me, but I had to drag that intent out of him. With her, he looked like he was at 100% _ immediately _… He probably trusts her completely. And it’s the same for her…”

Ann watched as the two laughed and joked, exiting the ring. Kaname shot a glance back at Ann, making the blonde girl recall what Kaname had said earlier at breakfast.

_ ‘If the bird doesn’t sing, I’d wait for it to sing. As long as it takes.’ _

>>>

After dinner, the boys were in the hot spring, relaxing. It was their turn that evening to go first.

Yusuke sighed. “I have never felt this much physical pain in my life before… But these waters must have some kind of healing properties to them…”

“Zzz…grrrgggl!” Ryuji sputtered, as he dozed off, briefly slipping underwater.

Mona snickered. “Ryuji, you’re the only person I’ve ever seen drown while taking a bath.”

“How many people do you watch taking a bath? Pervert cat.” Ryuji shot back, splashing.

“Rrrow!”

Ren just sighed, himself. He looked at the other three. “All of you are in pretty good spirits, all things considered.”

“Mm. Once you get used to Coach Takeda’s unique brand of… motivation… it isn’t so bad.” Yusuke said. “As long as we try our hardest, she has no complaints. Beyond the insults and degradation, anyway.”

“And you, Ryuji? You still interested in Kana-chan?”

“Oh. Probably not.” Ryuji said. He sighed. “I don’t really want to get into a relationship where beatings are as likely as kisses, y’know? I think I like quieter girls…”

“Then why are you spending so much time with Makoto?” Yusuke asked, curiously. “She seems quite strict as well.”

“...!? That’s for studying! And for the Eiko infiltration thing.” Ryuji said, defensively.

Ren grinned. “Why so defensive, buddy?”

“I’m not being defensive!” Ryuji splashed Ren.

Ren splashed Ryuji. “That’s something a defensive person would say.”

Ryuji splashed back, catching both Yusuke and Ren. “That’s something a _ dick _ would say.”

The sounds of laughter and splashing filled the bathing area.

>>>

A short distance away from the bathing area, Shiho scrolled through the photo gallery in her phone. Hers hadn’t been confiscated by Kaname, on account of being considered one of the trainers for this camp. She grinned. There were multiple (tasteful) images furtively snapped of the boys having their impromptu water fight.

“Heh. Nice…”

“...Role reversal totally doesn’t make that okay, Shiho.”

Ann stood in front of her, her hands on her hips.

“...Uh... “ Shiho looked up. “...Uhm…”

The dark haired girl turned on her heel, starting to leave.

“Not so fast.”

Shiho started taking comically slow steps.

Ann rolled her eyes, stepping forward and reaching for the phone.

Shiho took off at a sprint.

“Son of a… Shiho! I know where you live!” Ann shouted, chasing after her. Shiho, though was fresher - the training for her hadn’t been nearly as brutal. She quickly outpaced Ann, hiding somewhere on the property. It seemed she was doing pretty well with her rehab post surgery.

Ann sighed. Shiho had led her to a little clearing near one of the streams that flowed away from the springs. It wasn’t too far from the bathing area, and it was their turn next, anyway - so, she took a seat on a nearby rock, deciding just to wait until the boys were done. It had been a lively, tiring couple of days so far, and she appreciated the brief moment of silence.

And it was indeed, brief.

Kaname stepped off the trail and onto the bank of the stream. She spotted Ann, walking over. The girl took a seat nearby, giving Ann a small smile. “I thought I saw you run off in this direction.”

“Yeah. I was chasing Shiho. She was using her phone to creep on the boys.” Ann said.

Kaname just chuckled briefly, looking at the gently flowing stream. She seemed relaxed, but the wall she had put up between herself and Ann was almost visible.

Ann sighed, taking the plunge. It was clear Kaname had a problem with her. She couldn’t say that she didn’t understand. Ren was obviously important to her, and in Kaname’s eyes, she was just some city girl who had opportunistically worked her way into his life. And Kaname was obviously important to Ren. So, Ann decided to clear the air.

“Hey, Kaname? Can I ask you something?” Ann asked, her tone friendly.

“I wasn’t aware we were on a first name basis.” Kaname said, the friendly veneer vanishing instantly. She didn’t even bother looking at Ann.

“I have to call you something.” Ann said, taken aback.

“Funny. I don’t have that need with you. But ask away.”

“What the hell is your problem with me?” Ann asked, her patience rapidly worn thin from the younger girl’s attitude.

Kaname was quiet for a long period of time. She then took a breath, speaking. “...Do you have any idea what _ that girl _ did to him? How much it hurt him? You must.”

“You don’t know Reiko’s situation, her father--”

“Don’t you _ ever _ say her name around me.” Kaname said, fiercely. She rounded on Ann, her green eyes flashing even in the darkness. “She hung around him, made his family accept her. Made _ my _ family accept her. And then that bitch ripped out his heart. I don’t care if her daddy made her leave him or whatever. She got involved with him, made him love her, and then broke him. And now you’re going to do the same.”

Ann glared back at Kaname. “I won’t just disappear on him!”

“No. But he’s going to disappear on you. His probation is for a year. He’s going to have to move back to Kamakura. And you’re some big shot model in Tokyo, which means you probably have aims beyond Japan. Do you really think you’re going to be able to last in a long distance relationship? Are you going to give it all up and help him take over the family business? You’re gonna be the _ gaijin _ innkeeper of Kamakura?”

“If that’s what it takes, yes.” Ann shot back, automatically. But even she could feel how hollow those words were. They were easily spoken, but following through was something different entirely.

“Really. You’re just going to drop all of your ambitions, your dreams. All the things that give you your identity.” Kaname said, sneering. “Then you’re even weaker than I thought.”

“Just what the hell is your deal? I thought you were over your crush on him! Is this some weird ass ‘I’m only going to give him to someone I approve of’ shit?” Ann said.

“I said I was over my crush. That was true. This isn’t a passing infatuation anymore.” Kaname said. “I said what I had to so I could keep being a part of his life. Even when he met that girl; even when he met you.”

Kaname stood; So did Ann.

“Have your fun while it lasts. You saw the connection we have. We grew up together. I _ know _ him; I kept loving him, no matter what people said after his conviction. I stayed beside him even when that girl left us. What do you have? Foreign appeal? An over-exaggerated body you like to flaunt in magazines? I bet all you have to do is pout at him, and he’ll dote on you, solve all your problems. He’s always been a fixer, a rescuer. He’ll get tired of that. He’ll get tired of _ you _. Just wait.”

She turned to leave.

Ann clenched her fists. Her better sense told her not to throw this in Kaname’s face, but the _ arrogance _ of the girl…

“He hasn’t gotten tired of me yet. No matter how much he _ sees _of me.” Ann said, simply. The implication was clear.

Kaname whirled. She stomped up to Ann, looking like she was going to hit her. She didn’t, though. Instead, she smiled.

“Really? _ That _ ’s your trump card? At least the other girl _ dated _ him. You just went straight to fucking, didn’t you? I know a little about what happened at Shujin, with Kamoshida. Even heard that Renpai punched the sicko. If the only thing holding you two together is stress, danger, and the fact that you put out… Well. I don’t even need to be in the picture for this to fall apart.”

Ann’s eyes widened. In a single moment, Kaname had dragged out the insecurity she had about her relationship with Ren. She loved him. And while there was some element of gravity, of inevitability between them… they had still done everything out of order, as she often joked about. But as the old adage went, every joke has a grain of truth.

In her heart of hearts, she sometimes wondered if the reason why she and Ren had fallen so hard and so fast for each other was because of the stress of the situation they were in. When that stress was gone… Would they still be together?

Was the only thing holding them to each other the danger and the sex?

Would they drift apart? What was going to happen next year?

Kaname smirked, seeing the damage was done. She turned, walking away, waving a hand. “If the bird doesn’t sing… I’ve been waiting for years. What’s one more?”

>>>

August 11, 20xx 

The morning run was quite a bit different, today. Ren led the group, including Shiho, through a more reasonable course. There was no climbing; no mud-crawls under wire netting for Ann. And best of all, no violet-haired ball of hate bringing up the rear with a shinai. The girl was actually taking Makoto to the other side of the mountain for ‘special training’.

The prospect of gaining the same resistance to fear as Ren made too much sense to the group’s tactician. And so, she had convinced Kaname to try to do the same thing for her. Unsurprisingly, the girl hadn’t required much convincing. She in fact seemed _ very _ happy to do it. Frighteningly happy.

Ryuji, jogged up alongside Ren as the boxer led them up a slope back toward the cabin, a light sheen of sweat on his skin. His posture was quite a bit better, even without Kaname there. “Hey, RenRen. When will Coach and Makoto get back? I brought fireworks to celebrate the end of the camp!”

“Hm? Oh, Kana-chan will be back around lunch.” Ren said.

“...Makoto?”

“Oh. Well. We’ll see.” Ren said, noncommittal. “You know, it was nice knowing her…”

There was a distant sound - perhaps the keen of a hawk. Or the terrified scream of a brunette third year student.

He left Ryuji to contemplate that as he fell back into step beside Ann.

“Hey, Songbird. You alright?” Ren asked. “I thought you’d be happier without Kana-chan around to drag you through the mud. Literally.”

“Hm?” Ann blinked, distractedly. “Oh. Yeah, it’s a nice break.”

“Is everything alright?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m fine.” Ann said.

“Look, I know you said you wanted to get through this without my help, but if Kana-chan’s being too much, I--”

_ ‘I bet all you have to do is pout at him, and he’ll dote on you, solve all your problems. He’s always been a fixer, a rescuer. He’ll get tired of that.’ _

“I said I’m fine!” Ann snapped. She moved on ahead, leaving Ren and the rest behind.

Ren let her go, surprised. Shiho moved up alongside him. She glanced at Ren.

“I don’t know what to tell you, champ. Last night, she was chasing me around to get my phone. Then I didn’t see her again until it was time for bed. And even then, she just went straight to sleep. Something’s off.”

Ren sighed. “Probably Kana-chan...”

Shiho frowned. “Are you _ sure _ she’s over you?”

“I thought she was just a little overprotective. She was really mean to Reiko at the start, too, but warmed up over time. Right up until…”

Ren trailed off as the realization hit him.

“She only started using Reiko’s name maybe a week or two before I got arrested. She started accepting her just in time to see her abandon me.”

>>>

Right after lunch, everyone except Makoto gathered up in the yard for work in the ring again. The student council president hadn’t yet made her return. Apparently, Kaname had given her a ‘test of courage’, and told her to work her way back around the mountain to the cabin. No one wanted to ask what the ‘test of courage’ was, for fear of being subjected to something similar.

The group that was at the cabin moved quickly through drills and technique, eventually working back to either mitt-hitting or spars. Ann slid on headgear, her hair tied into a simple ponytail to accommodate; Kaname had pointed out her and Ryuji as being ready to try actual sparring, against Ren. Yusuke was both not ready, and also not interested. Of course, Ren would be pulling punches. The purpose was instruction rather than competition.

Ann stepped into the ring.

Ren saw the set of her shoulders, the flat look in her eyes. _ ‘...Oh. Oh, shit.’ _

“Ann, don’t--” Ren started to say.

“Kaname.” Ann said, gesturing. “I want to try against you.”

Kaname raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Oh. _ Really _.”

“Ann! She’ll kill you!” Ryuji said, wide-eyed.

Ren shook his head. “Songbird, this is an awful idea…”

“Oh, no. I won’t _ kill _her.” Kaname said, smiling brightly. “And who am I to refuse? If this is what she thinks is going to help her learn something…”

Ann honestly had no idea what she hoped to accomplish. She was in turmoil. Angry, confused. Worried. All she knew was that the person responsible for how she felt was now getting into the ring across from her. Gloves, no headgear for the tiny infighter.

The bell rang - and then halted. Ren had his hand on it, preventing it from reverberating. He walked to Ann’s corner, waving her over.

“I’m not going to change my mind, Ren!”

“I can see that, Ann. So come here, and maybe you’ll actually have half a chance. I’m in your corner.” Ren said, urgently.

She walked over to him.

Ren looked at her. “You’re not going to win.”

Ann’s mood wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t smile slightly at him. “Really? That’s your advice? Thanks, Coach.”

Ren sighed. “You won’t tell me what she said to you. I understand that from the run this morning, and over lunch. But even I can put together that you want to prove something to her, or at least to yourself. Or maybe she’s made you feel that this is the only thing you can do right now. She’s a little terror, and she’s good at fucking with people’s minds like that. You’re not going to win, but maybe you’ll be able to hit her. Once. And hopefully that’ll be enough to prove whatever point you want to make.”

He glanced over Ann’s shoulder. Kaname was just smiling, waiting.

“She’s an infighter, as you saw yesterday.” Ren said. “Almost everyone she’s ever fought has been taller than her, so she’s used to getting inside people’s ranges.”

“So I should fend her off with jabs and straights?” Ann asked, thinking back to what she had been taught by Ren. And, she thought grudgingly, by Kaname.

“No. Even I have trouble doing that, and I’ve only been doing this for years.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow. “Here’s what you’re going to do…”

Ren spoke quickly. Ann nodded, listening intently, before turning and heading to the center of the ring.

Kaname extended her hands to ‘touch gloves’. Somehow, the smaller girl made this gesture of sportsmanship look mocking.

They touched gloves, returning to their corners. The bell rang.

Ann turned.

_ ‘She’s going to charge immediately at the bell. She’s seen that you’re agile, and that you can run. So she’s going to go for your body to try to shut down your legs.’ _

Ann took an orthodox stance, protecting herself. True to Ren’s word, Kaname shot in, her stance and footwork allowing her to present virtually no decent target.

_ ‘BIte down on your mouthguard and let her do it. Bear the pain.’ _

Ann nearly spat out the mouthguard as Kaname drilled a hard hook into her liver.

_ ‘Clinch. Push her away. Repeat it.’ _

Ann shoved Kaname back. The violet-haired girl grinned, and dove back in with more ruthless shots to the body, driving Ann back into a corner. The blonde kept her guard up, preventing any blows to her head, but the smaller girl kept driving body blows, thudding against Ann’s stomach and flanks.

“Ren! She’s killing her! What are you doing just watching?!” Mona shouted. “I’m going in! I’m--Rrreeeeow!”

Ren absently grabbed Mona’s collar, preventing him from running into the ring.

Ann winced, clinching. She shoved Kaname back again, keeping her guard up.

_ ‘It’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt a lot. You’re going to want to let your guard down; your hips are going to want to drop from the pain. Resist it. Resist it until you’re ready…’ _

_ ‘Then let your guard down.’ _

Ann’s hips dropped; her guard lowered as her midsection burned.

Kaname’s grin widened; she darted in again, bobbing and weaving, avoiding Ann’s feeble, fending jabs. _ ‘Time for a nap, bitch.’ _

Kaname watched as Ann’s chin dropped down; the blonde girl was doubling over from the accumulated damage of the body blows. Her guard finally lowered enough for a definitive punch to the head. She closed the distance, her right hand striking out to finish this. She looked for Ann’s eyes, wanting to see the moment of defeat. Ann looked up.

_ ‘Her eyes are alive!’ _

Her hips were dropped, but they were directly over her knees. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground. Her guard was low, but it put her right hand in perfect position: Perfect for an uppercut. An exploded upward, extending at her knees, hips, and shoulder, her knuckles slamming into Kaname’s chin.

With a thud, the violet-haired girl landed on her ass.

“Fuck YES! _ That’s _ my girl!” Ren shouted, slamming his fist on the wooden ringpost. “You took her fucking head off!”

Ann spun. With an exhilarated grin, she ran to him, throwing her gloved hands over his shoulders as she hugged him from inside the ring.

“It… it hurts like hell, but it worked! It actually worked! I can’t believe it!”

Their excitement was short-lived.

“...Fuck… that…” Kaname hissed, sitting up slowly. She looked on, her eyes flashing in anger as she watched Ann hugging Ren. “This isn’t over yet.”

She stood up, for a moment looking shaky. She shook her head, driving her fist into her legs to try to stop the shaking. It was a perfectly timed hit, but Kaname had a strong chin, and Ann was still a beginner. She steadied herself, looking far different from a moment ago.

Ann approached, moving to the center of the ring and standing across from Kaname.

Ren looked at Kaname for a long moment. The tiny girl looked ominous, now.

“...Ann. Ann, get out of the ring. Right now.”

Kaname’s smile was more like the baring of teeth, her eyes glaring. “That’s right, Girlfriend-san. Go and run. Go be his pet. Do exactly what he said, just like what you had to do to even get one hit on me.”

“Ann!”

Ann ignored Ren, taking her stance.

Ren watched anxiously. This wasn’t good. The only reason the previous tactic had worked was due to Kaname’s overconfidence in her own ability compared to the relative beginner that was Ann. Now, though, Kaname was awake. And she was angry. She moved in, effortlessly slipping Ann’s punches.

A hard body blow drove Ann back into the ropes.

Another one made her nearly double over.

Over and over again, Kaname struck ruthlessly. Now, so fast and compact that she didn’t even let the girl clinch. Any attempt to clinch was rewarded with another hard shot.

For Ann, the pain started to dull, replaced instead by a fuzzy feeling.

_ ‘...Is it possible to lose consciousness from body blows? Hands… hands’re heavy…’ _

Kaname nearly snarled, starting to go for the KO as Ann’s guard dropped.

Ann could do nothing.

Abruptly, Kaname stopped. A towel fluttered to the dirt floor of the ring.

Kaname glanced at Ren, who had thrown it in. “Tch…”

She leaned in, giving Ann the usual glove-touch and a seemingly friendly one-armed embrace. As they were close, though, she spoke in a mocking tone.

“Well. There’s your danger and close call. Should I tell you where the nearest isolated clearing is so he can ‘comfort’ you? Did you bring rubbers?”

Ann shoved her away. Kaname waved a hand, leaving the ring.

Ren approached her as she stumbled, unsteady. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Ann! Ann, are you--”

Ann shrugged him off. Even the touch of his hands on her now just made her think of Kaname’s spite.She felt beaten up, physically and emotionally. She wanted nothing more than to hold him, be held. But even the thought of comfort now confused her; tortured her.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You--”

“I said I’m fine!” Ann snapped. She left the ring, throwing her gloves and headgear off. She left the yard, disappearing down a trail leading away from the cabin. Shiho looked surprised, but immediately followed her.

Kaname shrugged. “Anyway, next up--”

“Next up is me.” Ren said, smiling. “Ryuji, can you do me a favor?”

“...Er... Sure.” 

“Why don’t you go on, and find a good place for the fireworks tonight?”

Something in Ren’s tone told the blonde boy to do as he was asked. He left, heading for the trails that ran alongside some cliffs overlooking the city.

“Yusuke, I put a few things aside in the refrigerator… Some cut vegetables and meat. Can you take them out, and put them on the counter for me?”

Yusuke, too, left without asking questions, Mona hot on his heels.

Kaname was suddenly left alone with Ren. She thought she knew him. Especially after yesterday’s sparring match, she thought she knew where his fighting spirit and skill level was. Now, as she saw the young man in front of her step into the ring, she realized how wrong she was.

“...Say, Renpai. Let’s talk about this. Maybe--”

“We’ll talk.” Ren said, taking his stance. “We’ll talk like this.”

Kaname felt a very cold, unfamiliar fear.

“I meant--”

“Get in the fucking ring, Kaname.”

>>>

Ryuji sighed, as he walked along the trail, looking for a decent outcropping and view to set up the fireworks.

_ ‘Not that anyone’s going to be in the mood, now. Ann looked really upset. Ren’s pissed at Kaname. And where the hell is Makoto?’ _

He stopped, hearing something odd on the wind. An unsettling, sing-song voice in a breathy, feminine whisper, reciting a nursery rhyme.

_ Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu _  
_ Do make tomorrow a sunny day _  
_ Like the sky in a dream sometime _ _  
If it’s sunny I’ll give you a golden bell_

“...Er… who’s there? Somebody? ...Anybody?” Ryuji called, quietly. He looked down as the trail passed closer to the cliff’s edge, away from the trees. Against his better judgement, he followed the trail. It led to a wide and deep ledge area, with a sturdy looking wooden fence on the edge and an incredible view of the city and sky.

_ Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu _  
_ Do make tomorrow a sunny day _  
_ If you make my wish come true _ _  
We’ll drink lots of sweet sake._

Ryuji bit his lip, as he realized a dark cave was at the back of the ledge. He approached, trying to ignore the shaking of his legs, the pit in his stomach. He froze, as he heard the song on the wind grow louder. It seemed to be coming from the cave.

_ Teru-teru Bozu, Teru Bozu _  
_ Do make tomorrow a sunny day. _  
_ But if it's cloudy and I find you crying _ _  
Then I shall snip your head off._

Ryuji’s mouth went cotton-dry. His blood turned to ice.

There was only silence in the cave.

He jumped, letting out a startled scream as he heard a voice.

“...home.”

“Augh! Holy shit-- Makoto!?” As Ryuji’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the student council president sitting in a corner of the cave, her knees up to her chest, rocking back and forth. Her eyes were glassy; her clothes had miscellaneous tears and rips. She seemed to be covered in blood. “Jesus - are you… are you bleeding?!”

“...this cave is my home… home is safe… Outside is scary…”

Ryuji moved closer. “...Makoto? Are you okay…?”

Makoto looked up, her eyes still glassy, barely focused. “...Oh. Hello, Ryuji. How are you?”

“...I’m fine.”

“Me too. Because I’m home. And don’t worry. This isn’t my blood.”

“That doesn’t make it better! Well, it does! A little! What happened?!”

Makoto, in a very conversational, albeit distant tone, described the process of Kaname’s ‘special training’. She had dropped Makoto off on the other side of the mountain with the help of Ueda and the van, and then told her to simply make her way back to the cabin. Makoto had wanted to learn first hand what made Ren impervious to fear.

It turned out the trick was constant exposure to things that terrified him, coupled with the feeling of being hunted by a very motivated and very bored Kaname over a four day training camp.

The part of the forest that Kaname had dropped Makoto in was creepy to begin with, with twisted and gnarled trees, quietly blowing wind. Sound echoed strangely off the trees and the rock faces. The whole area gave someone the feeling of being _ watched _ . Obviously, Kaname only had a day, not four. But, she had thoroughly researched _ all _ members of the training camp. She knew of Makoto’s dislike for horror movies and similar themes.

The reason Makoto was covered in blood was that the moment she was thigh deep in a stream to wade across, multiple packs of fake blood Kaname had planted in the stream’s bed had detonated, instantly turning the water to blood. That in itself wasn’t so bad. But in addition, several extremely realistic replicas of assorted body parts had bobbed to the surface of the gently flowing stream.

And that was just the beginning. The student council president spent the entire day confronting horror after horror on the way back to the cabin.

Ryuji shook his head. He put his arm around Makoto, giving her a brief one-armed hug out of extreme sympathy. “Holy… ...Ren wasn’t kidding, was he.”

“No… But it’s fine. I’ve learned what I want to do with my life, Ryuji. Everything’s okay, now. I’m just going to live here. Forever. In this cave.”

She started singing again.

_ Kagome, kagome _  
_ The bird in the basket _  
_ When, oh when will it come out _  
_ In the night of dawn _  
_ The crane and turtle slipped _ _  
Who is behind you now?_

“Oh, come on, Makoto. You’re just going to let Kaname get the better of you?”

Makoto returned to reality to give him a look. “Really? You’re going to lecture me on being manipulated by that monster? All she had to do was flirt with you a little and you completely did whatever she wanted.”

Makoto scoffed. “You’re like that with Hifumi, too. You’re just lucky she isn’t a complete sadist, like Kaname.”

Ryuji sighed. “Come on. I’m not that bad. Besides, I’m not like Ren. What girl is going to go for me if I don’t play the game a little?”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you’re as bad of a catch as you make yourself out to be, Ryuji. You keep saying things like you don’t want people to end up like you, or how you need help to be like Ren. I think you’d do just fine being yourself.”

“...Y’know, that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s said to me.” Ryuji said.

Makoto smiled slightly at him. “...Can you not tell anyone about the nursery rhyme and me making this cave my home, and we’ll call it even?”

“Sure.” Ryuji said, laughing. He looked out at the edge of the ledge. “On the bright side, I found a great place for the fireworks. If only everyone else was in the mood…”

>>>

Ren walked along the trail where he had seen Ann go. He looked up, seeing Shiho approach from the opposite direction. The dark haired girl sighed, looking at Ren as they came to a stop on the trail.

“She’s just through there, in a little clearing beside the stream. She won’t talk to me, so--... How did you get that cut on your cheek?” Shiho asked, eyeing Ren.

“I had to teach Kaname some manners.” Ren said. “Thanks for looking after Ann, Shiho.”

“Right…”

Ren stepped into the clearing. Ann was sitting on a patch of soft grass near the stream; her eyes were still a bit puffy; her shoulders slumped. She was still wearing her workout gear - a dark red racerback sports bra with form-fitting black shorts. She picked at the grass, glancing up as she heard Ren approach.

Ren sat down beside her, sighing. “I talked to Kaname. She told me everything… She really doesn’t pull any punches.”

“Mm.” Ann mumbled.

“Ann, you don’t really worry about all of that, do you?” Ren asked.

Ann just hugged her knees to her chest. “I know. I know it’s crazy. Neither of us can predict what’s going to happen in the future. But she just… laid it all out. All the things I was worrying about, even the things I didn’t know I was worrying about. Are we only together because of the stress? We did everything out of order… It’s like we didn’t do any of the dating stuff before we fell for each other.”

Ren sighed. “Songbird… I don’t worry about any of that. At least, I’m not overly concerned about it… You know, my parents had an atypical romance, too. Less invasion of the brainspace of criminals and larceny, but still a bit different. They went to the same school, but never really spoke to each other. Oya-ji was set to take over the family business, the inn. Ka-chan was going to go to a local college. They had completely different social circles. But, one day, ka-chan really needed tuna.”

“...Tuna?” Ann asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ren nodded. “Tuna. Her mother, my grandma, wanted to make a big fancy dinner. Ka-chan was set to have a marriage interview with some guy going to the same college. So, she went down to the docks. The same docks where Nakanohara bumped into Reiko. Oya-ji was there, working a part time job he did for a little extra spending money.”

“And that’s where they met?”

“Sort of. Oya-ji nailed her upside the head with a mackerel.”

“He did _ what _?!” Ann gasped.

Ren nodded. “He just watched this news story about Pike Place Market in Seattle, where the fishmongers _ throw _ fish to each other. We’re talking like more than ten metres. Oya-ji watched it, and thought he’d give it a try. Anyway, he jumped off the boat and ran over to ka-chan.”

Ann shook her head, listening with rapt attention.

“She was surrounded by other people already, helping her up. As oya-ji apologized, she interrupted him and demanded the mackerel for free. She even poked him in the chest with it, holding the fish bare-handed. And then she wanted a discount on the tuna, too.”

Ann started laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. Dead serious. Inoue Yoshioka, poking Kenji Amamiya threateningly with a fish. The image was burned into oya-ji’s mind. This beautiful girl, covered in scales and seawater, waving a mackerel in his face. He said to me later: ‘I’m not a religious guy, kid. But let me tell you. When I met your mother, I felt the hand of God on my shoulder. It felt like he was telling me, don’t you _ dare _ let this woman walk out of your life.’”

Ann smiled. “That’s… really sweet. Even with the fish.”

“Especially the fish. They kept the mackerel, you know. Had it preserved and stuffed; it hangs in our living room. Oya-ji calls it the ‘Holy Mackerel.”

Ann giggled at the terrible pun. Ren continued.

“Yeah. It wasn’t like it was love at first sight. But he made sure he got her number. And she invited him out for coffee after his shift, covered in scales or not. They stayed out so late talking that she completely missed the marriage interview. Within two weeks, they were engaged. They just… worked. Just like the way I felt about you, when I met you under that awning.” Ren said. “So, no. I can’t say that I’m worried about us doing things out of order.”

“...But about next year…” Ann said. “Kaname’s not wrong. If we keep going, what’s it going to be like in a year? When your probation is over and you leave for home? What if this just ends up hurting you? Hurting me? Would we be able to forgive ourselves?”

Ren looked at the stream. He nodded, somber. “That’s true. I guess… the smart thing to do would be to break up.”

Ann’s eyes widened. Her breath caught. She looked at Ren, her lip trembling. “I… ..you…”

A light flick between her eyes from Ren’s fingers made her wince.

“Ouch!”

“Stu~pid.” Ren said, a half-smile on his face. “Do you really think I’m letting you go that easy, Songbird?”

Ann tensed as his arm went around her, but gradually relaxed into the familiar embrace. She listened to him as he continued.

“I’m not telling you that it’s stupid to worry about those things. I think about them, too. What happens in a year. If we’re still going to be doing this Phantom Thief thing…” Ren said. “Even what we’d be like if didn’t have to deal with the constant stress and danger of a weird cognitive world.”

Ren smiled. “But I can’t know the answer to any of those things. What I do know, though… I know that I can’t think straight when it comes to you. I know that you see through me like no one ever has. I know that I can’t - I won’t - let you walk out of my life. I know I love you, Ann Takamaki. And I don’t really care why, or how.”

Ann turned, tears brimming her blue eyes as her heart contradicted itself - the previous turmoil calmed, even as she felt it pound away in her chest. She kissed him, softly. “...You really do say the right thing when it counts, Ren Amamiya. I love you too.”

She noticed the cut on his cheek, now. She blinked, touching it gently, then kissing him there. “What happened?”

“I had a talk with Kaname.”

Ann frowned. “...What did you do?”

>>>

Ann wasn’t the only one who had been crying.

Kaname was in the boxing ring sitting on the ground and leaning against one of the posts. It was where her second sparring match against Ren had ended. She rubbed at her eyes, her gloves off and discarded in the dirt. She recalled a time when her father had referred to Ren as ‘incomplete’. A conversation she had with her father about their favorite fighter. How he was technically sound, but lacking a certain edge.

He still wasn’t there. But he had shown her - he was closer than he had ever been before. And it wasn’t Kaname that brought it out. That edge, that final killer instinct, that weaponized fury.

It had been Ann.

Ann had been the one to draw it out of him. Ren had imprinted the truth of it into Kaname’s body with his fists, demonstrating a combination of technical ability and controlled rage that utterly and effortlessly defeated her. Kaname managed to give him a cut on the cheek with a short upper, but ate a chopping right that finished the fight. And then she had admitted to everything she had said to Ann.

She smiled bitterly, thinking of when Ren first came into the boxing gym. He was older than her, but she was his senior in terms of boxing. Even as a child, she had been… _ enthusiastic _. She loved boxing. She loved almost all combative sports. It made the other kids at school think she was weird, or violent… It turned her into a loner.

But then, this smiling little boy with messy hair came into the gym. And no matter how much she terrorized him, beat him up, or bullied him… He absorbed everything she taught him. Everything her father taught him. He revered and respected the sport just as much as she did. He treated her like a normal child; he had called her ‘Kana-chan’ on the first day, instead of ‘senpai’, just to annoy her.

But gradually, that was the only thing she ever wanted to hear him call her. She looked forward to it. She needed it.

She remembered the day she started to fall in love with him. She had come into the gym to do her chores and polish some equipment. She spotted him, alone in the gym on a bench. His boyishly cute face furrowed in concentration as he wrapped, then rewrapped his hands. Earnestly practising what she had taught him.

He had looked up at her, smiling broadly as he held a hand up.

** _‘Kana-chan_ ** _ ! I did it! Look, look!’ _

_ ‘Get in the fucking ring, _ ** _Kaname_ ** _ .’ _

The look on his face today had been utterly alien to her. Cold. Heartless. There was light in his eyes, but nothing of the little boy she had known. She let out a short, stifled laugh, before starting to cry again. 

_ ‘He… the way he fought… the way he looked at her after that upper, when she hugged him. ..I just wanted him to look at me like that. Just once. ...But now… now I’ve lost even that old smile...?’ _

“That’s not a good look for you.”

Kaname looked up, startled. She hurriedly wiped at her eyes. “R..Renpai!” She scrambled to her feet. “I…!”

“...Sorry.” Ren said. “I was hard on you.”

“I… no. I was…” Kaname trailed off, uncertain of what to say.

“Not just in the spar. I mean… through everything.” Ren said. “I didn’t see it, until now. Reiko… Reiko hurt you too, didn’t she? You started to accept her as part of my family - _ our _family. You even started calling her by name. And then…”

Kaname stared at Ren, surprised. It was true, of course. The betrayal she was angry about wasn’t just for the sake of Ren. It was for the sake of herself - a lonely child, who had just started to see that her beloved ‘Renpai’ wasn’t being taken away. Rather, she was just coming around to the idea that she was going to _ gain _ a sister. One who loved Ren as much, or more. And then, that new trust had been shattered.

Kaname just nodded a little, starting to cry again. “I’m… I’m sorry… Why did you come back? What about… ..._ her _?”

“Ann’s the one who told me to come back.” Ren said. “She figured there was something going on based on what you told her. _ ‘I stayed beside him even when that girl left _ ** _us_ ** _ .’ _You said ‘us’, not ‘him’. Ann’s sharp, like that… She said she didn’t want to be part of driving us away from each other. I’m pissed at you, but you’re still important to me.”

He sighed. “So… Let’s just try to start over from here, okay? We should go gather everyone and eat some dinner…”

He turned, but paused as he heard Kaname speak, in a small voice.

“...Will… will you still call me ‘Kana-chan’...?”

Kaname’s eyes widened as he turned back to face her, that boyish smile back on his face as he pulled her into a hug.

“Idiot. What else am I going to call my little sister?”

She cried, smiling. “Right… ...Ne, Renpai..?”

“I know. If I tell anyone you cried, you’ll kill me. A lot.”

>>>

The team reconvened, outside of the cave that was briefly Makoto’s home. They had brought their evening meal to the ledge, enjoying it there as Ren helped Ryuji set up the fireworks along the edge of the ledge.

Ryuji glanced back at the group. Kaname was sitting with Ann, Shiho, Makoto, Yusuke, and Mona. They were all chatting and smiling as they finished their meals. Ryuji sighed, looking at Ren.

“So… is everything cool now?”

“About as much as it can be.” Ren said, shrugging. “How’s Makoto?”

“She gets this funny look in her eye sometimes when she remembers something…” Ryuji said, looking mildly concerned. “And sometimes she starts singing creepy nursery rhymes again.”

“...Ah. Yeah. I’ve been there.” Ren said, with that same look.

“She’ll get better, right?”

“...She’ll be different. Better? Hard to say.” Ren said, laughing.

They returned to the group, passing the last of the daylight with friendly chatter. The brutal training camp was already somehow turning into a good memory, despite Ren’s initial misgivings at the start of this all. Ann leaned against him, sighing.

“Hm? Something up, Songbird?”

She shrugged. “Just a little disappointed.”

“...how do you mean?”

“Just feeling a little jealous.” Ann said. “I want you all to myself, and now I find out even the hand wrapping thing isn’t really _ mine _.. I mean, there’s Reiko, who knew you first. Then Kaname, who grew up with you… I just feel like I’m always a step behind.”

“Hm.” Ren looked thoughtful. He then stood, smiling. “Hey. Come with me.”

Kaname blinked. “Hm? Renpai? We’re going to shoot the fireworks soon, where--”

“Just go on without us.” Ren said, waving. He led Ann away, further up the trail to a different vantage point. They made their way carefully in the darkness.

Ann breathed. “Wow. Even better view. Not a lot of space, though…”

There was room enough, barely for two people to sit down. Ann looked at Ren curiously. He was silent, looking mildly conflicted. Nothing soul-crushing or game-changing, but something that was obviously important to him.

He smiled slightly, coming to a resolution. He reached into his pocket, taking out a clean hand wrap. “Hey, Songbird? Hold still for a second.”

“Ren? What are you--” Ann held still for a moment as Ren tied the cloth around her eyes as a blindfold.

“Just don’t move. We’re close to a cliff edge, after all. And don’t take that off.”

“But--” She started to pull at the cloth. Her hand stopped as she heard his voice.

_ Some day, when I’m awfully low _  
_ When the world is cold _  
_ I will feel a glow just thinking of you _ _  
And the way you look tonight_

He sang in English, but his Japanese accent became less noticeable in the stretched syllables of the slow song. As Ann listened to Ren sing _ The Way You Look Tonight _, she recalled their conversation in Crossroads:

_ ‘You don’t sing?’ _

_ ‘Nope. It terrifies me… ...I just don’t like doing it in front of people. _ _ Reiko caught me, once. I shut up immediately and never did it around her again.’ _

He wasn’t even bad. He wasn’t a trained singer, of course. But he could carry a tune. And his voice was sweet, a smooth baritone. But more than that, as the song drew to a close, she could hear the depth of his feeling in it. His fear and embarrassment at singing. His hope that she'd like it. And most of all, the desire to give her everything he had of himself. Ann held a hand over her open mouth, listening as he finished the song.

_ Lovely, don’t you ever change _  
_ Keep that breathless charm _  
_ Won’t you please arrange it? _ _  
‘Cause I love you… Just the way you look tonight._

Silence. After a moment, Ren spoke.

“...You can take that blindfold off.”

She did. In the darkness, though, she could barely see him.

A distant -_ boom- _announced the start of Ryuji’s fireworks. In the colored light, Ann looked at Ren. The light blush on his face, the embarrassed look at what he had done. He caught her staring.

“I… Yeah. I know it’s not much, but…” He trailed off at her small smile, full of gentle affection.

She kissed him, softly, her hand stroking his cheek.

A short distance away, a slender figure turned away as the song ended, and the two shadows on the cliff side became indistinguishable as they were back lit by the myriad colors and lights in the sky.

Kaname walked away. She too, smiled. But it was a resigned smile.

_ ‘Nice fight… Ann.’ _

>>>

August 12, 20xx 

The Takeda Gym’s van pulled to a stop near Leblanc late on Friday evening. Ann, Ren, Mona, and Kaname stepped out, the former two with their bags. Mona meowed, heading to go and check on Futaba.

Kaname hugged Ren. “See you again soon, Renpai?”

“Anytime, Kana-chan. Just… call ahead next time. And no more special training for any of my friends. I can’t deal with Makoto’s creepy singing.”

Kaname then turned to Ann. “...Ann.”

“Kaname.”

The two eyed each other askance, like suspicious cats, before breaking into little smiles.

To Ren’s surprise, Kaname hugged Ann as well. She spoke quietly. “Thanks. For telling him to come and talk to me.”

“Mm.” Ann intoned, hugging back.

When they separated, Kaname gave Ann a challenging grin. “You know, you’re amazing.You really did make the bird want to sing… ...But remember. I’ll always be waiting.”

Ann returned the smile. “I know. But you’re going to be waiting for a long, _ long _ time.”

They watched Kaname get back into the van, waving as it departed back to Kamakura.

Ren sighed. “That was… eventful. We should go and check on Futaba, maybe. Oh. And maybe plan our aquarium trip?”

Ann looked up and down the empty street. Leblanc was also empty, the sign flipped to ‘closed’.

“...Hey, Wildcard?”

Ren recognized that shift in tone. He smiled. “You want to go inside and do things out of order, first?”

Ann put her arms over his shoulders, standing on her toes to kiss him. "You know me so well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ends the mini training camp arc! It came out of my desire to give Kaname a bigger role in this than she had before (previously was just an epilogue character) and also turned into a chance to develop two relationships.
> 
> Part of this was from my NG+ where I finished Futaba's palace super early and basically had to let her sleep for two friggin' weeks. I found myself thinking, 'this would be a really good time for the gang to have a vacation'.
> 
> The nursery rhymes Makoto sings are translations from real creepy Japanese nursery rhymes.
> 
> At the end of it all, Kaname's just a lonely girl. It doesn't come up in this, but her mother right now isn't her biological mother. Kaname's actual mom passed away when the girl was almost too young to remember - so she literally grew up beside her father, in the boxing gym. Making her a bit of a wild child, who turned into a loner and lonely. 
> 
> Some suspension of disbelief, obviously. Kaname's -tiny-. If a boxer of Ren's talent had that much of a reach/weight advantage on Kaname, their first spar should have been an overwhelming loss for her too. But the point is, Kaname is highly talented herself. Maybe even more than Ren. Her temper is far worse, though (hence the DQ in her championship match, and her subsequent switch to a martial art that has joint locks and throws...)
> 
> I like how Kaname turned out. In the original, she didn't really have a great reason for hostility toward Ann. But with how I developed Reiko as a sweet, gentle girl, it made sense that she would eventually work herself into Kaname's heart, too. And then break the poor thing.
> 
> Whenever I get around to it, next chapter is conclusion of Medjed, a few side stories (IE, operation Eiko), and maybe get into Hawaii a little.
> 
> Okumura Palace. Ugh. I've -got- to do something better with that.


	23. Southpaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A southpaw stance is where the boxer has their right hand and foot forward, leading with right jabs and following with a left cross. This is a mirror image to the orthodox stance. There are many advantages to fighting in southpaw stance - when facing an orthodox fighter, the lead hand of the southpaw fighter gets in the way of the orthodox fighter’s jab, and it is more challenging for them to establish a good striking distance on the southpaw fighter. In theory, the same advantages apply for the orthodox fighter._
> 
> _However, the main advantage is that southpaw fighters are frequently far more experienced fighting orthodox fighters than orthodox fighters are with southpaw fighters. Thus, to an orthodox boxer, it feels like the southpaw fighter can come at them from a variety of unexpected angles, relentlessly cornering them and finishing them off._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next two chapters are more slice of life/summer days type things rather than moving the main plot line along. Especially as I plant a few more seeds for later on. Thanks for reading!

August 14, 20xx 

Sae walked into the apartment she shared with Makoto on Sunday morning, arriving home from pulling an all-nighter at the Special Investigation Division office. Medjed’s threat was looming. The hacktivist group wanted the Phantom Thieves to publicly identify themselves or they would initiate a ‘cleanse’ of Japan, most likely electronic terrorism targeting the financial sector. At least the Cyber Crimes Division was confident: it was rare that they had an actual warning of an attack that far in advance. But, if Cyber Crimes’ countermeasures had to be used, then that would still have to be considered a loss for the SID and for Sae personally. It would mean that Sae failed to identify and capture the Phantom Thieves before Medjed’s deadline.

She glanced at the covered plate Makoto had left. This time, it wasn’t composed of mostly _ natto _. She smiled, despite her mood. It was always easy to figure out how Makoto was feeling based on the food she made for her. Lately, her younger sister seemed to be doing well; the meals were simple but not at all unpleasant. She was likely happy, but busy. In fact, it seemed like she was already out of the house. Her quiet and studious younger sister had found herself some friends.

_ ‘Just as long as her grades don’t drop. ...And as long as she stops that creepy singing she does in her sleep. When did she start doing that, anyway?’ _

Sae sat down to eat, blinking as her phone started to ring. It was Tomohisa Arai, the SID director.

“Good morning, Director. This is Niijima.”

“Niijima-san. I understand you pulled another all-nighter. What do you have to report? Do you know who the Phantom Thieves are?”

“No sir, but--”

“Honestly, I don’t know how you can justify logging overtime hours when you haven’t had a scrap of progress. Really, I suppose it’s to be expected from an inexperienced w--”

“Sir, if I may interrupt. I don’t know who they are, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t made any progress. While we haven’t learned more about their identities, we’ve discovered connections between their victims.”

“...Oh?” The Director’s tone changed, sounding interested. “Please go on.”

“We established that Madarame and Kaneshiro had mutual connections relating to money laundering and human trafficking. Madarame helped Kaneshiro wash his money, and likewise, Kaneshiro helped Madarame dispose of some students who were no longer useful to him.”

“Yes, I’m aware. I’ve read your reports.”

“But the first victim, Kamoshida, had no obvious connection to the other two. Or so we thought. Most of his victims simply transferred to other schools and kept their mouths shut out of shame. However, a few of his victims were preparing to go public... Until they disappeared.”

The Director made a non-committal sound, but was clearly listening.

“We’ve determined that they were ‘transferred’ to a non-existent high school to cover their disappearance, and then were made to vanish by Kaneshiro’s group. It seems their families simply disappeared… however, I was able to follow a few leads to a psychiatric hospital. One of the victim’s parents suffered a mental shutdown shortly after the ‘transfer’. We have to assume the other victims’ families had a similar fate.” Sae said.

Not hearing him protest, Sae continued.

“What’s more, Kamoshida, Madarame, and Kaneshiro all escalated their criminal behavior just prior to the Phantom Thieves’ attacks. Kamoshida’s abuses were getting bolder; Madarame was moving increasingly larger sums of money; Kaneshiro started getting more youths under his thumb. To me, this has the appearance of a cover-up. I believe the Phantom Thieves are working under the auspices of another group. Possibly as a cleaner for a larger criminal organization that got worried that these three would draw too much attention.”

“But all three victims were left alive…”

“Not so.” Sae said. “Madarame went on to have a heart attack while in custody. Kaneshiro died in a traffic accident. And Kamoshida was assaulted in prison; he’s currently in the ICU, and unlikely to regain consciousness. Frankly, I think the ‘Phantom Thieves’ identity is misdirection. They somehow get the victims to confess their own individual crimes without incriminating anyone at the top, and then finish them off later in seemingly unrelated incidents to _ completely _silence them. The only thing we aren’t sure of is how Kamoshida would have benefited a criminal organization. So right now, my team is starting to investigate Kobayakawa. He’s the one who hired Kamoshida in the first place”

“...I see.”

“Personally, I think Kobayakawa is a small fry as well. But he may lead us higher, if we can get to him before the Phantom Thieves do.”

There was a long pause.

“...Strong work, Niijima-san. Do whatever it takes and pursue this.”

“Yes, sir. I will. We’re going to _ win _ this.”

Sae hung up the phone. She let out a relieved breath. It was a bit of a risk to tell the Director all of that; after all, it was largely speculation. She smiled; it always put her in a better mood when a gamble paid off. As she put her phone back in her purse, she blinked, her fingers brushing against the Buchimaru cell phone strap she had gotten for Makoto weeks ago. She glanced again at the plate of food.

_ ‘Well… We’re both in good moods for once, and it won’t look like I’m apologizing for something. Why not?’ _

She left the strap on the table, before starting to eat breakfast.

>>>

The SID Director, Arai, put his phone down. He smiled coldly.

_ ‘She came close to the truth, didn’t she? To think she’d discover ‘Takabe Academy’, and trace the families enough to discover the mental shutdowns. Normally, that would be enough for her to deserve one of her own. But if she believes the Phantom Thieves are responsible for our mental shutdowns and for our ‘cleaning’ of Kamoshida, Madarame, and Kaneshiro… then, why not encourage that belief?’ _

He dialled another number. “Sir. I think I have a solution to our Phantom Thieves problem. All we would need to do is tie off some loose ends a little ahead of schedule…”

>>>

August 15, 20xx 

“Man, this is weird.” Ryuji said, walking with Yusuke toward ASOBIBA on Monday morning. Mona was riding shotgun on Yusuke’s shoulder. The two boys each carried a long case containing their airsoft weapon.

“Hm?” Yusuke looked curious. “I know it is unusual for us to be alone together, but...”

“Ah. No, no! Sorry. I mean, usually by this time in August, I’m in full-on panic mode to finish the summer homework. Makoto made sure I got it done right at the start.” Ryuji said. “It feels weird to have everything done already with two weeks to go. I mean… it’s really awesome, though! Just getting to go and screw around at ASOBIBA with buddies…”

“We’re not just screwing around, Ryuji.” Mona admonished. “This is Phantom Thief training!”

“Heh. Yeah, yeah, I know!” Ryuji said. “You two already make a pretty good sniper team, though.”

“Practice makes perfect!” Mona chirped. “Though, I’ll have to sneak in again… At least you did something right and got me goggles that fit this time.”

“Heh. Yeah.” Ryuji said. He let the implication he didn’t do anything right slide because even he had to admit - Mona looked pretty cute with the cat-goggles on. As they walked, Ryuji spotted a familiar looking girl in a checkered dress. “...oh! Hifumi!”

The girl looked up, blinking. “...Ah. Sakamoto-kun, Kitagawa-kun! Good morning!”

Ryuji approached, smiling. “How are ya? What brings you to Akihabara?”

“My practice session ended early, but I have to meet my mother nearby in a little while. I’m just passing time.”

“Ah… Well…” Ryuji and Hifumi stood a bit uncomfortably, exchanging awkward smiles.

Yusuke blinked. _ ‘...Ah! This is another ‘bird-man’ moment!’ _

“Ryuji. I just remembered, I have a prior engagement at the art gallery. Please, go on without me.” Yusuke said, nodding. “It was good to see you, Togo-san.”

Mona meowed, with a little cat-smirk. “Don’t screw this up, Ryuji!”

To his credit, Ryuji didn’t respond to Mona in front of Hifumi, just twitching his eyebrow a little. “See you guys.”

Hifumi stood in front of Ryuji, her hands clasped on the handle of her purse in front of her. She looked at Ryuji curiously.

_ ‘...Wow. She’s really, really cute. I should ask her out…’ _

“H-hey, Hifumi. Until you meet your mother, are you free? Do you want to go do something?”

Hifumi gave Ryuji a small smile. “What did you have in mind?”

For a moment, Ryuji ran through a list of things that he had absolutely no interest in, but was _ sure _ a cute girl would like. _ ‘Bookstore… chick flick… dessert shop…’ _

“...Oh? And what’s in that bag you’re carrying?” Hifumi asked, pointing at the rifle case sticking up over Ryuji’s shoulder.

_ ‘Oh fuck, I’m a gun otaku carrying around a USAS-12 auto-shotty. Fuck. Lie!.. …’ _

He started to come up with something until he recalled what Makoto had said to him from before. About how it was more fun when he was talking about something he was interested in, instead of faking that he was interested. About how he’d do just fine if he was himself.

_ ‘What the hell. Time to go for it.’ _Instead of lying, Ryuji grinned at Hifumi.

“...You know, why don’t I show you? Want to do something fun?”

>>>

“I told you, foolish one! You would rue the day that you attempted to stand before the ultimate attack of General Togo, _ Seeking Shadow _!”

Hifumi squeezed the trigger of the RK-74 CQB rifle, a multitude of plastic pellets raking across the two remaining members of the opposing team. A buzzer sounded - that was game. The girl stood, a haughty smile on her face as she rested the rifle on her shoulder.

Ryuji laughed, rising from cover. They were both wearing urban-patterned camo pants and black t-shirts. In Hifumi’s case, she had tied her hair back with a camo-patterned bandana as well.

Her ‘shogi victory’ smile dropped as she regained her senses. She blushed brightly, bowing politely to her vanquished opponents before leaving the field with Ryuji. They had played for a couple hours at ASOBIBA, occasionally joining bigger groups, but always on the same team.

Hifumi turned over her rented rifle at the desk, smiling at Ryuji. “That was… exhilarating.”

“I could tell that you were having fun.” Ryuji said, grinning broadly. “You’re a quick learner, Hifumi. By the end, I think they were more worried about you than me!”

Hifumi regarded Ryuji for a moment - he seemed different. She had started enjoying his company a while ago as a friend, but here, in this airsoft center, he was more natural. More confident, relaxed. Even a little _ attractive _.

She glanced shyly to the side. “Uhm… Thank you. I had a really good time. But I should go.”

“Right. I’ll walk you out.” Ryuji said. “Don’t worry about the clothes; the guys here owe me for doing some gun maintenance, so it’s ours. You can keep it for next time! Or at least consider it a souvenir of your victory, ‘General Togo’.”

Hifumi chuckled sheepishly, leaving the center with Ryuji.

“Hifumi! _ There _ you are! And what in the world are you _ wearing?!” _A stern looking woman stomped toward Hifumi. She bore a passing resemblance to Hifumi, but had her hair drawn tightly back. She wore an expensive looking pant suit.

“Oh! Mother!” Hifumi exclaimed, looking up at the approaching woman with surprise.

Hifumi’s mother made irritated sounds, clicking her tongue. “Look at you. How are you going to interview like this?! We need to get you to a bathhouse, and -- are those _ welts?! _ What happened to you?!”

She grabbed Hifumi’s pale arm, pointing at a few bumps where she had been shot earlier. She glared at Ryuji. “You! You did this to her, didn’t you?!”

“No, he didn’t. He’s a friend, he was--” Hifumi started to protest.

“He’s a delinquent! Just look at him! I _ forbid _ you to spend any more time with him. He’s just going to get in the way of your career. If your father found out you were seeing trash like this, his health would take a turn for the worse.”

Hifumi’s defiance wilted at the mention of her ailing father. She bit her lip, staring at her feet. Ryuji noticed the set of her shoulders though, the way her fists clenched and unclenched. She felt trapped.

“...Y’know, ma’am. I think that’s a pretty rotten thing to say.” Ryuji said, standing straight.

Hifumi’s mother scoffed. “If you don’t want to be called trash, then you shouldn’t look like it.”

“Not what I meant. I don’t really care what you call me. But it’s pretty shitty to bring up Hifumi’s dad just to make her feel guilty.” Ryuji said.

Hifumi looked at Ryuji, eyes wide. He had said precisely what she had been thinking.

“Just… just you stay away from us!” Hifumi’s mother snapped, dragging Hifumi away.

Ryuji sighed. He went back into the airsoft center to collect his things. As he was leaving, his phone buzzed.

**HT: Thank you.**

**RS: i should say sorry. i prolly made things worse for you, didn’t i?**

**HT: No. She’s now so mad at you that’s forgotten to be angry at me…**

**RS: ...that’s… good?**

Ryuji blinked, as Hifumi sent him a cat sticker - a black cat with green eyes, saying ‘Thank You’.

_ ‘Heh. Same one Makoto uses, but with different eye color. ...Wonder what the prez is up to, anyway? I should thank her for the advice. It totally worked!’ _

>>>

The aforementioned brunette was running along the side of the Tama River in the warm summer morning. Appropriately enough, giving advice.

“Ren, that wasn’t bad. Next time, keep your core a little tighter and focus on the return. The front kick is like a jab, but with the legs. And when you do our version of a right straight, the palm starts facing upward, at the waist. It’s a corkscrew punch with a longer arc. Also, your body isn’t as square to the opponent as in boxing.” She said, running at a pace that allowed for a bit of talking.

Ren nodded. “Thanks, Makoto. Your straights are looking better. If you want to stay southpaw, that’s critical.” The two of them had been ‘exchanging notes’ on their respective fighting styles.

“Why the sudden interest in this, anyway?” Makoto asked. “I’m happy to do it, but now you’re actually trying to incorporate some kempo and karate into your routine…”

“Just a thought I had.” Ren said. “Lately, Akechi’s been joining me for training. We had one spar when we first started doing it, and he caught me off guard a few times, just like you did. I want to get more familiar with the footwork and movements in karate and kempo.”

“Right. You mentioned he was a karateka… have you sparred again, since? Do you think you’ll end up fighting him?” Makoto asked, curiously.

Ren shook his head. He didn’t mention the unsettling feeling he got every time he considered it. A feeling that Arsene gave him that was a mix of revulsion and fear.

“Then why are you concerned?” Makoto asked.

“I’m not sure.” Ren said. “Just a feeling, I guess. Probably has to do with the fact that we can’t do anything but wait for Futaba to wake up right now. Having nothing to do always makes me overthink.”

They ran their last sprint interval, finishing up with some shadow boxing. Abruptly, Makoto turned to Ren, firing a few jabs and 1-2 combos at him. He slipped them, returning with a low front kick and then a low roundhouse that Makoto deftly dodged. They grinned at each other as they started to stretch at the end of the workout.

Ren glanced down the trail at the group following them. “Was that really necessary? Gym uniforms in the middle of summer is kinda goofy.”

“I know.” Makoto said. “But it’s the only way I think the group of them can do this together without causing a public panic.”

She looked down the trail, where Yamada and the five other members of his - or rather, Ren’s - gang were sprinting while wearing the white and red uniforms, catching up as they finished their last interval. In front of Ren and Makoto, they shadow boxed, earnestly trying to replicate what they had been shown. To Makoto’s eye, they were improving quite a bit - in a number of ways. 

Makoto had taken a fairly active hand in the boxing club, getting the boys to clean up their act somewhat. All of them quit smoking. Their posture was improving as a result of the training. But they all still looked a bit rough around the edges, so Makoto had them all dress in the school gym outfit to ensure they wouldn’t frighten people using the trail recreationally. Ren was surprised that they had agreed, but they apparently were eager to listen to Makoto. This attitude change had occurred roughly when they found out that Makoto sparred with Ren in private. Rather than trying to explain the circumstances to them - that it was, in effect, Makoto’s confession - he and Makoto had simply stated it was a friendly spar that ended in a draw.

Ren crossed his arms, watching. He gave Makoto a little smile. “...They look like an actual team, Your Excellency.”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “No thanks to _ you _. Even after you agreed to train them, you just tried to scare them off with conditioning. At least, until recently. What changed?”

“I just forgot how much fun this could all be… That spar with you started to remind me, and the training camp, I think it fully brought me back. Really, though. This is impressive. They’ve all even stopped bullying other students because they don’t want to reflect poorly on the club. That’s because of you.”

Makoto nodded, and then cringed as Kentaro spoke up.

“Aneki! Aniki! How are we looking?!”

Makoto could do without the title, though. Apparently, fighting Ren to a draw meant that she held an equal rank to him. Not in the same way as Ann, who they considered ‘the boss’ woman’, but as the ‘big sister’ of the gang.

“Er... You’re looking good. I think we’re done for the day…” Makoto said. She glanced down the trail a bit - she and Ren planned the run to end right near Ann’s photoshoot. “Looks like we’re right on time, Ren. I’m going to go and get ready for the afternoon.”

“Right. Operation Eiko’s today, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Tell Ann I said hello.”

“And tell Ryuji that he’s got this.” Ren said. “You’re not nervous?”

Makoto shook her head, giving Ren a look that he knew all too well. The Kaname-induced PTSD. “...Nothing really scares me anymore.”

“...Heh. Yeah… I get that.” Ren said. He waved, as Makoto jogged away. He approached the photoshoot, stopping a fair distance away. He did love to watch Ann work; the blonde girl was already lively, but seemed to take it up a notch for the camera. Between shots, she caught sight of Ren - she gave the boxer a quick wink and a motion with her hand to come closer.

He shook his head. Although he was fairly demonstrative in the company of their friends and more than happy to show affection when he knew they weren’t being watched, this was different territory. This was Ann’s workplace.

She gave him a little pout just as the next series of shots started. Ren watched, mesmerized. It could have easily been a product of his imagination or the feelings he had for the girl wearing a cute dress, posing for the camera, but it felt like she was just a little prettier now. Just a little flirtier, sexier. Ann turned to him, giving him a look that was mostly demure longing. Except for the light in her eyes, the slight turn to the corner of her lip that spoke of certain nights together and promised of nights to come.

“That’s it, Ann-chan! Perfect! That’s the look!”

The photographer captured it, the camera flashing away. The shoot ended; Ren approached after the photographer and staff had a few parting words with the blonde model.

“Right,” Ann said, “See you guys at the next one, then!”

“You know, you don’t have to stay so far away.” Ann said, smiling at Ren as she turned to him. She then looked past his shoulder. “You guys, though. You should probably stay back. And why are you hanging around? You don’t need to wait on us.”

Yamada nodded sternly, turning to leave. “Yes, Anesan!”

“And stop calling me that!”

“Yes, Ane-- ...Takamaki-(...anesan).” Yamada said, muttering the honorific quietly under his breath as he and the rest of the former delinquents jogged off at a gentle pace.

Ann grumbled. “Ugh. You’d think they’d get tired of that by now.”

“Consider a sign of respect, Songbird.” Ren said, laughing. He then glanced at the photographer and other support staff. “Anyway, I stand back because I still don’t think it’s great for your career to be associated with me. And I didn’t think you’d be allowed to be publicly dating anyone--”

Ren was interrupted by a gentle poke on the tip of his nose. Ann smiled up at him.

“You’re being silly. For the first thing, if someone doesn’t want to hire me just because I’m dating a pretty boy with a murky past, then they weren’t going to hire me based on my own merits anyway. So it wouldn’t be a job that I want. As for the second thing, that’s more of a rule for idols, the girls that do the whole mix of acting, singing, conventions, and what they call ‘modeling’. The same rules don’t apply to me.”

Ren looked confused. “I don’t understand. ‘What they call modeling’?”

“For idols, it’s more about showcasing the girls. For me, it’s more about showcasing whatever the purpose of the shoot is, usually a cosmetic or clothing line.” She took out her phone, showing him a picture of Rise Kujikawa. “Rise’s a good example of the first thing. In this shot, you can see that it’s very much about _ her _. I’m not saying she isn’t talented or deserving. But…”

Ann went on to point out a few key features of the photo - where the cameras were focused, the lighting, the angles.

“...So overall, my job is a little different. I’m supposed to showcase the product, and give the impression that if you buy it, you can look exactly like this. In this case, a cute outfit from the spring line.” She gave a quick spin, looking back at Ren with a wink and a smile. “Like so!”

Ren felt a little thrill in his heart from the look. “I don’t think anyone has a hope of looking like you.”

“You’re clearly biased.” Ann said, but she smiled at sentiment. She hopped up to Ren spritely, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek while they were alone. “You’re not going to get jealous at the next one, are you? The fitness line job, later tonight.”

“Well…” Ren said, smiling ruefully. “It can’t be helped. You worked hard to get those kinds of gigs. I can’t say I’m _ happy _ about my girlfriend modeling form fitting sportswear, but it’s just something I have to get used to. It’s a weird feeling to be both jealous and proud.”

Ann took hold of his arm as they started walking back towards Shinoda’s. She gave him a coy smile. “Such a mature thing to say from the boy who likes to leave marks every time I _ don’t _ have a shoot coming up…”

Ren smiled sheepishly.

“I think you should definitely come to this next one, though. The shoot’s going to be at a boxing gym.” Ann said.

“Really? Which one?” Ren asked, not looking as enthusiastic as Ann expected. “There probably won’t be much boxing, though, and I don’t want to get in the way…”

“Hm. I think it’s called the Ogino Bo--”

“Ogino Boxing Club?!” Ren said, his eyes wide, his attitude completely different. He turned, breaking free of Ann’s hold to take her by the shoulders. “Ogino?! As in the gym in Kagurazaka?!”

“Y-yes?!” Ann gasped, looking at the very unfamiliar look in Ren’s eyes. It was eager. Excited. Even _ hungry _.

“I’m coming with you. You _ can’t stop me _ from coming with you!”

>>>

“So I heard you’re the student council prez, Makoto-chan?” Tsukasa asked, a flashy grin to go with equally gaudy suit. The man wore a white blazer and pants, with a violet shirt, the top two buttons popped. The flame orange dye-job of his hair made Ryuji’s hair look conservative. “My Princess here told me all about you. I wish I could be one of your student council members.”

Makoto felt some relief that Tsukasa didn’t recognize her at all as the girl he tried to pull into the host club. “Yes. ..That’s me.”

“And Yellow-kun here is your boyfriend?” He asked, his grin turning a little disdainful as he looked at Ryuji. Ryuji was indeed dressed in a yellow shirt to go with his blonde hair. Though, it was actually fairly stylish, and actually _ fit _. Similar to the practice date at the aquarium, Ryuji actually looked the part.

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. I am.”

Tsukasa shrugged. “You two just don’t seem like you get along all that well.”

Makoto didn’t lose her cool, just smiling a little. “I’m not the clingy type.”

Ryuji nodded. “I don’t need to have her fawning over me to know that she loves me.”

Makoto hid her surprise at the smooth delivery of Ryuji’s answer; complete with a small smile at the boy.

“Well, I dunno. It seems like your ‘love level’ is rock bottom, haha. Not like me and Princess, here.” He leaned over, giving Eiko a one-armed squeeze. The girl looked at him somewhat like an innocent puppy, giggling a little. “You’re lookin’ extra sexy today, girl.”

Eiko giggled again, giving Tsukasa a little shove. “Oh, you. Hey, I’ll be back. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Makoto waited until Eiko went out of earshot, and then looked evenly at Tsukasa. “So. As Eiko’s friend, I have to ask… how serious about her are you?”

Tsukasa’s grin grew wider. “Oh ho! The student council prez shows her true colors. Right in front of your ‘boyfriend’, too. Princess _ did _ say you were really keen on meetin’ me…”

“I’m her _ friend _. I’m interested to know what’s going on in her life.” Makoto said, annoyed.

Tsukasa gave a nonchalant shrug. “Whatevs, sure. Friends are important an’ shit, after all. Why don’t you give me your number? Since you’re a friend of my Princess, you should be a friend o’ mine, too.”

Makoto blinked, unsure of how to reply.

Ryuji leaned forward slightly. “Seriously, _ bro _? You’re going to ask my girlfriend for her number right in front of me?”

“Insecure much?” Tsukasa asked, grinning. “Though I would be too, if I were in your shoes.”

“Overcompensating much? Usually a guy with a flashy suit and that much of a tryhard attitude isn’t exactly packing a high calibre weapon.” Ryuji replied, before giving a nickname to the flashy, brightly colored man across from him. “Parrot-chan.”

Tsukasa’s expression turned ugly for a moment, before his cocky grin plastered itself back onto his face. “Whatevs, man. I’ll just get Makoto-chan’s number from Princess later on.”

He looked up, as Eiko returned. “Hey, babe. Let’s go. I’ve gotta go to work soon anyway.”

“Oh. Okay, then! Later, Makoto-chan! Sakamoto-kun!” Eiko gave a little wave, before clinging to Tsukasa’s arm.

The two at the table watched them go, before mutually rolling their eyes.

“...Wow. He’s as cheesy as I thought he’d be, from his picture.”

“Indeed.” Makoto said. “I really don’t know what Eiko sees in him…”

Ryuji sighed. “Y’know, neither do I. But I’ve heard of guys like this. They always target girls who they think are desperate for a little more attention than most. Like girls fresh off a break up, or from a tougher family situation…”

“Target them? For what?” Makoto asked.

“Money, usually… And sometimes they get them into some pretty scary stuff to get that money…” Ryuji said, quietly. He then blinked, looking at Makoto’s suddenly _ very _ concerned look. “But.. We don’t know if that’s the case, here! I mean, maybe your friend isn’t in danger at all.”

Makoto sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing I can do other than keep an eye out for if he asks Eiko for anything unusual… You know, Ryuji, I’m impressed. You handled this quite well.”

Ryuji grinned. “I just followed your advice, Makoto. Speaking of which, I need to thank you.”

“Why’s that?” Makoto asked, curiously.

“Well, I ran into Hifumi earlier. I started to try sayin’ what I _ thought _ she’d want to hear… then I remembered what you said. I ended up taking her to ASOBIBA, and she actually really liked it! I think she liked that I was acting more like myself, y’know?”

“...Ah. That’s… that’s good.” Makoto said. She glanced at her phone for the time. “That Tsukasa’s already sent me a text composed almost entirely of emojis…”

“Ah, seriously though. It’s awesome. We ran into her mother, and she was kinda bitchy. But even that worked out in my favor! I stood up for her, and I think she’s going to ask me to see her again--”

“You know, I’m not sure if Togo-san would appreciate me hearing all of this.” Makoto said, stiffly. “I should go.”

She stood, leaving the diner.

Makoto frowned as she left. _ ‘...Why am I so annoyed, all of a sudden…?’ _

>>>

“That’s it, Ann-chan, Megumin! You’re looking great! We’re nearly done. Let me just change lenses.”

Ann and her colleague Megumi ‘Megumin’ Ito, a pretty college aged girl with dark red hair, stood in the Ogino Boxing Club, modeling a new line of sports wear in one of the three boxing rings of the large gym. Ann was in a combination of tank top and tights, mainly in red and black; Megumi in a similar outfit, in gold and grey.

Two more of their colleagues were also in various outfits from the fitness line, having photos taken near the free weights.

Of course, when four very attractive young women started their photoshoot in the gym, there was a sharp rise in the sounds of weightlifting and training as the fighters in the gym started trying to show off for the girls. They were at least disciplined enough that none of them had tried to approach them during the shoot, however.

Ann frowned slightly during the short break, looking across the gym.

Megumi nudged Ann’s side with her elbow. “Ne, Ann-chan! If you keep frowning like that you’ll get wrinkles. What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry Megumin. It’s just Ren.” Ann said. “He’s over there.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned your boyfriend came with you… Bit of a wandering eye? Looking at the other girls? I feel like having all four of us here is a bit too much eye candy for this place…” Megumi said, catching a boxer staring at her and then snickering as he dropped a small weight on his foot when he was caught.

“Yes to the wandering eye, but not in that way.” Ann pointed.

Ren was currently riveted, his grey eyes completely and utterly focused on someone that _ wasn’t _Ann, for once. He was watching Mamoru Yamanaka, the World Boxing Council champion of the lightweight class, spar in preparation for his upcoming title defense. The black haired youth practically had stars in his eyes.

“Oh. Ren’s _ cute _. I wish someone would look at me in the way your boyfriend’s looking at that boxer, though.”

Ann gave Megumi an irritated look.

“Sorry! I was just kidding. But it really is adorable. He looks like my little brother when he’s watching soccer.” Megumi said.

“You should have heard him when I told him where the shoot was happening.” Ann sighed, before mimicking Ren: “‘I’m coming with you. You _ can’t stop me _ from coming with you! Do you know who trains out of that gym?! Mamoru Yamanaka, the ‘Left Hand of God’! He’s the world champion of the lightweight division! _ My _ weight class!’ And then he wouldn’t shut up about the guy until we got here. And when we got here, he barely looked at me, even after I got changed into this outfit, and stapled himself to the bench over there.”

Megumi eyed Ann up and down. The blonde girl’s training and dedication over the past several months really showed. “I can see why you’d be a bit annoyed. You look great.”

“Thanks, Megumin. You do, too. Everyone does, actually.” Ann stepped out of the ring at the direction of the photographer, getting ready to take the final shots near a heavy bag. “You know, it’s funny. He never looks at other _ girls _… Now here I am, jealous of a sweaty boxer with a goatee.”

Megumi laughed, joining Ann. The girls worked through the last part of the shoot. During a short break, Ann glanced over in Ren’s direction. He was standing, now, talking to one of the trainers of the gym. Ren seemed to be smiling, nodding eagerly. He then walked off with the man while carrying his gym bag.

_ ‘I’d better check on him as soon as we’re done. He’s so starstruck right now that he’d probably spend his life savings on a pair of shorts that this ‘Left Hand of God’ guy wore. Or even _ ** _allegedly _ ** _ wore.’ _

Ann’s fears of Ren being scammed out of his money were unfounded; the boy shortly made an appearance again, now wearing his workout gear, his hands wrapped.

_ ‘...? Oh. That’d explain it.’ _Ann smiled a little, seeing the eager expression on Ren’s face. Of course, getting to work out in the same gym as his idol would probably put him over the moon.

“That’s a wrap, girls. Thanks for your hard work!”

Ann bowed politely. “No, thank you! Let me know how the shots turn out.”

The blonde girl then turned toward Ren, watching as he went through his familiar warm up - dynamic stretches, skipping, and then shadow boxing.

Megumi nudged Ann teasingly. “He’s even cuter without those glasses.”

Ann pouted, glaring a little at her friend.

“Haha. Sorry. Just a little art appreciation. Don’t worry; he’s too young for me anyway. Oh? He’s putting on gloves…”

Ann turned with some surprise. She walked over to Ren, politely avoiding other boxers who tried to make small talk with her on the way over. The blonde girl certainly stuck out.

“Ren? What are you doing?”

Ren tugged on a glove, tightening the laces hurriedly with his teeth. “Mmph! Bleh. Sorry. I mean, Ann! It’s incredible. One of Yamanaka-san’s sparring partners called in sick. I got to talking with his trainer, Hirose-san. He knows Coach Takeda and Shinoda. I get to fill in!”

Ann looked up. Sure enough, Yamanaka was waiting in the ring, moving his neck and arms in slow circles. The pro boxer looked calm and professional. She crossed her arms below her breasts. “So you’re going to spar against a pro boxer.”

“Yeah!” Ren said, excitedly. He didn’t seem to notice what Ann’s body posture was doing for her chest, even as someone else dropped a weight at the sight, cursing. He frowned, trying to tighten his glove further.

“The same guy you referred to as the ‘invincible champion with 13 straight title defenses’.” Ann said, mildly irritated at both Ren’s obliviousness as well as his seeming disregard for his own safety.

“Mmhm!” Ren mumbled, popping in his mouthguard and putting on headgear.

“An adult, pro boxer, the ‘Left Hand of God’ that you’ve idolized forever and modelled your boxing on.”

Ren nodded eagerly, about to climb into the ring.

“Ren, wait.” Ann said. As he turned back to her, she was taken aback by his expression. There was a _ light _ in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. This wasn’t the same as when he was taking unnecessary risks in the Metaverse as a form of self-destruction. She was about to urge him to reconsider, but those words died on her lips.

She sighed. She grabbed his shoulder, hauling him back. “Hands.”

She took his gloved hands into her own, tightening the laces properly and tying them up. “Go have fun. Don’t overdo it, Wildcard.”

Ren smiled around the mouthguard, nodding. He climbed into the ring, facing off against Yamanaka. The champion was a man in his mid to late 20’s, with long hair in a ponytail and a well groomed goatee. He touched gloves with Ren with a polite nod before returning to his corner. The bell rang; both fighters approached each other. Ren in his variant of the orthodox stance - his body turned slightly more than usual, his left hand a little lower and in constant motion. Yamanaka took a southpaw stance, his right arm and leg leading instead of his left. He looked like a mirror image of Ren.

Ann took out her phone to record the spar. She then glanced to her side, seeing the man Ren was speaking to earlier approach her as Ren and Yamanaka started exchanging jabs.

“You know the kid, then?” The man asked. He was older, clean shaven with short grey hair. “I’m Taka Hirose, Yama-kun’s trainer. You’re one of the models from the shoot that was going on…?”

“Mm. Ann Takamaki.” Ann replied, her eyes turning back to the sparring match. “Ren’s my boyfriend.”

“He’s pretty good.” Hirose said, approvingly. “Takeda has a good eye for fighters. He’s an outboxer? I could tell from the warm-up.”

Ann nodded. She watched as Ren fired several jabs, trying to circle around to the left. He narrowly dodged a right hook from Yamanaka, backing off. The champion’s punches were crisp, quick; but the pace of the fight was different from what she expected. Each boxer seemed to be advancing and retreating, trying to pick an attack angle. Ann frowned, watching.

Hirose noticed. “You’ve never seen a southpaw fight before, Takamaki-san?”

Ann shook her head. “That means he’s a left-handed fighter, right? Is that why they keep getting their front legs tangled up?”

Hirose nodded. “Yes. Good catch, Takamaki-san. That’s where the entire match hinges, especially for an outboxer like Amamiya. Each of them is trying to get their leading foot on the outside. It brings their dominant hand into line for a cross and blocks off easy attack angles.”

Ann watched as Ren deftly took the outside, his left foot landing to the outside of Yamanaka’s right. The black-haired youth quickly jabbed twice, immediately going for his trademark chopping-right, narrowly missing.

He kept quickly circling left - although he didn’t have the same power as Yamanaka, being only a teenager, he had a slight edge in agility and speed. 

“He’s well-trained. Takeda’s taught him all the nuances in fighting southpaws, even if they’re rare. And it looks like he practices, even if he hasn’t been fighting competitively.”

_ ‘Yep. Fighting for our lives in alternate realities tends to tune up your reflexes, too…’ _Ann thought. She then gasped, as Ren was suddenly cornered. The right side of his body was toward the ropes; Yamanaka’s leading right foot was on the outside of Ren’s. Ren was trapped. The champion boxer started firing left straights and right jabs into Ren’s guard, punishing him with a right hook whenever Ren tried to escape. All Ren could do was turtle, holding his gloves up to guard.

“But the kid’s still just a kid.” Hirose said, smiling. “He’s done better than some of Yama-kun’s other partners today, but he let the champ’s pressure and ability to control space overwhelm him… He let your friend circle left and keep good foot position just enough to trick him into a corner. I bet Yama-kun watched your friend warm up, and figured out his style ahead of time, too.”

Ren could only keep his guard up as the relentless right jabs and left straights pounded his guard. He tried again to escape to his left; a right hook staggered him through his guard, his right hand dropping briefly. The champion’s left cross shot forward next, aimed at Ren’s head.

Ren turned his body even further to the side, his right foot sliding back to allow the left cross to slip by.

“That’s a mistake. He’s way out of stance, now, he’ll eat a right hook…”

Ann watched, as Ren’s stance still looked familiar. But it wasn’t his - it was Makoto’s. His right hand was nearly at his waist; his left was still held up on guard. As the right hook rocketed toward his head, his own right came up from an odd angle as he used a right straight, twisting his entire body and turning his arm like a corkscrew, punching just like how Makoto had shown him earlier.

Yamanaka’s boxing sense and instincts were finely tuned. He managed to abort his hook, and snapped his left back to guard against the sudden punch. But, Ren’s target wasn’t his face - his corkscrew punch, his first clean hit of the spar, struck the champion in sternum, sending him staggering back.

“!! Shit…!” Hirose swore. “Was that a _ seiken?! _”

Ann smiled, watching as Ren took advantage, circling left and aiming jabs at Yamanaka’s face and body. The champion was reeling from the sternum/solar plexus shot. “Ren told me he idolizes your boxer. He’s watched every one of his fights, studied everything. He probably had a rough idea of what he’d do if he ever fought him… And then adapted and executed it after observing enough.”

Hirose nodded. But, he didn’t seem worried. “That’s impressive, Takamaki-san. I can see how your friend might resemble Yama-kun after all. He’s quick, adaptable, and a student of the sport… But, Yama-kun’s the champion for a reason. Amamiya isn’t the first to study him.”

Yamanaka seemingly stumbled, taking a jab and a glancing chopping right. Ren circled left again, jabbing. Yamanaka turned his stumble into a slip, darting in, pivoting, and nailing Ren with a right hook to the temple.

Ren staggered back, nearly falling. He held his ground, though, staring Yamanaka down.

Yamanaka approached slowly, with a slight smile on his previously professional, impassive face.

>>>

A short time later, Ren laid on his back on a bench. He couldn’t see anything; he had a damp towel over his eyes. Someone had also put his hoodie on him like a blanket.

_ ‘...Kinda dazed, still…’ _

He knew vaguely what had happened - the counter he baited Yamanaka into worked. At least, the first part where he punched his sternum. But his follow up chopping right was only a glancing hit to the pro. True to his preferred form, he tried jabbing one more time, and was rewarded by a hard right hook. But after that…

_ ‘...Not sure what happened. I got completely schooled, and then ended up being carried to this bench.’ _ Ren smiled slightly; the expression quickly turned into a boyish grin. _ ‘But I got Yamanaka-san to fight me seriously!’ _

The towel was removed from his eyes. He was rewarded by the sight of Ann looking down at him; she sat at the end of the bench, just past his head. She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You just got the crap kicked out of you, and you’re grinning like a little kid on Christmas.”

“Oh. Hey, Songbird.” Ren said. “What happened? How did I lose?!”

Ann sighed. She took out her phone, showing him the first few seconds of the fight.

“!! Songbird, I love you _ so _ much.” He reached for the phone.

Ann held it up, out of reach. She glared sternly at him. “No. Only after three things. First, you need to feel good enough to actually, I don’t know, _ sit up _.”

Ren sat up, looking eagerly at the phone. Somewhat like a dog with a milk bone balanced on its nose.

“Second thing, can you actually _ notice _ what I’m wearing?” Ann said, more amused than annoyed at this point.

Ren looked at Ann; he then seemed to appear startled as if noticing for the first time. The top was low cut accentuating her ample cleavage and otherwise form-fitting. Her tights were like a second skin. She raised an eyebrow, the corner of her lip quirking slightly - as if to say, ‘How do you like me now?’

Ren’s mouth went dry. “I… ...yeah. Words.”

Ann giggled. “That’s better.”

Ren looked sheepish. “...And the third thing?”

“What do you think?” Ann asked, leaning closer to him, looking up at him through her lashes briefly before closing her eyes. The gym was mostly empty, save for a reporter from _Boxing Fan_ _Monthly_ taking a few more statements from Hirose and Yamanaka.

Ren smiled, kissing her. He never tired of the soft feeling, the smell of her. The thrill he felt in his heart, his spine from the first time… It had never really gone away.

Ann stroked his cheek as they parted. She smiled at him. “Not bad. Here’s your reward, Wildcard-- Hm? My phone was right here… ...Oh, for the love of…”

Ren had taken it from Ann while she was distracted with the kiss; he was now eagerly watching the fight.

Ann rolled her eyes, but leaned against him, watching along with him.

After the right hook staggered Ren, Yamanaka moved in quickly. It was patently obvious that prior to Ren’s counter, the champion boxer was taking it easy on the highschooler. But now, he was answering Ren’s challenge earnestly. Ren received a rapid combination of punches, managing to block some of them. But there were too many. It wasn’t just the speed - every adjustment Ren made, the champion immediately caught and countered. At one point, Ren looked like he caught the timing of the right jabs, moving to counter with a left hook - only to take a right _ straight _, knocking him to the mat and finishing the spar.

“...He switched stances!” Ren said in open admiration, pointing at Yamanaka’s feet. “He did it so smoothly that I didn’t notice. He baited me into taking the timing of the right jabs so that I’d eat that straight head on… So cool. And that _ seiken _ to his chest wasn’t hard or precise enough to buy me the time that I needed. I’ll have to refine it if I want to use it.”

Ann hugged Ren’s arm. “You looked pretty cool yourself though, Wildcard. I’ve never seen you lose yourself in something like that before. Even your spar against Kaname wasn’t as lively.”

Ren smiled a little wistfully, the spell gradually breaking as he remembered that the competitive ring was off limits to him. “Yeah… Before my arrest, this was my life. Aside from family, friends, and Reiko, boxing was the only thing I cared about. And now, getting to fight against Yamanaka-san… It’s like a dream come true. It was awesome. But ultimately, it’s a reminder of how I can’t actually compete this year. In terms of boxing, it feels like a bit of a waste this year, you know?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Ann said. “You’re still going to train, aren’t you? And practice? And that punch you used, that was from training with Makoto, wasn’t it?”

“It was.” Ren said.

“Then aren’t you improving your boxing this year, too? Next year, I’m sure you’ll make a great comeback…”

Ren kissed the top of Ann’s head. “When did you get so wise?”

“During the photoshoot, when you were watching the champion.” Ann joked. “You missed it because you were ignoring me. Completely.”

“Aheh… Sorry.”

“You’ll make it up to me later. You keep putting yourself into the red, though, Wildcard. Not that I _ mind _ having you owe me.”

“Mm. I do love paying up…”

>>>

August 20, 20xx

**MN: How is Futaba?**

**RA: I haven’t heard anything new. Boss says that she’s doing the same thing; wakes up to eat, drink, and use the bathroom. Otherwise, nothing.**

**RS: Dude… can’t you go over there and force her to wake up?! Our deadline’s tomorrow!**

**RA: I tried. Nothing doing.**

**AT: But can she really do anything even if she does wake up?**

**MN: Honestly, I’m not sure. She’s just one girl. Isn’t Medjed an entire group of hackers? Still, at this point we’re committed. We can’t do anything but wait.**

Mona, peering over Ren’s shoulder, murred. “I have to agree with Makoto. There’s not much else we can really do.”

Ren nodded as he walked into Leblanc on Saturday evening, after the Phantom Thieves’ latest journey into Mementos. Sojiro gave him a quick nod; the cafe was empty and the man was just reading a newspaper behind the counter. Ren had done his best to just live life in the days since his sparring match with Yamanaka. Like Ryuji, his summer homework was already done - so he trained, passed the time with his friends, and led the Phantom Thieves into Mementos both for Morgana and to clear up more requests.

Since no customers were around, Ren had a seat a booth after making himself a cup of coffee. Morgana got out of Ren’s bag, moving to sit across from the boy.

“Hey, kid. Can you watch the shop for a bit? I’m going to check on Futaba.”

“Sure.” Ren said. He waited for Sojiro to leave before addressing Mona. “So? What did you think about today? We went down more floors today than I thought we would.”

Mona nodded, his tail flicking. “We did. Everyone seems to be coming into their powers. It makes me look forward to what Makoto’s Second Awakening will look like.”

“Why is that happening, anyway?” Ren asked. “The Second Awakenings.”

“I’m not sure. Can we really complain though? It’s been pretty timely.” He made a thoughtful sound. “Oh. Ren, can you see if Boss left us any food? I’m pretty hungry, and you must be too. We did a lot of requests in Mementos, after all. Both Hifumi Togo’s and Shinya Oda’s mothers, not to mention those other requests Mishima sent us…”

Ren nodded, heading to the kitchen.

Mona watched him quietly, glad that Ren didn’t press further. The truth was, each time a Second Awakening happened, Mona felt like he was being plunged into cold water. It was a shock, giving him a brief moment of clarity - a sense of _ purpose _. Just like each time they gained more ground in Mementos, or each time Ren summoned the Black Wing Armor.

_ ‘...But my purpose is to become human, isn’t it? It… it has to be.’ _

The tuxedo cat couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that there was more to his ‘life’ than becoming human. Also, every time they gained a new ally, there was a feeling of significance. Like something was drawing closer to a conclusion. When Makoto joined them as the group’s tactician, his first feeling wasn’t actually jealousy, or fear that his role had been supplanted - it was _ satisfaction _.

He imagined that if a hammer or a screwdriver could feel joy at being used for its intended purpose, the feeling would be very similar to what he had.

_ ‘Humans… humans aren’t supposed to feel like that. They - we - are supposed to love, aren’t they? Laugh. Cry…’ _

Ren sat down across from Mona, sliding a plate across to the cat. “Yup, jackpot. Mackerel for you. Curry for me.”

The two thieves set to. Mona picked at his fish, stealing glances at his friend and partner. “Hey, Ren?”

“Hm?” Ren looked up at Mona.

“You know… We’ve been through a lot of Mementos, and I don’t think I’m any closer to becoming - I mean, returning to being a human.” Mona said.

“Yeah. You haven’t mentioned that in awhile. No clues at all?”

“Not really.” Mona said. _ ‘No clues except things that make me think I’m not human…’ _ “But I’m sure we’ll find something. But if we _ don’t _… ...What if I’m just some weird… thing?”

Ren looked thoughtful. “You look out for all of us, your knowledge has saved us more than a few times, and I don’t think we could safely get through Mementos without your ability to transform. I think whether or not you’re human, you’re an important member of this team.”

Mona sighed. “...Thanks, Ren. ...And hey. About Ann-dono…” Mona wanted to clear the air. He certainly _ admired _ Ann. He thought she was beautiful. But… did he actually _ love _ her? Or did he simply love the _ idea _ of being a human gentleman thief, with a dazzling woman on his arm…?

“Hold on, Mona. I wanted to say something about that, too… Sorry. And thanks.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Ren sighed. “We… Meaning, me and Ann. We weren’t the most considerate of your feelings. We just… charged ahead. But despite that, you’ve been a good friend. So… thanks.”

Mona blinked, before puffing up slightly. “Oh… ...Well, yes! I mean, I am a gentleman, after all. It would be ungracious of me to do otherwise.”

Ren chuckled. “Of course.”

“I’m glad it’s you, if it’s not me.” Mona said.

“That means a lot to me, Mona. Hey, let’s bring this food upstairs and watch a movie or something. Could be our last meal before Medjed creates a techno-apocalypse in Japan, after all.”

>>>

August 21, 20xx 

On the morning of the supposed reckoning, Ren sat across from Sojiro at the coffee bar; three mugs were between the two men. One for each of them; one poured for the late Wakaba Isshiki, on the anniversary of her death. Ren and Mona commiserated with the man, putting aside their own worries for the time being.

“That’s one of the reasons why I took Futaba in. Those heartless bastards… the things they yelled at her. I can’t be that surprised that she’s still sleeping.” Sojiro sighed. “Hey, kid. How do you heal emotional scars?”

Ren looked at his coffee, now gone luke-warm, considering his answer carefully. As the spar with Yamanaka had shown him, there were still things in his old life he missed. When he thought of Reiko, there was still a pang of nostalgia and grief for a lost future, if not love.

“I’m still looking for the answer myself, Boss. I’m starting to think the scars will always be there. But it gets easier… Especially when you’re surrounded by people that keep pushing you to move forward. I won’t forget what I lost, but it makes me appreciate what I have, you know? But even with that support, I think it takes time.”

“I agree. I’m waiting for it to happen, and I’ll wait however long it takes. But… …! Futaba?!”

Ren turned as the bell above the door chimed. Futaba walked in, wearing a black tank top and cargo pants. She promptly walked to the stool beside Ren, sitting where Wakaba’s coffee was. She took a sip, and grimaced.

“...Ugh! You can’t sell this! How long has this been sitting here?”

Sojiro was floored. “...Huh?! How did you get here?!”

“...I walked.” Futaba said, raising an eyebrow.

“No! That’s not what I meant. I’m just shocked to see you out of the house…”

“Ah… Sorry to worry you.” Futaba murmured. She then looked thoughtful. “What the date today, anyway?”

“The 21st.” Sojiro said, mumbling as he walked over to the kitchen to continue his tasks for the day. He kept glancing at Futaba like she might vanish at any moment.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something…”

Ren stared at Futaba for a second, before snapping out of his own surprise. “That’s because you are. Medjed…?”

“...Oh! Right. That. Easy-peasy, remember? Come on, let’s go deal.”

>>>

“I’m doooooooone!” Futaba cried out, suddenly. Both Ren and Mona jumped, startled awake from where they were curled up together on the girl’s bed.

“What’s up?! What’s going on?!” Mona exclaimed.

“It’s finished.” Futaba said, smiling triumphantly.

“Medjed, you mean?” Ren asked.

“...It’s clean! Why is it so clean?” Futaba asked, blinking. “I guess it’s all good. I mean, I handled Medjed, so someone handled my room.”

“_ We _ cleaned it… So it’s done? Medjed is done?” Mona asked, anxiously.

In response, Futaba just took the pillow that was stuffed between her leg and the armrest, put it on her desk, and passed out on it.

“...Well. That’s something.” Ren said, sighing. “Nothing to do now but wait. Again.”

>>>

August 22, 20xx 

“Late last night, it was discovered that an unknown individual has tampered with the hacker group Medjed’s website. The site’s main page now displays what is thought to be the emblem belonging to the Phantom Thieves. Moreso, the personal information of a Japanese man, a possible Medjed member, was illegally publicized. Medjed has yet to issue an official reply. Their previously announced cleanse of Japan has remained unimplemented for now. More on this after a short break.”

“What’re you all smirking about…?” Sojiro asked, looking at the teenagers gathered around one of the booths in his cafe.

Ren smiled. “Nothing, Boss. Just enjoying the last of our summer vacation.”

It was as if the weight of the world had lifted off the collective shoulders of the group. Ryuji offered his knuckles to Yusuke for a bump; the artist stared at the offered fist for a moment before gripping it firmly in his hand, shaking it.

Ann giggled at the awkward exchange.

Sojiro shook his head with a rueful smile. “Well, go enjoy it somewhere else. You’ll drive away all my customers.”

Ren looked up and down the otherwise empty cafe, and then just looked at Sojiro, raising an eyebrow, the corner of his lips quirked.

“Can it, kid.” Sojiro said, rolling his eyes. “Apparently my customers are on summer vacation, too. Go on. You guys can take your party upstairs. I’ll bring up some-- Oh!”

Futaba strode in, her hands behind her back. She rocked from heel to toe and back on her sneakers, looking warily at the group.

“Did you just get up?” Sojiro asked, smiling. He looked genuinely happy that his adopted daughter was up and out of the house.

Makoto waved at Futaba. “Good morning.”

Futaba gave Makoto a suspicious glare, immediately hiding behind Ren, who was standing near the bar. She peered around his shoulder at the group like a skittish cat.

Makoto looked at the rest of the group. “We should head upstairs. If she’s like this around us, she’ll be even worse if customers come in.”

Sojiro nodded. “Go on. And go with them, Futaba. You might have fun.”

The group filed upstairs, with Ren and Futaba bringing up the rear.

As they left, the news returned, with Masayoshi Shido commenting on Medjed and the Phantom Thieves.

“Whether or not any damage was done by Medjed is immaterial. Our nation was turned into a battleground between a group of vigilantes and terrorists. The current government did _ nothing _ substantial to put a stop to this, instead letting the very lives of our citizens be used as gambling chips in a high stakes game between these two groups. If elected, my party will empower our police and the JSDF to keep our people safe and secure.”

“Thank you, Shido-san. … We have breaking news. The man identified as a possible member of Medjed is Haruto Sato, a man from Kyoto. He has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We will have more details shortly…”

>>>

Upstairs, the team gathered around Ren’s card table; true to his word, Sojiro provided some cold drinks. They discussed what they discovered in Futaba’s Palace - the connection between Wakaba Isshiki’s research and her supposed suicide. As the Phantom Thieves pieced together what they knew, it became increasingly clear that the suicide was more likely a cover up of a murder.

“I’ve been thinking. I know you’re a genius, Futaba, but could you crush Medjed that easily?”

“The Medjed members in Japan aren’t anything special.” Futaba said, shrugging.

“How do you know that?” Ann asked, curious.

“Because I’m the founder.” Futaba said, shrugging. “When it was just me, I was the hacker of justice. But then people around the world started using the name Medjed…”

Ryuji frowned. “So… Futaba was the real Medjed, and we actually had nothing to worry about?”

“Pretty much.” Futaba said.

“Man…” Ryuji said. “I hope the public doesn’t find out there wasn’t actually much to worry about. I mean, on the Phan-Site, people are going _ nuts _! We’re famous!”

“Futaba, what do you want to do now? I’d really like you to join the team.” Makoto said. “It looks like the abilities of your Persona could really be beneficial to us.”

“Hm. ‘kay!” Futaba said, still sitting on Ren’s bed, facing the wall.

Ann blinked. “That easy?!”

Again, Morgana felt that odd sense of fulfillment, a sense of purpose. And as usual, once the almost-euphoria wore off, he just felt anxious. “Well… I guess that’s fine.”

“Say, Futaba. How did you find out about us?” Makoto asked.

“Secret.” She replied.

“...Where did you learn to hack?”

“Private.”

“When did you obtain the Nav?”

“I decline to answer.”

Makoto sighed. “This could be a problem.”

Yusuke nodded. “Indeed. We need to be able to at least communicate…”

“What do you think we should do, Ren?” Makoto asked, looking over.

“...I’m not sure we _ should _ do anything. Isn’t she OK as is-- Futaba, no!” Ren shouted, suddenly. Futaba was reaching down under his bed, having spotted the edge of the box that contained all of his manga and DVDs.

He dove across the room, swatting his box of shoujo/josei shame back under the bed. Futaba blinked, looking down at Ren. Ren sat up, looking back at the group. Ann, who had seen the box before, just bit back a snicker at her boyfriend before texting him.

**AT: Smooth, Wildcard.**

“Er… Maybe we should get to know her a little more, maybe. Keep her more interested in our conversations, and less interested in other… things…?”

Plans were made to spend time with Futaba, with the aim of spending a day at the beach with the entire team. Eventually, everyone left with the exception of Futaba, Ren, and Mona.

Futaba sighed. “...Can I really do this?”

“It’s going to be a disaster, probably. But also fun.” Ren said, smiling.

>>>

Akechi walked into the office of the Special Investigations Division, stretching his arms and back. He had just disembarked the _ shinkansen _ train from Kyoto a short time earlier, only to jump onto the subway to the office. He had to meet with the Director.

_ ‘Ah… Always nice to get home after a ‘business’ trip… Even if I have to go into the office for a little while.’ _

He spotted a familiar face; Sae stalked back into the building, carrying a cup of coffee from the nearby cafe. Her face was contorted in an expression of rage. Akechi fought back the little smirk; he had a pretty good idea of why she was mad.

“You know, Niijima-san. Stress is the enemy of beauty.” Akechi said, smiling.

Sae rounded on Akechi, almost snarling.

“How the hell do you expect me to stay calm about any of this?! Thanks to the incident with Medjed, people are calling us incompetent. And now the Phantom Thieves are calling themselves agents of justice, supported by the public. And on top of that, our Medjed suspect, Haruto Sato just _ happens _ to kill himself?”

Akechi frowned. “Indeed. It is a little too convenient. I’m beginning to suspect that the Phantom Thieves have a greater agenda. In my own investigation, I learned that this Haruto Sato was actually a day trader with some programming skills. Hardly a real hacker, though.”

Sae nodded. “That’s consistent with what my team has found, also.”

“Mind you, this is just speculation, Niijima-san. But what if Medjed was never involved to begin with? What if Sato was just someone the Phantom Thieves had to eliminate, but wanted to cover it up with some misdirection? I think this Sato wasn’t truly Medjed at all, but merely someone with criminal connections who had to be silenced.”

“...We should talk, Akechi. I’ve come to similar ‘speculations’.”

“Oh? I’d love to hear what you have…”

>>>

Ichiko Ohya was at her usual place in Crossroads; seated at the bar, mildly inebriated. Lately though, she had cut down on the drinking. Talking to the kid - Ren - seemed to be gradually changing her outlook on life. Somehow. She even told him all about the issues she was having with her chief editor and how he was preventing her from actually using her journalism to make some positive changes in the world.

Her phone rang; she picked it up, glancing at the contact.

_ ‘Mari Minoru…’ _ Her friend from _ Boxing Fan Monthly _, the boxing magazine.

“This is Ichiko. What’s going on, Mari-chan?”

“I’m so sorry!”

“...What? Mari-chan? For what?”

“One of my juniors, he got overly enthusiastic. He wrote about that informant of yours in next month’s issue, that kid from Kamakura. I know you’re still working with him, and part of the agreement was that you would prevent _ Boxing Fan _ from writing about him. My junior didn’t know, and--”

“Mari-chan. Slow down. What happened?”

As Minoru explained, Ohya left Crossroads, going to the nearby bookstore. She found a copy of _ Boxing Fan Monthly _, reading.

_ ‘Kamakura’s Fallen Star - On the Rise Again? _

_ Ren Amamiya, an up and coming amateur boxer from Kamakura who was caught in a scandal last year, has been spotted once again in the boxing world - sparring with the lightweight world champion, Mamoru Yamanaka. It seems that the promising interhigh champion is doing well for himself despite being held out of competition this year. _

_ Not only did he spar against the world champion, holding his own (though ultimately losing), he was also seen getting up close and personal with Ann Takamaki, a rising star in the world of modeling…’ _

There were several pictures of Ren and Yamanaka sparring, and one picture of the young couple kissing on a bench at ringside.

Ohya sighed. “Well. Shit…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seiken - karate style punch, different from boxing standard form
> 
> karateka - karate practitioner
> 
> Idols vs models - was really interesting to research this. Dating policies for idols etc. And what makes a good model, etc. Never thought I'd go down the rabbit hole that far
> 
> boxing stuff - fair amount in this chapter. All the names are references to real life people/places. The 'Left hand of God' was a real nickname for a southpaw boxer, a world champion out of Japan.
> 
> This update took longer for a few reasons - one of which was making myself go back to read this all from start to finish to get an idea of how the characters were growing/changing, if they were acting within reasonable boundaries from the personality traits I started with. I _think_ it's working out, once I throw in teenage volatility and the overall stress of their situation.
> 
> It's given me a new appreciation and level of patience for any real author/artist of a serialized work (comics, manga, novels) - it presents challenges I didn't anticipate when I was just making one-shots for fun. It also makes me understand why the typical battle manga runs the way it does - as your protags get cooler powers/strengths/whatevers, then your bad guys need to get more powerful too. Or, failing that, they have to backslide a bit.
> 
> It always bugged me how in Hajime no Ippo, he does the whole 'sealing the Dempsey roll' arc, absolutely schools Karasawa, and then backslides as a boxer, probably because if he hadn't, Ippo would have become 'too strong', and the manga would be over.
> 
> Similarly, I'm trying to avoid the same thing with Ren. Metaverse powers are getting stronger, boxing is getting better... so having his ass kicked by a pro? Hopefully provide some motivation.
> 
> As always - thanks for reading!


	24. Santa Monica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The training montage in Rocky III is notable for running and sprinting along the beautiful Santa Monica Beach. Although the inclusion of the scene was probably there to show off beautiful scenery and a very fit Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers, there actually are practical benefits to running on the beach. The uneven and unstable ground forces more use of the anti-gravity and stabilization muscle groups. Indeed, it’s enough to make even a good runner say ‘Oh my Quad(riceps)!’_

August 23, 20xx

Early in the morning, Ryuji returned from his jog to the modest apartment he shared with his mother in Setagaya. He opened the door to the familiar smell of omelette and grilled fish.

“Mornin’, Ma. What’s for breakfast?” Ryuji asked, walking over and picking at some of the crispy skin of a piece of fish that was already done. He flinched back when his mother, Tsubaki Sakamoto, swatted his hand with her wooden spoon, not even looking up.

“Go and get washed up first, Ryu-chan! Honestly…” She grumbled. But, she smiled as she watched him go to the bathroom out of the corner of her eye. She had gotten married young - probably too young - to her high school sweetheart. The man turned out to be an abusive drunkard; Tsubaki left him before he could start beating Ryuji as well. Her son was her treasure. The one good thing she had taken out of that marriage.

She usually smiled when she thought of Ryuji. Despite his rebellious nature, he was a devoted, loving son. This time though, she smiled because it was the first time in a long while where she hadn’t been worried about him. 

Ever since Kamoshida confessed to his crimes, it seemed like a massive weight had lifted off of his shoulders. Even his health was improving - he was training regularly now, like he did when he was on the track team. And when he told her that he finished his summer homework during the first week of vacation, she nearly had a coronary.

Ryuji reappeared. Tsubaki did a double-take, dropping her wooden spoon. Her son had combed his hair, and he was wearing dress pants with a white button down shirt. He was struggling to tie a necktie. “Hey, Ma, have you seen my dress shoes?”

“I… you. I mean, you outgrew them last year.” She said, rinsing off the spoon.

“Ah. Right.” Ryuji said, sitting down for breakfast.

Tsubaki eyed her son up and down. A sly smile appeared on her face as she sat down across from him. Ryuji didn’t meet her eyes, instead hurriedly eating.

“Jiiiiiiiiiiii…” She intoned, staring at him.

Ryuji looked up, blushing. “It’s not what you think!”

“Oh? So my handsome son _ isn’t _ all dressed up to go on a date with a _ girl _?” Tsubaki asked, reaching over to pinch her son’s cheek.

Ryuji focused on his omelette.

“Oh my _ God _, that’s exactly it! Who is it?!” Tsubaki gasped.

“Ma, it’s not a date, honest. I’m just going to watch a…”

“It’s that senpai who’s been helping you study, isn’t it?! Makoto Niijima?” She asked, excitedly. “She sounds perfect for you. I always imagined my Ryu-chan would end up with an older girl, and she’s already done such a good job in settling you down…”

“What?! No! I’m going to watch a shogi tournament. Makoto has nothing to do with it.” Ryuji said, surprised.

“Oh.” Tsubaki seemed a little disappointed. “She seems like such a good catch, though. She got you to actually study, and you talk about her _ all _ the time…”

“I _ don’t! _” Ryuji’s face turned red.

“Hm. Fine. Whatever you say.” She said, clearly not believing her son. “Have fun at your shogi tournament, Ryu-chan. Bring a pillow, and try not to drool in your sleep.”

She waved, laughing as she gathered her things to go to work. She paused to adjust Ryuji’s tie.

Ryuji rolled his eyes.

_ ‘I don’t talk about her _ ** _all_ ** _ the time. Just… she does a lot for me. And she’s more fun than most people think…’ _

>>>

“Uno!” Futaba said, triumphantly.

“We’re playing Go Fish.” Makoto said.

“Oh. Well. You’re no fun.” Futaba mumbled. She turned back to her phone, putting her cards down.

Makoto sighed, looking at Ren, Mona and Yusuke for help. They were in Sojiro’s living room, seated around the table. At least they managed to coax Futaba out of her room, a miracle after Yusuke ‘artfully arranged’ her action figures.

Ren set down his cards. He smiled at Futaba. “Anything _ you _want to play, Futaba?”

Futaba looked thoughtful. She then stood up, getting a long black box from the nearby shelf. Ren _ might _ have caught the hint of a mischievous smile on the girl’s face.

“Hm. ‘_ Cards Against Humanity’ _...?” Yusuke said, curiously.

“I’ve never played this before.” Makoto murmured, reading over the rules.

Ren fought back his shit-eating grin. He had played before. An American guest had given his family the game as a gift. Futaba caught Ren’s eye; just a _ slight _ shake of her head. The message was clear: _ ‘Don’t ruin this.’ _They started sorting out the cards.

Makoto nearly spat out her tea at what the cards in her hand said. “This can’t be right. Is this really appropriate?!”

“Why would anyone want ‘two greasy dwarves’...?” Yusuke mumbled, more curious than offended.

Mona peered at his cards, his tail thrashing back and forth. “A snapping turtle biting the tip of your _ what _?!”

Futaba just innocently shuffled the black cards. “I’ll be card czar first. Annnnd first up… ‘After blacking out on New Year’s, I was awoken by blank…’ “

As the players went through their cards to find the appropriate one to fill in the blank, Makoto smiled at Futaba. “You really seem to enjoy this. If we’re talking about one of your fandoms or playing one of your games, you’re pretty interested after all, aren’t you?”

“Yep. If this is all I have to do, it’s going to be a breeze.” Futaba said.

“Hrm. Then tomorrow, the goal should definitely be to get you out of the house.” Yusuke said, sliding his card forward.

“Don’t set the bar so high!” Futaba protested. “Anyway, let’s see what you all got. After blacking out on New Years, I was awoken by… Oh. Hah. ‘Another shitty year’. This one wins.”

Ren smiled, taking the black card.

“Wow. Dark...” Futaba said.

Ren shrugged. He picked out the next black card. “Two cards for this one. ‘Dear Sir or Madam, we regret to inform you that the Office of blank has denied your request for blank.’ Anyway, Futaba, we’re definitely getting you out of the house tomorrow. It’ll just be at Leblanc with me, Mona, Ryuji and Ann.”

Futaba shrugged, non-committal. “As long as I can wear my mask.”

“No masks.” Makoto said, seriously.

Ren read over the cards. “...Oh. Oh My God. This is it. Dear Sir or Madam, we regret to inform you that the Office of _ Powerful Thighs _ has denied your request for _ pulling out _.”

Laughing, he started to slide the card to Futaba. She just shook her head, holding in her own laughter. “Not mine.”

A slender, pale hand reached across, taking the card. Makoto, with the _ faintest _ blush, just shrugged. “I just thought of what Ryuji would find funny…”

“Holy shit… You?!” Ren said, adjusting his glasses, knocked crooked by the shock and laughter. “How have things been going with Ryuji, anyway? He told me you made him actually get his homework done well ahead of time.”

Makoto nodded. “When he applies himself, he’s actually a fair student.”

“Why _ is _ he working so hard, anyway?” Yusuke asked, before reading out the next card. “When you get right down to it, blank is just blank.”

“He made me promise not to tell.” Makoto replied. “I’m sure he’ll say something when he feels the time is right.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Wow. You two have gotten close…”

Makoto turned a little more red, shaking her head quickly. “Not at all!”

“I beg to differ. Ryuji’s made more progress with Togo-san because of your advice.” Yusuke said. “To the point where I don’t think I’ll need to ‘bird-man’ for him so much anymore.”

“Wait.” Futaba said. “Inari, you call it… bird-manning?”

“Is that not correct?” Yusuke asked, uncertain.

Ren laughed. “_ Wing- _man, Yusuke.”

“Mwehehe. Even I knew that, Yusuke!” Mona laughed.

In the laughter, none of them noticed Makoto’s brief change in expression, a mix of confusion and regret. She coughed. “Anyway, Yusuke. What’s your judgement on this round?”

Yusuke frowned, and then blinked, his eye catching one in particular. “When you get right down to it, _ an unhinged ferris wheel rolling toward the sea _ is just _ a windmill full of corpses.’ _“

Futaba’s eyes widened. She looked at Ren. Ren looked at Mona. The winning combination belonged to none of them.

Makoto just smirked, collecting her second card.

>>>

August 24, 20xx 

“For real, girls kept giving me the eye!” Ryuji said, grinning, his arms spread wide as he leaned back in his chair. It was the early evening; him, Ann, Ren, Mona, and Futaba were gathered around snacks in Ren’s attic. “Turns out you were right, Ren. All I had to do was dress up a little and act more natural… ...Ann, what’s with that look?”

“This is _ you _ we’re talking about. There’s no way you were ever a chick magnet. Especially at a shogi tournament. How many girls under the age of sixty are actually going to be there?” Ann said, raising an eyebrow as she nibbled on a chocolate Pocky.

“I agree.” Futaba said, looking at Ryuji. “I’ve run the analytics, and your ‘charm’ is barely above replacement level.”

“Did you just _ ‘Moneyball’ _ me?” Ryuji snapped. “Come _ on _.”

“Real popular guys wouldn’t brag about being popular…” Mona said, suspiciously. “Right, Ren? ...Ren?”

Ren was on his phone, frowning. He blinked, looking up. “Wha? Oh, sorry. I’m trying to find a working stream for Yamanaka-san’s title defense tonight. The undercard starts soon, so there’s time, but it’s not looking good…”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Right. Your man-crush.”

Ren smiled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“...The fact that you aren’t even denying it worries me a little.” Ann said, grumbling.

“Who’s Yamanaka?” Futaba asked.

“A pro-boxer.” Ren said. “The WBC lightweight division champion, who’s--”

Ryuji, Ann, and Mona spoke in unison, in a bored-sounding monotone. They had all heard this multiple times since the sparring match. “...Defended the title 13 straight times, using his invincible southpaw stance and divine boxing sense. That’s why he’s called ‘The Left Hand of God’. I even got to spar with him, and it was incredible.”

Ren muttered sullenly. “Well. Yeah.”

Laughing, Ann leaned over, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t pout, Wildcard. Or do. It’s cute. If you can’t find a stream, can we find a restaurant or something where they’d have it on?”

The group looked up as Futaba stood, walking over and collecting Ren’s laptop. “Just leave it to me.”

Ren sighed. “Try if you want, Futaba, but I don’t think you’ll find anything. Here, let me just type in the password--...Oh. Nevermind.”

Futaba was already logged in. She glanced over at the TV. “Is that a smart TV?”

“Yeah. I replaced that vintage one, and--”

“Casting now.” Futaba said. The screen winked on; one of the undercard fights was just getting underway.

“...You… ...Oh my God…” Ren mumbled. He moved, sitting on the floor in front of the television.

Ann smiled at Futaba. “I think you just made a friend for life, Futaba-chan. You know… I think you’ve got conversation pretty much down.”

Ryuji nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! I thought you were going to be some kind of weirdo shut-in, but you’re pretty normal…”

Futaba frowned briefly before smiling. “...I don’t know what ‘normal’ is. But if this is it, then… I’m pretty happy.”

She moved to sit down beside Ren, curious about what would have the leader of the Phantom Thieves so entranced. She ‘eeped’ as Ren ‘slipped’ a punch at the same time as the featherweight fighter did on the screen, before watching both the screen and Ren, amused.

“It’s like he’s playing a VR game without the goggles. Interesting…” Futaba said, peering at Ren.

Ann reached over, fondly mussing up Ren’s hair.

He absently grabbed her hand, kissing her fingers before returning to what he was doing.

“You know, I didn’t really understand what Rei-chan meant by ‘boxing glove for a brain’ until that sparring match. This just reinforces it.” Ann said, shrugging.

Ryuji blinked. “Oh? Have you heard from Reiko recently?”

Ann rolled her eyes. She caught Ryuji’s eager tone. “Really? Don’t you already have a girl on the line?”

“I was just curious!” Ryuji said, defensively. “Though, you’re not wrong…”

Ann smiled. “So things have been going well with Makoto, then?”

Ryuji blinked, waving a hand. “..Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Me and the prez aren’t like that. We just spend a lot of time together.”

Mona stared at Ryuji, flicking his tail. “I don’t think that really explains things.”

“I mean, just late at night at the diner…”

Ann raised an eyebrow.

“To _ study _ . And all of our dates were _ practice _ dates.” Ryuji said. “Those are over, now! In fact, tonight, I’m supposed to meet Hifumi…”

Ryuji stood, glancing at his phone. “I’m going to head out. Date’s in a few hours, and I want to go and get changed, put my game face on, y’know?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Or ‘lack of game’ face.”

“Shut your mouth, Takamaki.” Ryuji said, though he himself grinned.

Ren turned; the first undercard fight was turning into a bit of a sloppy brawl, and becoming less interesting. “Have a good time, Ryuji. I’m surprised that Makoto didn’t tell you, though. The conclusion to ‘Operation Eiko’ is happening tonight. Makoto’s already turned up some evidence that the host you met is known to force girls into prostitution.”

“...Oh. I guess she didn’t think she needed the help.” Ryuji said. “...My part in this is technically over, after all…”

Futaba stood as well. She glanced briefly at the TV, then at Ryuji. “I’m going to head home, too. Maybe I’ll come back for this Yama guy if he’s better than these guys. Come on, kitty. I think Sojiro has some tuna.”

“Not a kitty! But tuna sounds good…”

Ann watched as the three left. She blinked. “...I think Futaba-chan just made sure we’d be left alone together for a bit.”

“Heh. Well. We _ did _ talk about wingmen yesterday.” Ren said, shrugging.

Ann smiled. She sat in Ren’s lap; she nodded approvingly as Ren put his arms around her, stealing a kiss immediately from the girl as well. “Nice to know that between me and boxing, I win.”

“At least until the main event.” Ren said, glancing back at the screen.

“Ha… ...wait. You’re _ serious _.”

“Love you, Songbird.”

>>>

A few hours later, Ryuji got off the train at Shibuya to change lines. He wasn’t as dressed up as he had been for the shogi tournament, but the approving look from his mother and the appraising looks from some of the girls he passed told him he cleaned up pretty well. He headed for the appropriate train platform as he read over the conversation he just finished with Makoto.

**RS: hey. RenRen told me youre going to confront that sleazy host and eiko tonight?**

**MN: I am.**

**RS: why didn’t you say anything?**

**MN: I thought you’d be busy with Hifumi.**

**RS: well. I am. But still!**

**MN: Just go have fun. I’ll be fine.**

The black cat sticker with the words ‘OK!’ and a determined look didn’t really comfort him.

Ryuji paced back and forth on the platform. To his right, the train to Kanda. He was supposed to pick up Hifumi from the church and then take her to see Tokyo Tower at night. It was going to be perfectly romantic. To his left, Shinjuku, where his friend and teammate was going to fearlessly face down a predator. Despite Makoto’s message, he found himself completely torn.

_ ‘She said she’ll be fine. She’s a friggin’ badass, and I already did my part. She doesn’t need me there. I mean, she can totally handle herself. I should just go on to Kanda.’ _

_ ‘...But she’s going to confront some sleazy host that literally tried to drag her into a dark club!’ _

“Augh!” Ryuji groaned, startling a passing elderly couple. Sheepishly, he quickly apologized. “What do I do…”

Unbidden, Makoto’s words from before sprang to mind: _ ‘I think you’d do just fine being yourself.’ _

Ryuji Sakamoto was a lot of things. He was rebellious; he had a problem with authority. He was highly distractible. But he was loyal to a fault, and had more guts than brains. If he was going to be himself, there really wasn’t a choice at all.

He turned to his left, tapping the screen of his phone as he sent a message.

**RS: hey, Hifumi. something came up… I can’t make it. gotta help a friend.**

>>>

“It’s always ‘princess’ to you, isn’t it, Tsukasa? Why don’t you call her by her real name?” Makoto asked, calm in the face of an upset Eiko and increasingly irritated host.

“Huh? Why should I do anything you say?” Tsukasa sneered. His eyes flicked briefly to Eiko, anxiously. “You’re just some jealous bitch. I’d never leave her for _ you _.”

“Yeah!” Eiko snapped. “I don’t believe you. Tsukasa would never force me to ‘sell myself’. That’s like some bullshit out of a crime novel. Just what I’d expect from some bookworm honor student.”

Makoto shook her head. “If you’re so confident… then why not just call her by her name? I’ll apologize and disappear from your ‘happy life together’ if you do.”

Tsukasa shrugged. A smile spread across his lips as he remembered. “No biggie. She jus’ texted me, remember? Right… Makoto?”

Eiko’s jaw dropped. Color drained from her face. “..Tsu… Tsukasa…?”

Makoto shook her head. “I was the one that sent you that text. Even added a bunch of emojis in the way that _ Eiko _ would. How many princesses are in your life, Tsukasa?”

“Er… ...baby, I can explain…” Tsukasa said, weakly.

To their mutual surprise, though, Eiko didn’t turn on Tsukasa - she turned on Makoto, tears streaming from her eyes.

“You… why did you ruin this?! He’s all I have!” She yelled, her voice breaking.

“Eiko, I just wanted to look out for you--”

“I _ love _ him! He’s the only one who cares! The only one who says, ‘I miss you’, or ‘how was work?’ What am I going to do now? You don’t understand. You have a future, you have everything! I have nothing! _ Nothing--” _

Eiko was cut off by Makoto’s palm impacting her face. Stunned, Eiko stared at Makoto.

“Eiko. I came here because I’m your friend. If this slimeball made you disappear, _ I’d _ miss you. I _ always _ want to know how work went. Go home. Go home and think about this, and tomorrow, hopefully, we can still be friends.” Makoto said, pointing in the direction of the train station.

Eiko held her face. Her expression blank, she trudged toward the subway.

Makoto sighed, watching her go. A hand on her wrist, squeezing almost painfully, drew her attention back. Tsukasa’s fake grin was gone, now. He glared at her.

“You fuckin’ bitch. Do you know how much money I spent tryin’ to turn that girl out? I’m gonna take it out of _ your _ ass, now…”

>>>

Ryuji got off the train in Shinjuku. He headed for the red-light district, glancing again at his phone. Makoto wasn’t responding to any of his texts, or any of his phone calls for that matter. The blonde boy sighed, standing at the entrance to the area. His idea of a brave, heroic rush into the situation was stalled by one simple fact.

_ ‘I have no fucking clue where to find her.’ _

He started to call Makoto again, until he spotted Eiko wandering in his direction.

“Eiko! Eiko, where’s Makoto? What happened?”

“...Hm? You’re Makoto’s boyfriend. She’s near Tsukasa’s club… Talking to Tsukasa…” She mumbled, before wandering onward.

Ryuji ran toward the club. _ ‘Shit. He’s gonna try to drag her in again!’ _

He rounded the corner, seeing Tsukasa grab Makoto’s wrist, a menacing expression on his face. Ryuji felt a chill of fear down his spine as he dashed forward; fear for someone he cared about. His fists were clenched as he recalled what he learned at the training camp. He would close the distance, jab at Tsukasa’s face to distract him, and then get Makoto out of there.

Just as he neared the two of them, Makoto suddenly lashed out at Tsukasa’s face with her free left hand, momentarily distracting him. The girl then turned smoothly, yelling with a loud _ kiai _ as she put her hip into him and used his arm and shoulder as a lever, throwing the man with a _ koshinage _hip throw technique.

The last thing Ryuji saw on his heroic dash to Makoto’s side was the sole of Tsukasa’s cheap-flashy dress shoe heading toward his face as the man flailed in the process of being tossed to the ground.

>>>

“You know, when you told me you were going to take me for a romantic night out to make up for joking that I wasn’t as important as watching Yamanaka fight, I thought you meant something other than following you to your job.” Ann said, frowning at Ren. She was seated beside him on the bench of the piano at Crossroads. 

“Sorry, Songbird.” Ren said, apologetically. “I really was going to back out of this tonight. But after that call from Makoto…”

Ann sighed, putting her head on his shoulder. “I know. When you get a frantic call from one of your closest friends saying that she threw some guy into your best friend, nearly knocking him out, you go and help. And then since this is the only place you really know, here… And since Lala-chan’s being really nice to all four of us, it would have been rude to then just suddenly flake on your job.”

Ren shrugged. “At least you get to see me in a suit again?”

Ann still looked disappointed.

“...I’ll let you take pictures.”

Ann brightened up briefly, before pouting _ again _, to see how far she could take this.

“We can take pictures together?” Ren offered.

“Ooh. ...But I’m _ so _ underdressed.” Ann said, sighing.

Lala, over at the bar, smiled, before speaking in a sing-song voice. “Oh, honey. That’s a bad word in here. Come with me~”

Ann eagerly followed Lala to the back dressing room she kept as Ren chuckled. He started playing _ ‘The Nearness of You’ _, looking down the bar at the other end of Crossroads, where Makoto and Ryuji sat. Ryuji was holding a bag of ice to his face, where Tsukasa had inadvertently kicked the boy in the face.

“I have to say again, Ryuji, I’m really sorry…” Makoto said.

Ryuji groaned. “No, Makoto. I should have known better than to get in the way.”

Makoto shook her head. “You flaked on a date with Hifumi Togo to run in to rescue a friend… That’s really admirable, you know? Even if it didn’t work out the way you planned.”

“Heh. Thanks…”

They looked up as Ren missed a note in the song. The reason was clear: Ann stepped out, wearing a red dress and heels provided by Lala. Her hair was up in a French braid, fitting the part of a lounge singer from a different time. Lala snapped a picture for the couple; Ann standing, Ren seated at the piano.

Ryuji chuckled. “He still looks at her the same way he did when he was being pathetically in love and unrequited.”

Makoto smiled. It didn’t hurt to see those two together, anymore. With Lala and Ren’s encouragement, Ann took a spot near the piano, at a free-standing microphone. Ren started playing again; Ann took a breath before starting to sing.

_ Whenever I sang my songs _  
_ On this stage, on my own _  
_ Whenever I said these words _  
_ Wishing they would be heard _  
_ I saw you smiling at me _  
_ Was it real, or just my fantasy? _  
_ You’d always be there in the corner _ _  
Of this tiny little bar_

“There’s still so much I don’t understand.” Makoto murmured, watching Ann as she sang. “You know, even after I proved to Eiko that Tsukasa was using her, she still said she loved him? I couldn’t believe it. Even after I told her that she was a step away from being forced into prostitution, and after I proved that he couldn’t even remember her name.”

“Yeah… It’s pretty crazy.” Ryuji sighed. “I’ve never been in a relationship, but I think I get it. Remember what I told you about my dad?”

Makoto nodded. It had come up during one of their study sessions at the diner.

“My Ma’s not stupid.” Ryuji said. “She knew what Dad was becoming, what he was doing to her. It’s not like she liked being hit. But she stuck with him. Stuck with him for years… I guess because she loved him. And because she was afraid to be alone. That’s a pretty powerful thing… I don’t know how she ever found the strength to walk away.”

Makoto smiled. “That’s silly. I think it’s pretty obvious how she found the strength. She left because she had _ you _. She loved you, and because of you, she’ll never be alone anyway.”

“Heh… I’m just me, though.” Ryuji said, looking a little embarrassed.

“You’re a loving son and a _ good person _, Ryuji. Really, you need to stop selling yourself short.”

Ryuji chuckled. “Heh. Y’know, you don’t sound like someone who doesn’t understand love and relationships.”

She shook her head. “I’m getting better. But things like love, being in a relationship… I had a crush on Ren that I barely understood. But now I think it was more gratitude than actual love. You know, Eiko said I’d fail a test about love… How do I even study something like that?”

Ryuji and Makoto chuckled awkwardly. During the pause in the conversation, they each reached for their drink - non-alcoholic, of course - their hands touching briefly.

In the dim light of the bar, Makoto couldn’t help but notice that when he wasn’t scowling, or slouching, the boy beside her _ was _ handsome, in his own way. 

Likewise, Ryuji couldn’t help but notice her perfectly pale skin, the way her eyes had this quiet intensity...

“Oh...”

“Ah…”

They settled into silence, looking at each other as if they had never really _ looked _ at each other before, Ann’s voice and Ren’s piano filling the space between.

_ So let me come to you _  
_ Close as I want to be _  
_ Close enough for me _  
_ To feel your heart beating fast _  
_ And stay there as I whisper _  
_ How I loved your peaceful eyes on me _  
_ Did you ever know _ _  
That I had mine on you?_

Ryuji stopped staring, turning his eyes back to his Coke. “I… I could help you study.”

His eyes wide, he quickly clarified. “I mean, we could keep doing our thing! You help me do what I need to do in school, and I’ll keep showing you how an average student has fun? Maybe along the way, you’ll meet someone.”

“R-right… That sounds good.”

They shared another silence, before Makoto smiled at Ryuji, looking at him sidelong. “Thanks for coming, Ryuji. You looked really cool when you were running in, you know.”

Ryuji grinned. “Right up until I got kicked in the face, eh?”

“Obviously.”

Ann sat back down beside Ren as she finished, looking curiously at Makoto and Ryuji. They laughed about something, Makoto’s hand briefly lighting on Ryuji’s forearm.

Lala, down at the end of the bar nearest to Ren and Ann, smiled wryly. She was also observing Ryuji and Makoto. She looked at Ann as Ren started playing _ ‘My Funny Valentine’ _. “Verdict on those two, honey?”

“Hard to say right now.” Ann said, shrugging. “But what would you call a guy who drops a date with someone like Hifumi-chan to see to another girl?”

“Crazy.” Ren said.

“Not ‘in love’?” Ann asked, curiously.

“In my experience, there isn’t really a difference.” Lala said, grinning.

Ann laughed. “I guess not.”

>>>

August 27, 20xx 

“See? There’s barely anyone here!” Ann crowed, triumphantly. She stood outside the doors of Shibuya 109, a shopping mall in the busy district. The blonde fashionista grinned happily at the girls with her: Shiho, Makoto, and Futaba.

Futaba yawned sleepily, too groggy to be anxious. “Tired. So… early!”

“Well. It was either come early, or force you to come during the afternoon when it’s packed.” Makoto said.

Ann shook her head. “That’s a bit much, isn’t it? I think even getting out of Yongen is a nice step.”

“Sometimes drastic measures are needed.” Makoto said, glancing at Futaba.

“Such spiky words!” Futaba mumbled.

Makoto reached out, trying to open the door to the shopping mall. “Hm. Aren’t we a little _ too _ early? It looks like it’s closed for another hour.”

“Blondie’s got us covered, Mako-chan.” Shiho said, nodding at Ann.

Ann was on her phone, texting someone. Within a few minutes, a young woman wearing a name tag that identified her as ‘Aiko Kimura’ opened the door from the inside, smiling. She gave Ann a quick hug.

“Ann-chan, come in! These are your friends? Ah! You’re all so cute! And this must be Futaba-chan?”

Futaba ‘eeped’, immediately hiding behind Shiho. Strangely, the orange haired girl didn’t need much of an adjustment period for Ann’s bestie, taking to her in a similar way she had taken to Ren. With a smile, Shiho turned, grabbing Futaba’s shoulder. She pushed her front and center. “Yep! Here’s our former shut-in, getting ready to make her beach debut.”

Futaba gasped, looking up at Shiho. “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

“Relax, kiddo.” Shiho said. “We’re all gonna try stuff on together. You aren’t alone.”

Ann made the introductions - Aiko was the manager of a trendy swimwear shop in the mall and a friend of the blonde girl’s parents. After hearing Futaba’s story (minus the Metaverse and suspicions of a conspiracy involving Futaba’s mother and her research), the woman was more than happy to let Ann and her friends in a little early to avoid the Saturday crowds. Aiko led the four girls into the store; Futaba held onto the hem of Shiho’s shirt, using her Heely wheeled shoes to roll along the smooth floor of the mall.

“Futaba-chan, why don’t you have a look around and see if there’s anything you like?” Aiko said, smiling.

Futaba made an uncertain sound, despite the shop being empty except for the five of them. “I guess. I still don’t see why we had to come all the way out here. I have Amazon Prime; I could have just bought something online.”

Ann looked aghast. “It’s just not the same if you don’t touch and feel the clothes, Futaba-chan! You don’t get that therapeutic effect. Go on. You have a look first. You might find it easier without one of us over your shoulder. We’ll all be looking for our own stuff too, so don’t rush!”

The orange-haired girl wandered deeper into the store, eyes wide. In a short time, the girls reconvened.

Shiho called over the top of the booth she was in to Ann. “Hey. Why do you even need a new suit, anyway? Your closet’s already packed full of crap.”

“It’s not _ crap _.” Ann said, defensively. “Besides. My old ones are a bit too tight.”

“Hah. Maybe Ren was right about those crepes.” Shiho said, smirking.

“Tight around the _ chest _.” Ann replied, pleasantly.

“...God, you’re annoying.” Shiho muttered. She stepped out of her fitting booth, wearing an aqua-blue one piece.

Ann stepped out as well, in a fairly skimpy floral print bikini with side-tie bottoms.

“...Wow. Daring, Blondie.” Shiho said, grinning. “The champ likes _ that _ kind, eh?”

Ann blushed faintly, averting her eyes for a moment. Shiho wasn’t wrong. She changed the subject, looking at Shiho. “That’s pretty conservative for a day at the beach, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like it’s as stodgy as a school swimsuit, but…”

Shiho made a nonchalant shrug. “I just don’t feel like being ogled by random dudes.”

Ann caught the slight edge in Shiho’s tone. She looked at her friend for a short moment, and then abruptly hugged her best friend. “Sorry, Shiho… Sometimes I forget that not much time has passed.”

Shiho tensed in surprise, and then smiled, hugging Ann back. “I do too, usually.”

“...You know, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to come to the beach. We all want you there, but we don’t-- H-hey!” Ann swatted at Shiho’s hand, just managing to stop her from pulling the tail of the bow knot that kept her bikini bottoms on. She jumped away, retying it, glaring at her.

Shiho raised an eyebrow. “I’m not made of _ glass _, Blondie. But thanks, all the same. I’m going. It’s going to be fun, and I need to complete the collection.”

“...Collection?”

“Mmhm. I’ve got pictures of the champ and da Vinci at the festival, and at the hot spring, and a few candids… The beach would be perfect.”

Ann rolled her eyes, her retort dying as Makoto stepped out, wearing a white two piece with skirt-bottom. “...Oh. Wow, Makoto. That’s not what I expected.”

Makoto blinked, turning a little red. “Then maybe I should go try on another one?”

“No! No no no. Stick with that one. You look great!” Ann said, waving her hands. “Besides, I think he’ll like it.”

Makoto turned a shade redder.

Shiho frowned, looking at Ann. “You know, I know you want to be friends with everyone, but should you really be helping her to impress the champ…?”

Ann just smirked, shaking her head slightly.

“Hm..?” Shiho raised an eyebrow. She and Ann shared a moment of unspoken conversation. “...Oh. Oh hoh. _ Seriously?! _Man. Can’t say much for your taste, but--”

“It’s _ not _ ! It’s not for _ him _!” Makoto snapped, fuming. She even stamped her foot - just in time for Shiho to snap a photo.

“So adorbs.” Shiho said, grinning.

“I’m not buying this.” Makoto said, turning toward her booth.

Ann gestured. “Aiko-san, little help please?”

-_ Beep- _

“Done!”

Makoto turned, surprised. Aiko stood there, holding a portable scanner from the register, having just scanned the tag on the suit the student council president was wearing. Makoto almost protested, until a chilling thought crossed her mind: this friendly, gentle looking woman had effortlessly gotten close to her, an experienced martial artist, without her noticing.

“I… uh, thank you.”

“And a matching white barrette, too~” Aiko vanished again.

The final booth creaked open.

Futaba’s voice drifted out. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

Ann and Makoto agreed. After a sharp elbow from Ann, so did Shiho.

The door swung completely open. Futaba stepped out, wearing an old-time vintage bathing suit that was literally a bathing _ suit _ \- it covered her from neck to just below the knees, and was even striped horizontally in red and white.

“Oh. Oh my.” Ann said, biting her lip.

Makoto turned away, covering her mouth.

Shiho snapped another photo, again grinning. “So cute.”

The three girls were spared from having to say anything by Aiko, who had reappeared. She gave Futaba a gentle smile. “Futaba-chan, what impresses me most is that you managed to find that thing. It’s actually a decoration, not meant to be worn to the beach. It would fall apart if you move too much.”

“Then I won’t move!”

“You’ll also boil alive. That’s made out of wool.” Aiko said, reasonably.

“I… I get cold easily!”

“I promise you if you let me and Ann-chan look, we’ll find you something you’ll like.” Aiko said, placatingly. “Just no old school wool onesie.”

Futaba reluctantly agreed; they returned with a frilly two-piece tankini. Ann entered the fitting booth with her to help. The rest of the group could only hear their voices.

“...There we go!”

“Uwah?! This barely covers _ anything!” _

“Oh come on. It covers plenty. Just look at me.”

“You’re a terrible example!”

“Now, just need to move _ these _ a little…”

“Where are you putting your hands— oh. Hey. That _ does _ look good.”

Shiho shook her head. “The only thing we need to complete the trope is to have the guys standing within earshot of this.”

Makoto frowned. “Trope?”

“Cliche. In this case, a scene that keeps getting done in the sorts of anime Ryuji watches for fan service purposes. You know. Like hot springs episodes, pool episodes. And also beac-- oh, hey! That’s perfect!” Shiho said, interrupting herself.

Makoto nodded. “That really suits you, Futaba.”

“You… you think?”

“Yep!” Ann said, smiling. “Let’s go settle up with Aiko and get something to eat before this place gets packed.”

>>>

The girls sat together in the second floor food court; it overlooked the main entrance to the mall. They watched people start to stream in to start their weekend shopping while they ate their snacks, making small talk. Since it was just the girls, they of course were talking about the boys.

Shiho munched on her _ taiyaki _, the fish shaped pastry filled with sweet red-bean paste. “So. Japanese da Vinci ended up using you as a model anyway?”

“Yep. It was an amazing painting, too. We were all happy for him. Before he got that one done, he was really having a hard time.”

Shiho nodded. “So. Speaking of _ hard _things, how’s the champ been?”

Ann threw a french fry at Shiho, sticking her tongue out at her.

Shiho dodged it, laughing. “Seriously. He seems different, lately. I see him occasionally when I’m out running. He smiles a lot more easily now, and he can actually run with that Akechi guy without insulting him or losing his cool.”

Ann smiled. “The training camp was good for him, I think. It was good for _ us _ , actually… And he’s coming around to the idea that me being in a relationship with him isn’t going to destroy my career. He’s still not ready to go _ public _ public, though. As in school. He doesn’t want to feed the Shujin rumor machine any more than he has to.”

“I’m surprised people don’t already know. You two are awful at hiding anything. Even when you were pining.” Shiho said, smirking.

“Oh, come off it. I wasn’t that bad.” Ann said.

“You were terrible.” Shiho said, disagreeing, speaking in mocking falsetto and using her pastry to pantomime. “ ‘Oh, Ren, you’re so broody and damaged. Why won’t you let me kiss you better? I love you so much…’ “

Ann threw another fry, laughing.

“Ren was worse.”

Ann and Shiho paused, looking at Futaba.

Makoto frowned. “...What do you mean?”

Futaba took her _ taiyaki _, using it to speak in a low voice. “ ‘Oh, Ann. You’re so beautiful and out of my league. I wish you would come and kiss away my pain, lest I sigh and act edgy again…’ “

“...Wait. How do you know this?” Makoto asked.

Futaba didn’t respond. “And they’re even _ worse _ now that they’re together.”

“I know, right?” Shiho said. She held up her fish-shaped pastry. “Oh, Wildcard…”

“Oh, Songbird…” Futaba replied, grinning.

The two started making their respective fish-pastries make out.

“Mm… Oh… you taste like coffee and curry…”

“Nnn… strawberry crepes…”

“Seriously! Futaba!” Makoto snapped. “How do you know this?!”

“Hm? Oh, I’ve got Leblanc bugged. And Ren’s phone and computer, too.” Futaba replied, casually.

There was a long silence as the other three girls stared at Futaba incredulously. Then…

“What?!”

“You can’t _ do _ that!”

“Cool!”

The last one of course, was Shiho.

Ann shook her head slowly. “I think I know why you took a shine to Ren and Shiho so quickly, Futaba-chan… the three trolliest members of our little family gravitated to each other.”

_ ‘That, and Shiho and Ren treat her like she’s a normal girl…’ _Ann thought. Ren and Shiho were the only ones that didn’t say things like, ‘You’re almost acting normal now!’ or ‘You’ve got these conversations down’. They just treated her like she was already a functioning part of the group.

“For 2000 yen, I’ll tell you what kind of porn he watches.” Futaba chirped.

Shiho started reaching into her purse. Ann shoved Shiho’s taiyaki into her friend’s face in response.

“So that’s how you found out about us…” Makoto said. “That’s quite the invasion of privacy.”

For a moment, Futaba looked a bit fearful.

Ann forestalled it, shaking her head. “We get it, though. You didn’t have any other way to reach out. Not if you thought your house was going to be your tomb.”

“...So you’re not mad?”

“No. But… try to keep the spying to a minimum, okay? Just enough to help keep us all safe.”

Futaba smiled. They finished their meal, leaving the mall. As they left, Ann fell into step beside Futaba. Without making eye contact or saying a word, she slipped two 1000 yen notes to the orange-haired girl.

“Ehehehe. I’ll send you a text.”

>>>

August 28, 20xx 

Today was supposed to be a quiet day - a day for Futaba to harden her resolve and mentally prepare to go to the beach. It worked out well, too. On Monday, Miura Beach was less likely to be as busy as it would be on the weekend. Unfortunately, a shaggy-haired boy wonder detective made it less quiet.

“Ah, Amamiya-kun. I was hoping to see you here. I haven’t seen you out on the Tama River trail lately, so I grew concerned.” Akechi said, smiling. Despite the sweltering heat, he was somehow wearing a button down shirt and a sweater vest.

Ren nearly said that Akechi could have called or texted him, until he recalled that he had never given the Detective Prince his number. He paused, looking at Akechi. The boy seemed to be… _ waiting _.

_ ‘...Oh. That’s exactly what he wants me to do…’ _

Ren changed the subject. “As you can see, I’m fine. Just got a bit busy lately, so I couldn’t train at my usual times. Sorry.”

“Ah… no trouble. Oh? Who’s this?” Akechi looked around both Sojiro and Ren and toward the kitchen, where Futaba was washing dishes. “A girl? ...Aren’t you Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter? Futaba Sakura, correct? How interesting. You know, your mother’s research--”

Futaba promptly went upstairs.

Sojiro turned to Akechi, frowning. “I think you should leave for today.” He went to the attic to check on Futaba.

Akechi sighed. “It seems I’m unwelcome everywhere I go…”

“You mean despite your winning personality and completely appropriate questioning of random people?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...Sorry.” Akechi said. “It’s just that lately, things have been difficult. Even my fans are turning on me now. After the Phantom Thieves took down Medjed, my popularity has plummeted for standing against them earlier in the summer.”

Ren shrugged. “It’s just a passing fad, like everything. Why are you so concerned about your fans, anyway? Isn’t your whole schtick ‘finding truth and justice’? Truth and justice aren’t usually things that make you incredibly popular.”

“Yes, of course. I suppose it is indeed a bit silly to expect to make many friends as a detective. It’s probably more important that I stick to my ideals, and truly focus on…”

Ren just nodded along politely, his eyes glazing over as the Detective Prince went on for a few minutes. Akechi paused after he was done, looking at Ren expectantly.

_ ‘Crap. Didn’t listen to a word he said. I’m supposed to say something. Ah, hell.’ _

“...Justice?”

“Yes, of course!” Akechi said, smiling broadly. “You _ do _ understand! Really, this is like when Socrates and Plato…”

Ren nodded along politely again. Another pause.

“...The law?”

“Amamiya-kun, this is _ precisely _why I missed joining you on your training runs. I should go, before Sakura-san returns from upstairs. I wouldn’t want to upset him further…”

After Akechi left, Sojiro returned. He looked at Ren, shrugging. “She’s on your laptop. She says she’s ‘fixing’ it…”

“Oh. That’s probably fine. She’s already shown me a bunch of things that I didn’t even know I could do on that thing.” Ren said, polishing a pour-over siphon.

“Oh? That’s good, then. She was also on her phone. Texting your girlfriend, I think.”

“...” Ren put the siphon down carefully, and then charged upstairs, nearly running Sojiro over.

>>>

Later that evening, Ren sat in front of his television on the futon he had rolled out, watching the stream of the boxing-oriented sports channel Futaba had found for him. The aforementioned girl was passed out on his bed snoring lightly. Mona was curled up beside her.

Ren’s phone buzzed. He smiled reflexively at the name.

**AT: Hey, what are you up to?**

**RA: With a girl, alone in my room.**

**AT: Uh huh. Futaba still awake, then?**

**RA: No. Insisted she wasn’t tired enough to sleep after the fireworks, conned Sojiro into letting her stay. She passed out within an hour.**

Ann’s yellow bunny, laughing, with ‘lol’ under the sticker appeared on his phone.

**AT: Well… I’m coming up.**

**RA: Oh. You’re here?**

**AT: You wanted to get to the beach early to do some training and snag a good spot, right? She’s not going to get up that early. So that means someone else has to take Futaba there. Sleepover is easier for me than commuting tomorrow morning. And I haven’t seen you these past two days.**

**RA: ...you know, we’ve used ‘sleepover’ as code before**

Yellow bunny, angry. With ‘NO’ under it.

Ren smiled, amused. Ann used the hidden spare key to get inside. She crept up the stairs quietly, already in pyjamas - she clearly had gotten ready for bed in the nearby bathhouse. She looked over at Futaba and Mona, suppressing a light laugh before sitting down beside her boyfriend.

“Hey, Songbird.” Ren whispered.

“Hey.” Ann replied, leaning against him. “How’s the fight?”

“Ah… Just a couple of Japanese rankers in the welterweight division. They’re alright.” Ren said.

“If they’re just alright, then you need to get to sleep, Wildcard. You’re going to do some beach running and plyometrics, aren’t you?” Ann said, admonishingly.

“...How did you…?”

“I looked up boxing related workouts you might do at the beach.” Ann said.

“You are _ so _ hot right now...” Ren said, stealing a quick kiss, getting closer to her...

She pulled back and smacked his arm, quietly hissing. “You’re terrible! We’re not alone!”

“Right, right…” Ren switched the TV off, lying back on the futon. Ann joined him, sighing with satisfaction.

“So? Everything going okay with her?” Ann asked, quietly.

Ren nodded. “She seems to be more outgoing every day… It’s amazing. I know I was worried that I’d feel angry or bitter that she’s made such a quick recovery. But really, I’m just happy that she doesn’t have to go through as much, all thanks to taking down her Palace…”

“I know what you mean.” Ann said. “It’s nice to see her ‘waking up’...”

“You aren’t jealous at all? I’ve been spending a lot of time around her…”

Ann shook her head, snuggling up against Ren on the futon, resting her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. “Not at all. The way she looks at you is different than Makoto, Reiko, or even Kaname. I think you’ve got yourself an actual little sister. She’s kinda imprinted on you and Shiho.”

“...Oh. The three shit-disturbers.” Ren recognized, immediately. “Nice to have Futaba on my side.”

“Right. On _ your _side.” Ann yawned. “So are you gonna dream of me?”

“Of course.”

Ann smiled, turning so that her back was up against his chest. “Either me or ‘Staci Shannon’, right?”

“...I… you… that little rat…” Ren said, tensing. He turned to glare at the sleeping Futaba.

“At least she’s a _ blonde _ ‘actress’. Goodnight, Wildcard…”

>>>

August 29, 20xx 

In the mid-morning, the girls walked onto Miura beach dressed in their street clothes. It was already figuring to be a warm, sunny day - perfect for where they were. Futaba looked around with wide eyes, clinging to Shiho’s elbow. The beach was already crowded. Makoto looked at her phone. “They should be right… there.”

She spotted Yusuke, Mona, and Ryuji, seated on a large blanket and in the shade of several umbrellas they had set up in the sand. They were in an ideal spot on the beach; close to one of the changing rooms but not too far from the water either. Ren showing up early paid off dividends, apparently.

“Hm? Hey, RyuRyu. Where’s the champ?” Shiho asked. “And more importantly, how is da Vinci _ wearing _ that?”

The artist was in a light hoodie to go along with his blue board shorts. The artist frowned, his lips the only part of his face visible under the drawn hood and heavy sunglasses. “I burn easily. And I believe Ren’s finishing up his run.”

“You look like you’re creeping on girls dressed like that, Yusuke.” Ann said, snickering.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be worrying about him.” Shiho said, pointing at Ryuji. “RyuRyu’s trying to permanently etch the image of that girl’s boobs in his mind.”

Ryuji was blatantly staring, slack-jawed at a girl in a bikini, playing a spirited game of beach volleyball with her friends. There was a _ lot _of bouncing.

Makoto coughed loudly.

Ryuji startled, looking up. “Oh, hey.”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Could you be any more obvious? You know, if you’re so interested in _ Hifumi _ should you really be staring like that?”

“Come on. It’s not like we’re officially going out. And that chick is freaking _ hot _.”

Ann crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow. “And _ we _aren’t?”

Ryuji rolled his eyes, returning to his gawking.

“Hmph. Come on. Let’s get changed.”

In a few moments, Ann, Shiho and Makoto exited the small building, returning to where the boys were.

Ryuji turned. “Happy now? I’m not staring… ...at… them.”

He was taken aback by the appearance of the four girls - in particular Makoto. While not as daring as Ann’s outfit, it was a complete difference from what she usually wore - the contrast was incredibly striking.

Makoto averted her eyes, crossing her arms. “I knew this would look weird.”

“No. Uh. Not weird…”

With a laugh, Ann grabbed Ryuji in a headlock, punching his arm. “Got a better opinion of us now, don’t you? And where’s Ren? He’s still not back?”

Shiho frowned, looking around as she extricated Futaba’s head from the towel that the girl had wrapped around her face. She saw Ren’s bag, with Mona lying there half asleep due to the warmth, flicking his tail. The cat was sleeping on Ren’s shirt; his glasses were nearby too.

_ ‘Hm. That’s trouble. No shirt, no glasses…’ _

As if on cue, Yusuke spotted Ren, walking back towards their spot on the beach. He was having an animated conversation with three swimsuit-clad girls. Ren demonstrated a flicker jab; apparently they were talking boxing. At least, Ren was. One of the girls kept trying to take his elbow, but the boxer was too busy explaining the finer points of why the left was the most important hand for an orthodox fighter.

Ren looked up, spotting his friends. He waved, smiling, and then politely said goodbye to the girls he was ‘instructing’. They looked ready to protest, until they saw the tall, sexy blonde girl that Ren was happily approaching.

“Who were _ they _?” Ann asked, crossing her arms. She glared at Ren.

“Hm? Just some people who were really curious about why I was running. And then they wanted to know about boxing training and drills…” Ren said, shrugging.

“Not the kind of drilling they wanted to know about.” Shiho muttered under her breath.

Ann shook her head. ‘Boxing mode’ Ren was truly oblivious, but it still irked her how he had just let three scantily clad girls fawn over him.

_ ‘...But now that he’s not training...’ _

She uncrossed her arms, innocently raising her hand to shade her eyes as she looked over at the water. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ren do a double-take at her body in her bikini, smirking a little in satisfaction. She felt Celestine approve whole-heartedly of her next thought

_ ‘Might as well have a little fun with this. He’ll get what he wants. Just… not yet.’ _

Ren was indeed staring. The boxer had seen his girlfriend disrobed before, of course. Several times. But this was in the sunlight, in a bikini that was perfectly fit and designed. Somehow, the _ suggestion _ of her naked curves made him feel as hot and bothered as her _ actually _ being naked. His hands itched to touch her.

“So. What shall we do, then?” Yusuke asked.

Ryuji looked at the coolers. “Well, RenRen made some food, but there’s also a place where we can get some grilled stuff nearby…”

Ann smiled, slipping away casually from Ren as he stepped toward her. “That sounds great. You guys can get that stuff ready while we go play on the banana boat we rented.”

Ren blinked. “...Wait. You’re making us just sit here to watch the stuff?”

“Yep. Maybe you can find someone else to _ talk boxing _ with, Wildcard.” Ann said. She turned, her hips swaying as she started to walk away. Ren made an odd noise, hating to see her go, but loving to watch her leave.

“Hey! You can’t just treat us like this!” Ryuji said, annoyed. “We’re celebrities makin’ headlines!”

Shiho laughed. “Technically, the _ Phantom Thieves _ are, not you…”

“Y’know, you guys don’t get it because you’re around us all the time. If me, RenRen, and Yusuke went out there cruisin’ for girls, we--”

“Girls, girls, girls.” Makoto said, suddenly, crossing her arms. “That’s all you ever talk about. Hifumi, the girls at the aquarium, the ones playing volleyball. How many do you need, Ryuji?”

“H-Hey! It’s not--”

“It’s not like you’re dating anyone. Right.” Makoto said, gritting her teeth. “But let’s face it.”

She pointed at each of them in turn, starting with Ren. “Whipped.”

Then at Yusuke. “Living on another plane of existence.”

And finally, at Ryuji. “No game. In the Metaverse, you guys are different. But here…”

Ann, surprised at first, shrugged. “It’s true. I don’t think they’ll be stealing any hearts out here… Just hang on, boys. We can switch when we get back.”

The girls left, laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

Ryuji kicked at the sand. “Man. Are we just going to take that?!”

Ren was craning his neck, trying to keep his eye on Ann’s ass for as long as possible. Eventually, he turned to Ryuji. “I think I might.”

“Makoto called you whipped!”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Yusuke frowned. “Does Ann truly do that to you? It hardly seems enjoyable.”

“Hm?” Ren looked at Yusuke, and then understood. “Oh! No, not literally. _ Although _…”

Mona meowed. “Can we talk about something else?!”

Ryuji sighed. “Whatever. Hey, let’s at least toss around this frisbee then. RenRen, go long!”

Ren stood up, jogging out into the sun, toward the water.

Ryuji threw the disc; it was a perfect throw, a laser-like toss. Ren raised his hand to catch it; he missed by a solid two metres. Ren retrieved it, throwing it back to Ryuji: it nearly smacked Mona in the face.

“Mrowr! Watch it!”

Curious, Ryuji threw it to Ren again. Waiting, Ren leapt into the air - his vertical was impressive.

The disc struck the ground at Ren’s feet, rolling away on edge. The boxer scrambled after it awkwardly.

“...oh. Damn. He’s an athlete, but he’s _ really _ bad at this.”

Ryuji watched as a bikini-clad girl, roughly their age, collected the disc for Ren. Giggling, the girl handed it to him, and they were joined by two of her friends. Ren started walking back toward Ryuji, the three ladies in tow.

“Oh. Oh man. Yusuke, we can use this.”

Mona perked. “What about me?”

Ryuji waved a hand absently. “You’re a cat. These are _ girls. _”

Mona sighed, settling back down in the shade.

>>>

Futaba, Ann, Shiho, and Makoto made their way back towards the group’s spot on the beach, laughing.

“That was awesome!” Futaba said, wiping seawater off her glasses.

“Mmhm!” Ann said. “Wonder what the boys are up to…”

“Don’t you mean the _ boy _ ?” Shiho laughed. “You were really teasing him. I didn’t think you were _ that _ mad at the champ for talking boxing with random girls.”

“I wasn’t. Not really.” Ann said, shrugging. “I know where his heart is.”

She continued, with all the wisdom and confidence of a teenager in a ‘long term’ (IE, more than a week) relationship. “Besides. It’s been almost three months since we’ve gotten together. I’d like to think we’re more mature than that kind of petty jeal...ous….y…”

The four girls could only gawk at the scene in front of them. Ryuji was sitting on a blanket, chatting up a group of girls. They were eating the food Ren made, together. Yusuke was furiously sketching something that was inside of a disposable foam cooler; he had finally doffed the hood and sunglasses. He had two more girls asking him questions about what he was drawing, but got little more than curt responses from the beautiful but strange artist. And finally, Ren was standing in the sand, demonstrating shadow boxing to yet another group of people ‘interested in boxing’.

“...Good thing you’re more mature than petty jealousy now, right Blondie? ...Right?”

Ann was already gone. She grabbed Ren’s outstretched left hand as he finished a jab, hauling him away and back toward their blankets and umbrellas. The girls with Ryuji and Yusuke saw the incoming angry blonde and wisely absconded.

Ann glared at Ryuji. “Talk. There’s no way Ren’s going to go and troll for girls. What did you do?”

“Er… I went fishing?” Ryuji said. “Here, let me show you. RenRen, go long!”

He threw the disc again.

Ann watched in mild surprise as Ren made another pathetic attempt at a catch. Apparently Reiko’s words to her that night three months ago about him being abnormally bad at ball and disc sports were true. His desperation dive nearly landed him in someone else’s set up on the beach.

Laughing, a pretty brunette in a two-piece handed him the disc. He smiled, appearing to say thank you - as he started to head back, the girl caught his arm, smiling up at him…

Ann once again stormed over, hauling him away.

“Wow.” Shiho said. “He’s like a golden retriever. Except instead of birds, he brings back… ...well, _ birds _.”

Ryuji cast Makoto a challenging grin. “How’s that for ‘no game’? He brought them back, but I had a good thing going until blonde-zilla showed up-- where are you going? Hey? Makoto?”

She just walked away, irritated.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Mako-chan, hold up. Ryuji… I don’t know. Stay here. Get some food. _ Something _ not involving girls, or your easily bruised pride, or wanting to be famous. ...Ah. Shit. And Mona, I can’t understand a damn word you’re saying, but can you _ please _ go and track down Yusuke and Futaba? I think she just ran off with his lobsters, and he went after her…”

Ann shoved Ren into a sitting position on the blanket, plopping down beside him with a vexed sigh as they were left alone. “God. How are you so smart, but so _ stupid _ the second someone mentions boxing? Those girls were all over you. Do you just not see it?”

“No, I sort of see it.” Ren replied.

“...Then?”

“I just _ really _ like talking about boxing.”

Ann stared at Ren, incredulous. She then just shook her head, laughing. “What am I going to do with you…?”

Ren smiled. “You know you have nothing to worry about, right?”

“...Yeah. I know. I sometimes miss the days when everyone just thought you were a bookish convict, though.” Ann said, sighing. “I liked being the only one to notice how pretty you are.”

“I could put my glasses on?”

Ann looked at him. He was still shirtless; his glasses off, his hair perfectly messy, as usual. The results of him ramping up his training again were starting to show - when they had first met, he had looked thin, drawn out. Now, though… She looked at his shoulders and chest, her eyes tracing the path that her fingers liked to take when they were alone; she studied him in the same way he had just a couple hours earlier.

“No. That’s fine.” She eyed him for a moment, realizing they were still alone. Casually, she adjusted an umbrella, the material and the shade hiding them from most prying eyes before grabbing the sunscreen. “Help me reapply?”

Ren didn’t say anything, his mouth going dry. He took the bottle from her as she turned prone, exposing her back - and backside - to him. He squirted the lotion onto his palms. She reached back, stopping him from starting - only to casually pull the tail of the bow knot keeping her top on, letting the strings fall to the sides.

“So you don’t miss a spot.” Ann said, neutrally.

“Mm. Right…” He said, his mind going blank. He placed his palms on her back, starting to rub in the sunscreen. Again, it wasn’t like he hadn’t touched her before - but this was different. Slick, hot, smooth. In the light of day. The undeniable fact that if he just slid his hands to her sides, just under her arms, and if they slid forward, he could touch and feel two somethings he _ really _ wanted to touch and feel coupled with the undeniable fact that he _ couldn’t _ was just the kind of torture that he hadn’t known he really wanted until this moment.

And normally… normally she was so responsive. She’d make these little noises and breaths that sounded like _ sex _. But now… she spoke in her normal, chipper tone. As if he wasn’t rubbing his lubricated palms all over her body.

“Don’t forget the back of my legs.” She said, in a gently chiding tone.

“...Right. Legs.” Those legs, that led right to… His eyes went glassy. His hands followed her directions. Her skin was so soft and pliant; the muscles of her thigh were relaxed, with just the right amount of give. They reminded him of nights where she’d use them to…

She twitched her legs slightly.

Ren’s mind snapped back into focus. He actually looked at her, now. As he moved his hands a certain way, her breath caught just slightly. When his fingers brushed the transition between thigh and _ fun _, she shifted her hips just slightly, pressing her pelvis down against the blanket.

_ ‘...Oh. Oh, Songbird. Playing it so cool…’ _

He stopped for a moment.

“Hm? Ren? Don’t slack off, now--”

Ann gasped, as he dragged a finger lazily up her spine; she arched her back. He did it in just the way he would when they… She realized the jig was up. Her Wildcard figured out that this was turning her on just as much as it was for him. When his hands were on her back, she idly wondered how much she’d like his slick, skilled hands on her breasts; she wondered how his hard chest would feel pressed against her. How his breath on the nape of her neck would feel.

She found that one out at least. Ann gasped again as he kissed her there in the way she liked.

She tied up her top hastily. “I… I guess I should turn over? You’re done my back?”

“I think I do want you on your back.” Ren said, placidly. He then leaned forward, his voice rough. “Or up against a wall.”

Ann turned supine, leaning on her elbows. Her face was flushed, and not from the heat. She looked over her shoulder at the small changing room/shower facility; Ren followed her eyes with a little smile.

>>>

Shiho caught up with Makoto a short distance away.

“Mako-chan! Man, you walk fast. Are you okay?” Shiho asked, concerned.

“Yes? No? I don’t know. It’s just annoying. _ He’s _ just annoying.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “It just bothers me that he’s so inconsistent. One second, he’s dropping everything to help me deal with Tsukasa and Eiko, and the next, he’s going on about how he wants to be this big ladies’ man. I just don’t understand him.”

“...Why do you need to understand him?” Shiho asked.

“I don’t know that, either.” Makoto said, throwing her arms in the air again. “He’s just… such a _ kid _ sometimes.”

“He is.” Shiho said, shrugging. “His heart’s in the right place, though. He’s just pretty excitable, if you haven’t noticed. And really distractible; I don’t think even he knows what he wants, half the time. But, once he figures it out, he throws all of his courage and strength at it. That’s why he became a track star; that’s also why it nearly broke him when that was taken away. He’s a good guy.”

“Right. I know. I know…” Makoto repeated. “I just wonder--”

“Hey, hey. Look at this. Two lonely looking ladies…”

Makoto and Shiho were approached by two men, with sleazy grins. One of them, a slender man with narrow brown eyes and short brown hair, smiled at Makoto. “Boy trouble? Why don’t you come and spend time with some grown ups, then? I have a beautiful yacht, just nearby…”

“We’re good.” Shiho said, firmly. “No thanks.”

The other one, a shorter man with black hair shook his head. “Come on, don’t be so hasty, baby. We’ll treat. We’ve got drinks, and…”

“No. We’re here with friends.” Makoto said. “Come on, Shiho.” They turned, leaving.

The shorter man caught Shiho’s wrist. “Come on. We’ll be your friends. It’ll be great--Ack!”

Makoto broke the hold, putting the man in a painful joint lock involving his small finger. “We have enough friends. Thanks.”

Disdainfully, she gave him a shove away.

The shorter man glared at his friend. “Seriously, Sugimura. You wanted to hit on high school bitches, and look at what happens! Don’t you get enough from your fiancee, anyway?”

“Please.” Sugimura sneered. “Haru’s daddy won’t let her out to ‘play’. So I need to fulfil my needs elsewhere for the time being. And that one was your fault. If it were me, I’d have gotten them. One way or another.”

The black-haired man sighed. “Whatever, man. You sure as hell got a type. What’re you gonna do when Haru grows up?”

Sugimura shrugged. “What else? Find a younger plaything.”

>>>

The group eventually reconvened, sharing a meal and settling their issues. Yusuke got his lobsters back - with a promise to let Futaba visit, so long as she researched a viable way to set up a tank in his dorm room at Kosei. Makoto and Ryuji didn’t really talk about their disagreement, but had just settled back into their normal interactions. Laughing just a little too long; holding eye contact just a bit too briefly. It was enough to make Shiho want to lock them into the nearby shower facility - the same one that had a makeshift ‘out of order’ sign taped to the door randomly in the middle of the day for an hour.

After a brief team meeting that Shiho had made herself conveniently scarce for, where Futaba had opened her heart to the Phantom Thieves and officially joined the group, they packed up to leave.

Shiho and Ann trailed behind the group. Shiho smiled at Ann, glancing at her. “It’s really been an eventful summer for all of you, hasn’t it?”

“For you, too.” Ann said. “My best friend is going to be a doctor.”

“That’s not even close to being a sure thing yet, Blondie.” Shiho said, smiling. “But it’s a nice thought… It’s really great, you know? Seeing you like this. A jealous, possessive Ann Takamaki, who wants to keep the things that make her happy all to herself. I used to worry that you never look out for yourself. Now I just have to worry about keeping random beachgoers who can’t be bothered to read signs away from the ‘out of order’ shower facility that my friends are _ using _.”

Ann startled, and then looked off into the sky. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Heh. Of course. Oh, hey. Bogies incoming, 3 o’clock.”

Two girls approached the group - this time, though, headed to Ann. Curious, Ren walked over as well.

“Uhm… excuse me? You’re Ann Takamaki-san, right? The model?”

Ann smiled. She was used to this now, she was proud to say. “I am! How can I help you?”

“I really love your pictures! You always look so glamorous. Can you sign this?” She held up the latest issue of _ Vague _, with Ann prominent on the cover.

“Of course.” Ann said. “Thank you so much for following my work!”

The other girl perked up, seeing Ren. “Oh! And this is your boxer boyfriend! Can you _ both _ sign this one?” She held up a copy of September’s _ Boxing Fan Monthly. _

“Oh? But I don’t model for them. And how did you know Ren’s…” She took the magazine, her eyes going wide at the picture of her and Ren kissing.

Ren frowned, starting to read the article.

“‘Kamakura’s Fallen Star - On the Rise Again?’...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> taiyaki are tasty. More 'fun' (at least for me) GtD trivia: The taiyaki scene is actually from the very first one shot/scene I wrote about ShuAnn. In fact, the first fiction I had written in _years_. It also took place at the end of the summer, just before the start of school. Ren and Ann managed to ditch the rest of the crew and were hanging out in the attic, talking about how they met. Ann finds out his glasses are fake; eventually they start doing what most young couples do when alone/in close proximity to each other. Rest of the gang walks in on them, 'finding out' - though, not really. Makoto figured it out weeks ago (Ren/Ann really crappy at hiding it); Futaba had the attic/Leblanc bugged. Uses two taiyaki to mime their interaction. Ryuji quips that it looks like Ren got over her personality. They all start bickering; Ren just watches with a little smile on his face. And scene.
> 
> I like the new version better, probably because it has more context. And because Futaba and Shiho are clearly bringing out the best (worst?) in each other.
> 
> So much fluff/SoL. I felt this was pretty true in the game, too - to me, the game's summer had a real 'halcyon days' feel, where the team is riding high/feeling great, peaking in Hawaii of course
> 
> Good time to address pop culture stuff - I just don't have the time to actually sit and research what Japanese teenagers would play/have access to. So I make guesses, or just cop out (IE, Cards Against Humanity). Just seemed like something a meme-junkie/internet troll like Futaba would want to play.
> 
> Ren/Ann are doing the Angela Aki version of the song (hence slight change to lyrics). They're playing around, mostly. Lala enjoys having them there, even if they aren't professionals. Ren's just had some piano lessons and plays recreationally; same with Ann as previously established.


	25. Sparring Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _To the casual observer, sparring seems like a real match. After all, there’s punches thrown, a ring, and a bell. While some spars are indeed competitive, with a winner and loser and punches thrown with an intent to score points, others are more instructive. For example, a boxer wanting to work on his cross-counter may ask his sparring partner to throw exclusively left jabs for the duration of the spar. Or in preparation for a real match, a sparring partner who resembles the boxer’s opponent in style and reach may be requested._
> 
> _Watching a boxer spar with different partners can help give an excellent perspective on the fighter’s strengths, shortcomings, and tendencies._  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some definitions/explanations at the start to hopefully help:  
'Piano Man'/'We Didn't Start The Fire' - Billy Joel songs. Piano Man isn't bad, but overplayed and over-requested.  
WBC - World Boxing Council. One of the governing bodies of the sport. There is also the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organization and the International Boxing Federation. Holding the title of a weight class in all four makes you the 'undisputed' champion.  
Escalator system - Some schools in Japan have affiliations with 'the next level up' - it can go as far back as elementary school. So for example, elementary --> middle --> high school --> university, meaning no entrance exams. You just move on up each level, provided you pass whatever internal requirements they have.
> 
> End of the chapter has some bonus content not directly related to the story. Meant to be read like a character poll or profile in a manga

September 1, 20xx 

Despite the classy decor and the unique owner slash bartender slash fashionista that was Lala-chan, Crossroads was at the end of the day, a bar. It was a place for regulars to drink away their trouble and commiserate with Lala-chan who like most bartenders, added _ slash counsellor _ to the end of her titles in these situations.

“Ichi-chan, how long are you going to mope there for? Miyaya forgave you, didn’t he?” Lala asked, her thick fingers deftly polishing a glass tumbler. It was just after midnight. “He even played his usual set after you two talked. If he’s being bitchy, it usually shows in how he plays. Remember when that one guy asked for ‘Piano Man’ even though he knew Miyaya hates the song? He played ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ repeatedly until the guy left the bar.”

Ohya was seated at the bar in Crossroads late on Tuesday night. Sighing, she took off the ever-present orange shades on her head, putting them down on the bar as she rubbed her face. She looked up at Lala as her hands returned to pushing the straw around her martini (stirred, not shaken, no olives, lemon twist).

“It’s not that, Lala-chan.” Ohya grumbled. “It wasn’t my fault, anyway. Not really. And the kid was actually pretty understanding. It’s more that after all the work we put in, I’ve got nothing, I’ve hit a dead end. And even after the chief changed his mind and put me back on real news. I don’t know anything more about the mental shutdowns, or the psychotic breaks. I’m not any closer to avenging Kayo, and there’s no more leads.”

“Well. If Miyaya forgave you, you could always ask him or that Yuuki boy to look around for you?” Lala suggested, looking thoughtful. She put down the glass, turning instead to polish the liquor bottles. “They always seem to have surprising amounts of information, even if they’re just high school students.”

Ohya shook her head. “No. I’m not going to get him more involved. Even if the article in _ Boxing Fan _ wasn’t my fault, I don’t want to risk exposing him even more to the public eye. It’s already bad enough for him. His record’s going to get sealed when he graduates, but people are still going to know he was involved in some kind of scandal. I’m not going to make it worse for him.”

“Really? That article will get that much exposure?” Lala asked, curiously. _ Boxing Fan _wasn’t exactly a huge publication.

“...Right. The article.” Ohya said, nonchalantly. In truth, she didn’t want to Lala to know more than she needed to, either. In reality, _ Boxing Fan _ was probably going to be the least of Ren’s worries in the long term.

_ ‘...Once someone crosses Masayoshi Shido, there’s a price to pay.’ _

The investigation into Kaya’s mental shutdown left a trail that led back to some low level politician; hardly a person of note. But this person’s greatest claim to fame was that he worked for Masayoshi Shido, a representative in the National Diet and the leader of a far-right splinter group, the United Future party. In the popular media, Shido had been dismissed as a flash-in-the-pan phenomena, an angry man whose campaign strategy was little more than paranoid fear-mongering.

But he wasn’t going away. At each debate, he hung on doggedly and never really sunk completely in the polls. People were starting to take notice.

And Ohya’s sources outside of the popular media suggested that the real movers and shakers in Japan, the quiet cabal of kingmakers whose opinions _ really _ mattered, had Shido pegged as ‘next Prime Minister’. So she started looking into Shido, too. Unsurprisingly, she found nothing _ directly _incriminating. But, as she traced threads of stories, something became chillingly clear. Anyone who crossed Shido - anyone, no matter how minor the slight- eventually paid for it. And it was always legal, always justified, and usually completely unrelated to the incident that involved Shido in the first place.

_ ‘Something that the kid’s parents found out…’ _ Ohya thought, the bitterness of the lemon twist in her drink matching her thoughts. Her investigation had also led her to Ren’s conviction and his family. As far as she could see, prior to his arrest they were a happy little family, minding their own business and grooming their son to take over the inn after he was finished with boxing. Now, their inn was kept afloat only by Kenji and Inoue each working two jobs and Ren sending money back. Shido never forgot or forgave.

Lala studied Ohya for a moment and smiled. “Miyaya’s been a good influence on you, Ichi-chan. Right now, you look like you’re thinking about your job instead of your next drink. And just then you sounded like your old self, wanting to protect the innocent and punish the wicked with your journalism.”

Ohya sighed again. “My old self wouldn’t get stuck like this. I need a lucky break. I need _ something _.”

Her phone range; the caller ID simply said ‘_ Maiasa Newspaper’ _, her employer.

“This is Ohya… Oh. Chief? This late? ...Someone dropped _ what _ off at the office?! Holy shit. I know we never _ actually _ say ‘stop the presses’, but... No, that’s fine. You can give the Kobayakawa article to Masuda, but I’d love to have a look at those files. This information could really help me on the thing I’m working on. I’ll be _ right _ there!” She hung up, grinning at Lala.

Lala laughed. “Ask, and ye shall receive?”

“You know it, Lala-chan.” She slapped some money on the bar. “Keep an eye out for the afternoon edition. Tomorrow’s going to be an interesting day for a lot of people.”

>>>

“Ken-nii, wake up! You’re going to be late if you don’t start getting ready!-- Oh!”

Rikka Yamada, a small, elementary-school aged girl looked up in surprise at her older brother, Kentaro. He was already dressed in his uniform, his Shujin Academy book bag slung over his shoulder and his black hair slicked back in his trademark style. This was highly unusual. Before the summer, _ if _ he made it to class, it was usually well after the first bell. Now, it looked like he was going to be early.

“I’m up, Ricchan.” He said, fondly poking the girl’s nose with a warmth and fondness that he kept hidden inside the doors of their home. “Did you eat yet?”

The little girl giggled, covering her nose to avoid any further ‘boops’. She beamed up at her beloved older brother. “Mmhm! Mommy made breakfast for both of us. She’s already gone to bed, though.”

“Alright, kiddo. Do you have all your stuff? Auntie Reina’s going to be here to pick you up soon, right?”

“Yah! I’m ready, Ken-nii. Go eat!”

Kentaro stepped into the kitchen of the three bedroom apartment that he shared with his little sister, mother, and father. In theory, anyway. His father worked overseas after his political career ended abruptly; he had been unable to find work in Japan. His mother worked nights as an ICU nurse and was usually asleep by the time that he woke up, or else off to work by the time he got home.

In his life, it was more common for him to just see evidence of his parents rather than his actual parents. A letter here, a wrapped meal there. A pair of shoes kicked off haphazardly by his mother after a night of taking care of others; so tired she barely had anything left to look after her children. But she did it anyway. He and Rikka were never hungry, never wanting for clothes for school or allowances for small things. They knew they were loved.

But _ knowing _ you are loved by a parent is different from _ feeling _that you are.

So Rikka clung to her brother; he was her sense of security and family. He was her rock, her stability.

And Kentaro had Rikka, too. But it was asking a lot of a seven year old to be his rock. So… Kentaro had his gang.

He was always taller than his peers. Broad shouldered, too. His size made him a target for hormonal boys wanting to prove their machismo to each other and the equally hormonal girls around them. Inevitably, Kentaro was drawn into several ‘disagreements’ at school - disagreements he usually won handily with his size and natural talent for brawling.

Eventually, other boys started taking his lead. Other disenfranchised, lonely kids who were dismissed as ‘trash’ by the adults who were supposed to guide them. One had some mild attention deficit disorder and came from a family unable to afford the medication - he was labelled as having a ‘bad attitude’. Another took up smoking as a way of coping with a physically abusive father. And yet another was ‘lazy’ because he always fell asleep in class. His ‘laziness’ was in fact a side effect of working a job most nights to help support his three siblings. But the teachers weren’t interested in their excuses. They were each neatly pigeonholed.

And no matter how they were labeled, or how they started out, being called trash for so long made them start to believe it. They acted accordingly, becoming the menaces to society that they were expected to be. Ironically, their little acts of rebellion fit right into the roles they had been handed. Life became routine for Kentaro. Be a good big brother. Look out for his boys. Beat the shit out of anyone who looked at them sideways (and some who didn’t).

But everything changed when he challenged Ren Amamiya for the second time. Even during the first fight, Kentaro’s ‘win’ in the alley, something hadn’t been right. For all the strength he put into his punches, his fists didn’t _ quite _ feel the expected feedback. It was as if his knuckles slid more than struck. And Ren didn’t seem very afraid, even the next day at school.

The second time… That ‘fight’, if it could even be called that, showed Kentaro the difference between a brawling delinquent and a trained boxer. When he punched, Ren just wasn’t there. His knuckles didn’t even contact skin to slide, anymore. And then, When Ren decided to finish it…

‘_ You threatened one of mine _,’ he said, with that mirthless smile, his left gripping Kentaro’s chin and throat in a choking hold from behind, his right hand cocked back. 

Rikka knew something was wrong, of course, when Kentaro arrived home visibly shaken, even if physically uninjured by the ordeal.

_ ‘Ken-nii! Someone beat you?! I bet he cheated! I bet he was a big, stupid meanie who cheated! Right?! You always protect me and your friends, so…’ _

She was always so proud of Kentaro even though he did nothing worthwhile. She had so much faith that he was one of the ‘good guys’, partly from the love she had for her brother and also because he had never been able to tell her the truth about the fact that he was usually the aggressor. But there was something in Rikka’s earnest, concerned expression coupled with the shock of how badly he had been defeated that made Kentaro unable to lie to her this time.

So he told her the truth. Kentaro was the one who picked the fight - twice. Ren Amamiya seemed to be a good student. He fought surrounded by Yamada’s gang. He only escalated when Kentaro threatened Ann, someone clearly special to him. And, Ren did all of this despite being labeled trash by the adults. Instead of quietly accepting his lot in life, he spat in the faces of the adults that labeled him and _ succeeded _ at the things he wanted to do.

Rikka, like most children, was forthright and naive in her evaluation.

_ ‘...Oh. He sounds cool, then. Why don’t you be his friend? Then you can both come play!’ _

Kentaro shook his head with mirth, as he stepped onto the subway for Aoyama Itchome. There was an innocent wisdom in her words. So he took the advice. Kentaro sold it to his boys as ‘allying with one badass motherfucker’. But in truth, he saw hope. Maybe if he followed the example of his ‘aniki’, he could become an older brother than Rikka could actually be proud of. 

And Rikka had been right. Ren was a good friend. Neither he nor any of his ‘inner circle’, the eclectic group of teens that hung out around him, treated Kentaro or his boys like trash. He listened to their stories and tried to make things right. He sent Eiji to see Takemi-sensei about his ADHD medication. Eikichi’s father suddenly stopped beating him, some time after Makoto-aneki had asked for his name. And Shu, the boy with three jobs… Ann, the gang’s ‘anesan’, hooked him up with a better paying one with better hours. Some little flower shop in a subway. It turned out that Shu actually had a green thumb and a knack for flower arrangement.

They all started to reject the labels forced onto them.

Kentaro crossed his arms, leaning against the wall of the subway car. Despite the fact that it was crowded both with adults and students on this, the first day after the summer break, people gave him and his slicked back hair a wide berth. Even if he wasn’t going around trying to a menace anymore, he still enjoyed his personal style. He let himself doze until two names of interest to the boy perked his ears.

“...this month’s _ Boxing Fan? _ It has Amamiya and Takamaki from 2-D in it! They’re totally making out.”

“Holy shit. She’s hot! What’s she doing with some yakuza?”

“I don’t know, but I’m totally gonna take a run at her. I thought she wasn’t going to date anyone her own age at all. But if he can get some, then I’ve definitely got a chance…”

Kentaro glanced up, his sharp brown eyes picking out two second year students from 2-E. They stepped off the train as it reached Aoyama; Kentaro followed along. The student who claimed he was going to ‘take a run’ at Ann kept talking, grinning.

“It figures that she’d just go after another meathead after Kamoshida was done with her. What a slut.”

“Didn’t he confess to trying to rape her? I mean…”

“Oh, please. I bet she really wanted--”

Kentaro’s thick hands clamped down on the shoulders of the two boys from behind. “Good morning. Nice to be back at school, isn’t it? I love the summer break, but it’s always nice to catch up with classmates.”

“...Who the fuck-- ...Oh, shit. Yamada?! You’re here this early?!”

Kentaro grinned. “Thought I’d turn over a new leaf. You know who else usually gets here early?”

The two boys followed Kentaro’s sight line to the back of a broad-shouldered youth with shaggy black hair, wearing a sleeveless t-shirt as he jogged toward the school.

“I think that ‘meathead’ would _ love _ to hear your thoughts on his relationship Takamaki-anesan.”

>>>

Yuuki Mishima gave Kentaro Yamada and the two boys he had a grip on a wide berth. Yamada glanced at Mishima, giving him a curt nod, baring his teeth in a smile that for the young tough was ‘friendly’.

The pale, thin boy smiled back weakly. Back in April, he would have counted Yamada as one of his tormentors. But something changed in July. Yamada almost literally ran into him one day. The delinquent second year student was out jogging, wearing a Shujin gym outfit of all things, and with a cigarette still dangling from his lips. Mishima had cringed at his approach, at first. But then he was floored, figuratively, when Yamada bowed and apologized. For everything.

At that time in July, Yuuki was too shocked to really offer much of a reply other than the standard Japanese politeness..

_ ‘It-it’s fine! It’s fine! Please, raise your head!’ _

Now in September, it still bothered him. Yuuki shook his head as he walked on past Yamada and his prey, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

_ ‘If I wasn’t such a damned coward, I might have told him that ‘sorry’ doesn’t cover even a millimetre of it.’ _He thought, bitterly.

What made it worse was that it was around late July or early August that Yuuki found out that Ren and Makoto, two of the Phantom Thieves (probably) were spending quite a bit of time with Yamada and his gang. In fact, it seemed like Ren and Makoto had taken over the group, and even Ann had a respected position in the hierarchy.

Yuuki was tired of being on the periphery, tired of feeling like a spectator in his own life.

_ ‘What did they ever do for them? It’s not fair!’ _

Fleeing thoughts of joining the boxing club or taking up another martial art passed through his mind. But, Yuuki didn’t really like sports. Further, he thought back to Ren’s words in ASOBIBA, after the airsoft battle royale.

_ ‘Show me who you really are, not who you think would impress me. Besides. The Phantom Thieves wouldn’t have been able to finish the last case without you. You aren’t a useless person.’ _

He tried to live by that. But after months of abuse from Kamoshida and years of growing up in a household where he was constantly being compared to his successful elder siblings (one was completing his internal medicine residency, the other was in law school in Todai), Yuuki had no idea who he was. He knew what he _ wasn’t _. He wasn’t particularly brave, as demonstrated in Operation Maidwatch. He wasn’t particularly good looking, as demonstrated when the girls from the Phan-Site blew him off upon seeing him. He wasn’t really outgoing, either, preferring to stay in and play a game of chess online, or work on the Phan-Site. Going out meant a chance of running into old bullies, as Akiyama had shown him at the diner when his old tormentor humiliated him in front of Ren.

But he also wasn’t a useless person, supposedly. Even if he still felt it sometimes.

He looked up, spotting Ren. The Phantom Thief (probably) was slowing down from his jog, coming to a halt in front of Shujin.

“Ah. Ren-kun, good mor--”

“Aniki!” Yamada walked by, pushing the two boys from earlier ahead, his hands forming an iron grip on their shoulders. “These two had some interesting comments about the _ Boxing Fan _ article. I think they want to tell you something.”

Yuuki decided he didn’t want to see this. He frowned.

_ ‘Boxing Fan…?’ _

He checked an online version of the magazine, quickly finding it. He then logged onto the school’s forum from his phone, finding that it already was a hot topic of discussion. Surprisingly, most of the comments were positive.

**I think they look pretty together lol - Sawakonotsadoko03**

**<3 <3 glamorous blonde and bad boy boxer?! just like a movie! <3 <3 - SuchSachikoWow**

Others were… not so kind.

Yuuki glared at his phone with uncharacteristic determination. _ ‘This is something I can take care of. I’m not useless.’ _

As he walked he logged into the forum with his admin privileges, the ones he still had from when he was manipulating the school forum at Kamoshida’s behest. It felt good - poetic, even, to use the same access he used to hurt Ren in April to now help him.

>>>

Kawakami Kawakami rolled her eyes, watching Yuuki Mishima walk determinedly right past class 2-D, his nose buried in his phone.

“Mishima-kun, you walked _ right _ by…” She started. She then glanced at the time. _ ‘Still 15 minutes before class. He’ll figure it out.’ _

She glanced down at the clipboard she had on the lectern, at her agenda for the first homeroom meeting of the year.

** **School trip reminders:** **

  * **Passports**
  * **Schedule**
  * **Free time locations/plans need to be submitted for approval ahead of time if taking place outside of Waikiki/Honolulu**

**Sports day:**

  * **List events - all students must participate in three or more; first come/first serve**

**Culture festival:**

  * **Start thinking of ideas**
  * <strike>**Don’t let them suggest maid cafe**</strike>
  * <strike>**Let them do maid cafe if they want**</strike>
  * <strike>**No. No maids! **</strike>
  * **Identify culture festival reps (one boy, one girl)**
  * **No. Maids.**

Kawakami smiled to herself. It was odd, to be proud of something so small like a written agenda. But she also already had the corresponding handouts - the schedule, the list of events, and a blank form to submit the culture festival application to the student council. Ever since her issue with the Takase family had been solved by a timely change of heart, she really had been able to refocus her efforts as a teacher.

All thanks to a certain bespectacled transfer student.

He hadn’t admitted to being a Phantom Thief, no matter what she said. But she was able to read between the lines; he was keeping her in the position where she at least wouldn’t have to lie if anyone asked if she knew who they were. A strangely subtle move from a boy who was supposed to be a hopeless delinquent with no future.

But she already knew that wasn’t true. First of all, after her curiosity about Ren was piqued, back when he discovered her other job, she had looked into his record at his old school. He wasn’t a stellar student, but never really struggled. He kept his nose clean and seemed to be fairly popular. Second of all, he was… odd. Strangely insightful, and already completely aware of how unfair the world was.

_ ‘I was written off from day one. By you, in fact.’ _

_ ‘We’re all forced to do things to get by, aren’t we?’ _

_ ‘They’ll probably just laugh at the idea of me thinking of the future.’ _

He still didn’t think of _ his _ future, per se. She still had a copy of his career survey, kept carefully in the back of her clipboard. The second one he filled out for her, the one he made her promise to not share with anyone else. He still hadn’t filled it out completely properly, but unlike the first one, the answers seemed sincere.

  * ****Make sure my parents don’t have to worry about me anymore (probably go pro and take over the inn eventually)****
  * **Make sure Ryuji finds something to replace track/is okay before I leave**
  * **Keep my promise to Ann**

She smiled slightly. He was such an _ ass _ in the classroom, sometimes. He loved pretending to not pay attention, only to give detailed, well-thought out answers to questions. Particularly when it was Ushimaru, from the man’s complaining to the other teachers in the faculty office. Ren had turned appearing casually nonchalant into an art. But his career survey spoke of an almost innocent sentimentality. He lived for his friends and family, and she got the sense that his promise to Ann had more gravity than something like promising to call each night, or promising to spend ‘forever’ together, as so many teens in love were wont to do.

From their conversations while she folded laundry, cleaned, or simply rested in his attic, she put together that other than his family and close family friends, everyone in his old life simply abandoned him after the conviction. As she got to know her newest student, she understood that for him, that must have been devastating. But he was changing. Unlike most of her students, she had the chance to see him over the summer. He smiled more and seemed to be slowly letting down the barriers he had built around himself.

“...Amamiya? Seriously?”

Kawakami looked up, hoping to see him. Instead, two students were huddled over a phone.

“Yeah, it’s not like I read _ Boxing Fan _, but my boyfriend texted me the link to this. Can you believe it? Him and Takamaki. I mean, he’s cute, but he’s a criminal, isn’t he?”

Curious, Kawakami walked over. “Ito-san, what’s this about Amamiya-kun?”

“! Ah, Kawakami-sensei, it’s not a big deal. It’s…”

Kawakami picked up the phone, eyes scanning the article. “...Hn. I see.” She gave it back. “Don’t look so nervous. Class hasn’t started yet, so you don’t need to hide your phone from me yet. Unless you were planning to do something inappropriate with that article, or spread unnecessary gossip about your classmates.”

Kawakami gave both the students a long, neutral stare.

“N-n-No! Of course not…” The students stammered.

Kawakami returned to the lectern, with a thoughtful frown on her face. She supposed it was inevitable that Ann and Ren would be caught like that. The two of them _ thought _ they were so careful to keep their relationship within their chosen family of friends. But, even though the teacher had been tired from working two jobs and generally lacked the energy to be interested in her job at the time, she still had enough experience in observing teenagers to know that something had changed between the two of them. Right around the time when that artist supposedly had his heart stolen by the Phantom Thieves. 

The teacher smiled to herself. And then of course, the time where Ren had feigned dropping a pen so that he could steal a kiss from Ann just before the start of class without anyone noticing. Or so he thought. Kawakami had seen every moment, but decided to keep quiet about it. She had been their age once, after all.

_ ‘Ushimaru’s probably going to somehow try to turn this into a scandal, an excuse to have Ren suspended or worse. Not with me around, though. I’ll make it to the faculty meeting today for sure.’ _

She looked up, as Ren strode in, taking his seat. He carried his gym bag with him; that was new. He seemed to stand straighter and actually _ smiled _ at someone that wasn’t Ann. Girls whispered and glanced at him, and not completely due to the article.

Ann came in next. Kawakami felt a faint stab of jealousy, as the blonde girl somehow looked even prettier than she remembered. She was always slender; but now she was fitter than before, moving with the lithe strength and grace of a dancer. If Ren got whispers and glances, Ann drew outright stares.

Except from Ren.

_ ‘...Hm. That’s odd. They came in together, but they’re ignoring each other…’ _

The bell chimed over the intercom to start the day.

_ ‘Ah. Well. A mystery for later… I wonder if Ann’s parents have seen this?’ _

“Good morning, everyone. Welcome back…”

>>>

In Paris, Erika Takamaki yawned, staggering into the kitchen of the furnished suite that was going to be home for the next month. The woman looked like a palette-swapped version of her daughter; instead of platinum blonde, brunette. Instead of fair, nearly alabaster skin, Erika had warmer, more tawny tones. And, hazel eyes, instead of cerulean blue. If Ren could see Erika, the way she looked in her early 40’s and at 5 AM after a long flight no less, he would have fallen to his knees at his good fortune. Apparently, Ann was going to age _ extremely _well. Even the way she smacked her lips groggily as she tried to remember which city she was in was cute.

_ ‘What did I say again, in college? If I ever get to that point in my life where I’m not sure what city I’m in, I’ve either hit it big, or rock bottom.’ _ Erika thought, yawning again. _ ‘Right now, I know it’s the first thing, but it sure as hell feels like the second.’ _

She was wrapped in a plush bathrobe, sharing her daughter’s love for being snuggled into _ anything _, especially in jet-lagged stupors. Despite being used to this sort of thing, she found she still needed at least half a day to sort herself out. Especially after making the long jump from Hong Kong to Paris. Erika sighed. She pressed the button on the coffee maker, already loaded with beans. She winced at the sound of loud grinding, casting a glance over her shoulder at the bedroom door. Nothing. She smiled. Elias was a heavy sleeper, unless he was worried about something. He never had much problem with jet lag, either, a holdover from his days serving in the Finnish military. He was probably going to wake up precisely at 0600, with or without an alarm clock.

With her cup of life-saving black liquid, she sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs as she picked up the iPad that had been left on the coffee table by her and Elias’ assistant. She sighed. Already an ‘urgent’ email at this hour. She opened it, nearly performing a spit take as she saw the contents.

One of the tasks of the PR department of their brand, et^2, was to run regular internet searches on Elias, Erin, and Ann - Elias wanted to know if and how any of his small family were being found on the internet. Almost all of the hits were about Elias or Erin in relation to et^2, but over the past few months, more and more hits were returned due to Ann’s modeling work, something both her parents were quite proud of.

Today, though… Not modeling. At least, not directly related to it.

Erika had nearly sprayed coffee all over the tablet because of the high quality image of Ann kissing a handsome Japanese boy in a boxing gym of all places.

The brunette coughed violently from her almost-spit take. As the burning in her throat settled, Erika smiled in amusement and a little nostalgia as she looked at the picture.

_ ‘Looks like our little girl is growing up. I _ ** _ knew_ ** _ something was up the last time we talked.’ _

She read through the article, smirking a little more as it featured a few more close-ups of this Ren Amamiya, apparently a high school level boxer with enough potential to at least last a few minutes against Mamoru Yamanaka, the lightweight WBC champion.

_ ‘Mm. He’s cute. Nice shoulders. Very nice, Kei-chan. ...Wait. Scandal? ‘Fallen Star’ of Kamakura?’ _

Erika glanced over her shoulder; Elias was still sound asleep.

_ ‘I’d better call Bachan. It should be just about lunchtime over there…’ _

>>>

“Yes, fine, I can do that much. I’m telling you, though, it’s not needed. He’s a good boy. There’s no way a bad person can cook the way he does, Erika.” Yui Tanaka (Bachan) said, holding her phone to her ear as she stepped out of the station in Yongen-Jaya, dragging her aluminum framed two-wheel shopping trolley behind her. “If that’ll stop your silly husband from dropping everything and flying back to Tokyo.”

Yui held the phone away from her ear as Elias yelled something incomprehensible. The man had just woken up and read the article in _ Boxing Fan _. Something about his ‘Princess’ and ‘audacity of that scrawny bastard’. Yui rolled her eyes.

“Put him on the phone, Erika. Thank you. Elias?”

A pause.

“You _ watch your language _ , you giant oaf. That ‘scrawny bastard’ has better manners than you do! I don’t care what kind of ‘scandal’ he was involved in. He’s always been on his best behavior around me, and looks at your daughter like she’s the only girl in the world. And really, just what do you think your ‘Princess’ will do if you storm back into Tokyo the way that you want to? The way that your _ sensible _ wife is telling you to not do? Kei-chan would never talk to you again! That’s how much she loves - yes, _ loves _the boy in the magazine. So calm down, and focus on your work! I’ll take care of things here.”

Yui hung up, muttering. “Stupid man. ...Stupid _ men _, actually. Always wanting to decide on everything themselves, always wanting to try to fix everything themselves.”

Even her favorite, Ren, was susceptible to this. Yui learned yesterday from Ann that the young couple was currently embroiled in their first fight, partly due to Ren’s tendency to want to take responsibility for, and fix everything. It was pretty much what Yui expected, once Ann had shown her the article.

_ ‘Bachan, it’s so _ ** _stupid_ ** _ . He thinks that because of this, it’s going to be bad for my career and make things hard for me at school. So he told me we should ‘lay low’ for awhile, and keep our distance from each other.’ _

_ ‘And what did you say?’ _

_ ‘I told him it was a stupid idea. That it’s my career and my decision, and I would know best what’s good and bad for it. And for school, I told him that if someone is spreading rumors or acting awful because of a magazine article, then they weren’t worth being friends with anyway.’ _

_ ‘That sounds reasonable. Why are you two fighting, then?’ _

_ ‘He called me impulsive and childish!’ _

_ ‘Kei-chan…’ _

_ ‘...I _ ** _might_ ** _ have told him that not only was his idea stupid, but also that he was stupid. I’ve told him a million times before that it doesn’t matter! Real modeling jobs don’t care about me having a boyfriend or not. And might have also said that he wouldn’t be able to stay away from me long enough to ‘keep his distance’, so why even kid himself?’ _

Yui chuckled to herself. It seemed like Ann and Ren were taking this fight seriously, but at least they clearly still loved each other. Although their relationship seemed mature in the way that they spoke with each other and trusted each other, they were still learning the nuances of going from ‘I’ to ‘we’. They were still learning how to make decisions about their relationship together, rather than forging ahead with their own individual ideas. It was something that Yui had seen in her own children, in her sister’s children. It didn’t worry her at all.

She pushed the door open to her first stop. The bell above the little cafe chimed.

“Ah, good afternoon, Boss! Hope I’m not interrupting lunch.” She smiled at the man behind the bar with a friendly familiarity.

Sojiro smiled. “No, not at all, Yui-san. Please, come in. The usual? You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“Yes! Thank you. Just thinking of something funny. Teenagers are still teenagers, no matter how grown up they try to act. It doesn’t matter which decade it is.” Yui said, sitting down at a booth.

“Heh. That’s true…” Sojiro said, grinning, thinking of his own charge who lived upstairs. “The girl you look after?”

“More like young lady, these days. But yes. Kei-chan’s having her first tiff with her boyfriend.”

Sojiro chuckled, preparing the coffee. “I know how you feel. The kid that’s staying upstairs, he reminds me of me when I was his age. He can’t think straight when it comes to his girlfriend. I think they’re having a fight, too.”

Sojiro brought the coffee around, glancing at Yui’s trolley bag. “Going shopping? There’s a big sale on at the market.”

She nodded. “Mm. I know.”

“That’s a nice bag. It’s funny, you know. The kid was fixing one of those up the other day, saying it was a gift.” Sojiro said. 

“Oh, really? Someone gave this one to me, too.” Yui said. “He said he found it at a second-hand shop. I think it was the Yu… Yu something…”

“...Yumenoshima.” Sojiro said, blinking. “That’s the shop just around the corner...Wait. Wait, you know the kid? Ren Amamiya?”

Yui looked at Sojiro in a mix of surprise and confusion. “...How do you know Kei-chan’s boyfriend?!”

“Kei-chan?! He’s dating _ Ann _-chan! Is he cheating on her?!” Sojiro asked, surprised.

Yui shook her head, waving her hands. “No! They’re the same person! Kei-chan is Ann. ...Wait, you know Ann?”

“How do you know Ren’s girlfriend?!”

>>>

“Later, kid. Stay out of trouble...” Sojiro said, glancing up at Ren as the boy walked past him on the way out. It was after school; the teenager had just dropped by briefly to make a long distance call and to leave his gym bag upstairs.

“Or you’ll kick me out.” Ren said automatically, completing their usual goodbye with a wry smile. He waved a hand casually without looking back at Sojiro. He left to meet his friends in Shibuya accompanied only by Mona.

Sojiro chuckled lightly after Ren left.

_ ‘He’s alone, for once, without a perky blonde girl on his arm. Still fighting…’ _

After discovering that their respective wards were in fact dating each other, he and Yui marveled at how small the world was, and then promptly started ‘discussing’ (gossiping about) the two, discovering that they had each observed the same thing - the young lovebirds were indeed having their first fight.

He and Yui had mutually agreed to let the two of them sort it out. From each of their observations of the pair, there was little concern that this would actually drive them apart permanently. It would probably be good for the two of them to learn how to talk despite being angry at each other; they both knew from their own experiences that part of a relationship was learning how to handle the inevitable fights.

_ ‘Though, I think the kid’s picked a pretty tough sparring partner, this time.’ _

Ann was a firecracker, for sure. Although Sojiro hadn’t pressed Ren for details on how they had gotten together, it was pretty clear she was the kind of girl who you would chase until she turned around and caught _ you _ . And, the coffee connoisseur had a sense that this fight was going to be over when _ she _ decided it was over. Ren was, by his veteran estimation, thoroughly whipped by the blonde girl. Or at least, he loved doting on her.

Sojiro couldn’t blame him. When Ren first arrived in Tokyo, there had been a weight pressing on the boy’s deceptively strong shoulders. The weight of learning how cruel the world could be before it was his time to do so. Sojiro could tell he was trying to bear it as well as he could… but there was an ominous inevitability to the way Ren bore the pain. An inevitability that Ren had already accepted.

Even when the two warmed up to each other, starting their standard goodbyes and exchanges of snarky remarks over coffee and curry, there was something that rattled Sojiro’s instincts and made him worry about the kid. Something that before Children’s Day in May, had made him knock on the attic door from time to time with the pretense of making sure that he ‘wasn’t up to anything’.

But, something happened clearly happened on Children’s Day. Something involving the blonde girl who was now Ren Amamiya’s better half. Ann had been the one who changed everything for Ren.

The weight on the boy’s shoulders wasn’t any less - but it was being held up by two people, not just himself. And as Ann continued to integrate herself into Ren’s life, continued to push him to lean on others and have faith in people again, that weight was distributed across more and more shoulders - until Ren was finally able to stand straight, revealing a boy who could get through to Futaba. Somehow.

And for that, Sojiro was eternally grateful to both Ren and Ann. While Ren was the one that Futaba gravitated to, Ann was clearly the power source for that particular magnet.

“Hoo, boy…” Sojiro sighed, looking at the issue of _ Boxing Fan _ in front of him. “I’d better call his folks…”

>>>

“Thanks for letting us know how he’s doing, Sakura-san.” Inoue said, hanging up the phone. She was a short Japanese woman with pixie-cut black hair and warm brown eyes. She was beautiful, certainly, but it was her smile that broke hearts. It was the same smile that Ren was fortunate enough to inherit. She was sitting in the living room of the family quarters at the Amamiya _ ryokan _. Like the rest of the inn, it was built in the traditional Japanese style with tatami mat floors for the sitting and sleeping areas, and polished hardwood for corridors and other communal areas meant for standing and socializing.

But, Inoue had put her architectural background to liberal use. The inn was seamlessly modernized, with engineered hardwood where appropriate, and secured pocket doors that offered more privacy than the traditional sliding wooden doors, while still celebrating the aesthetic. Other modern luxuries were tastefully integrated, such as televisions that could be hidden by sliding wall panels

The family quarters felt more lived-in than the rest of the immaculate inn, certainly. Pictures of family and friends decorated the walls, with a few notable empty spots where frames might have hung before. A stuffed and preserved mackerel was mounted in the living room also.

Inoue stood to find Kenji. All she had to do was follow the sound of the radio - set in his ways, the patriarch of the Amamiya family insisted on using his beat up old AM/FM radio to listen to the news while working. Her husband was in his small hobby room, working on a project in his rare time off. All three members of the Amamiya family had to work hard to keep the inn afloat, given that they still lacked the licensure needed to run the inn as an inn. The local magistrate, Reiko’s father, couldn’t do much for them despite his change of heart months earlier.

Inoue peered into the room. “Ken-san? Sakura-san called. Ren’s doing fine. He has friends. And he’s having a little argument with his girlfriend, but it doesn’t seem to be serious.”

“Hm? Oh, that’s good, Inoue-chan.” Kenji looked up, nearly a spitting image of his son, albeit taller and thicker. He was placing multiple pictures into a collage-type frame.

Inoue peered around his shoulder, squealing excitedly. “Oooh! It’s perfect!”

They were high quality prints of the shots from _ Boxing Fan _ , featuring prominently the image of Ren and Ann kissing on the bench. Kenji had also thought to include some images from the _ Vague _ issue that had pictures of Ann from the sportswear shoot.

“I know!” Kenji said, grinning.

“Our grandchildren are going to be so _ pretty _…”

“Where should we hang this?! The living room-- Oh! The entry hall…!”

It wasn’t as if they were blind to the fact that this was their son’s unjust past coming back to haunt him again. But from their conversations with Ren, they knew that this time, he had friends who would not be so quick to abandon him. And this was confirmed with Sojiro’s call.

As they excitedly discussed their son, his girlfriend, and their potential grandchildren, they missed the news coming through on the radio.

“...And we have some breaking news. In a rare afternoon edition of _ Maiasa, _an anonymous source has identified further corruption and scandal at Shujin Academy. Earlier this year, one of Shujin’s faculty, the former Olympic hero Suguru Kamoshida, turned himself in, confessing to multiple counts of sexual assault and physical abuse of students. Evidence has surfaced that the reason this went on for so long undetected was due to the actions of Principal…”

>>>

“...Kobayakawa! Where is Principal Kobayakawa?!” Ushimaru demanded, his face twisted with triumphant outrage. He stood, looking at all the gathered teachers at the meeting in the faculty office. “Look at this!”

The dour, arrogant man waved a printed copy of the article from _ Boxing Fan _. “As if our school needed more questions about our reputation!” Ushimaru shouted. “This worthless troublemaker is dragging Takamaki through the mud, now, too!”

“And how is he doing that?” Kawakami asked, shaking her head. “Have you even _ read _ the article? It doesn’t mention Shujin Academy even once. And it doesn’t even talk about either of them in a negative light, other than mentioning that a scandal held Amamiya-kun out of boxing this year. He’s described as being quite proficient in the sparring match for a high schooler.”

“That may be true, but look at the picture of Takamaki! It’s indecent! It’s…”

“Two teenagers who care about each other.” Kawakami said, raising her eyebrow. “Is it against school policy now for our students to date each other? It’s interesting how you didn’t have this level of outrage when you found out what Kamoshida was doing. You’re fine with grown men targeting girls?”

“How _ dare _ you. Just look at what she’s wearing--”

Kawakami interrupted again, not willing to tolerate further body-shaming of her student.

“She’s a _ model _. They even call her a rising star of her profession.” Kawakami scoffed. “You’re not doing so well for yourself. You have an issue with students dating each other, no issue with men looking at high school girls, and you’re abnormally focused on what she’s wearing. Care to keep digging?”

There was an awed silence in the room as Ushimaru slowly sat down. Kawakami was completely different compared to when school let out for the summer break. She was refocused, more energetic, and clearly more passionate about her students’ welfare.

“...I’m just saying, we shouldn’t just let this pass.” He grumbled.

The door to the office slammed open. It was Vice Principal Matsui. The thin man in his fifties walked in, his glasses and blazer askew, his tie half undone. A sheen of sweat coated his balding head as he panted, carrying an armful of newspapers

“Has… has anyone seen the Principal?!”

Hiruta-sensei, the biology teacher, shook his head. “No… Why are you carrying so many newspapers?”

“...What?! Nothing! Noth--” He cursed, dropping several of the papers. “No! Wait! Principal Kobayakawa told me to buy these all up from around the school, and not to let anyone see--”

Usami-sensei snatched up a paper, the afternoon edition of _ Maiasa _. She read the headline and subheadline out loud.

“Shujin Scandal Continues. Evidence surfaces that Principal Kobayakawa, possibly other teachers, covered up Kamoshida’s crimes…”

Kawakami glanced at the magazine in Ushimaru’s hand as the faculty office became a bedlam. _ ‘I guess no one’s going to be interested in Boxing Fan anymore. I can’t believe he thought that sending Matsui out to buy up the papers would actually do anything to help beyond buying him a few minutes. He must be incredibly desperate…’ _

>>>

In Shibuya, a silver Mercedes E-Class sedan was parked on the street. That wasn’t terribly unusual. After all, Tokyo was a sprawling metropolis and home to several wealthy _ zaibatsu _as well as government officials and diplomats. However, it was an odd vehicle for the principal of a school to own - even a private academy. Kobayakawa once felt the car was something he was entitled to - something appropriate for a man of his stature as a favored member of the United Future Party. Now, though, it felt like an albatross around his neck. It was yet another thing tying him to the scandal that was going to destroy his career and life.

“Sir, please! I don’t know how the information got leaked! It wasn’t my fault!” Kobayakawa pleaded. He was on his cell phone, cowering in his car. He felt safe neither at home, nor at the school. While he wasn’t privy to how exactly the United Future Party ‘solved problems’, he knew that the ‘problems’ (people) in question disappeared suddenly, no matter how well protected or hidden.

“Quite frankly, not a single person in the organization is interested in excuses. The fact of the matter is that the cell that was composed of you, Madarame, and Kaneshiro has turned into a complete liability. Let me remind you. You were supposed to provide the organization with impressionable young talent to the organization via the escalator university; then you were supposed to feed the useless ones to Kaneshiro. Madarame was supposed to keep the money clean. Simple. But then you fucked it up by hiring Kamoshida, some perverted shitbag _ you _ claimed would draw even more talent to Shujin.”

Kobayakawa broke into a cold sweat. He was being blamed for the collapse of the cell. “He did! The volleyball team drew in more applicants than we’ve ever gotten before--”

“Before you were unable to keep a lid on him! Do you have any idea how much time and resources we wasted covering for his proclivities? And despite that, the entire cell, except your useless self, fell like a house of cards.”

“Sir, please! Just give me more time! If I can find the Phantom Thieves, we can blame everything on them! I’ll… We can…”

“There’s no _ we _, you useless toad. That’s long gone. It’s just you. Alone.”

The phone went dead.

Kobayakawa frantically called back, sweat soaking his expensive shirt and suit.

“We’re sorry. The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again.”

“...What do I do? What do I _ do _?! I don’t deserve this…”

Kobayakawa lowered his head onto the steering wheel of his car, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. He wallowed so deeply in his self-pity that he missed Ann Takamaki dragging a very confused looking Makoto Niijima and Futaba Sakura past his car, heading toward the train station. The blonde girl stomped by with an indignant pout, seemingly muttering under her breath as she walked.

Half a block back, at the bottom of the stairs to a walkway above Shibuya, Ren, Yusuke and Ryuji stared at the girls’ backs in confusion, until Ren threw his arms in the air in exasperation, turning and walking in the opposite direction.

>>>

“Shiho, can you book an appointment for Miwa-chan in a month?” Takemi said, poking her head out the door of the examination room as the aforementioned little girl and her mother exited. The back-alley doctor gave Miwa a pat on the head as she passed by. Miwa giggled, beaming up at Takemi.

Shiho, seated at the reception desk, smiled at Miwa. “You mean it’s going to be an entire month before I get to see you again Micchan? Aren’t you going to be lonely?”

Miwa smiled back at Shiho. “I’ll miss you, onee-chan! But I won’t be lonely.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Shiho asked, opening up the schedule on the computer sitting in front of her.

“I have a boyfriend!” Miwa chirped, happily.

Shiho blinked. Miwa was seven years old. The former volleyball player looked up at Miwa’s mother curiously. The woman grinned, winking at Shiho.

“Miwa, tell onee-san about Shouta-kun. Don’t just leave her in suspense!”

Miwa put her hands on the desk enthusiastically, leaning toward Shiho. “Shouta-kun’s seven, like me! He’s really smart and cute. Tomorrow, we’re gonna read books and eat cookies together.”

Shiho kept a solemn expression. “What kind of cookies?”

Miwa thought seriously for a moment. “Chocolate chip.”

“Wow. Sounds serious.” Shiho said. “Are you ready for that kind of commitment?”

“I know it’s a big step, but I think we’re ready to move past animal crackers…”

As Miwa wondered aloud if chocolate chip was moving too fast (she had her career to think about, after all) Shiho nodded along gravely while booking the little girl in for next month. After they left, Shiho grinned at Takemi.

“Hard to believe she was stuck in a hospital bed only a few months ago, doc.” Shiho said, laughing. “Shouta-kun better look out. Miwa’s going to break hearts.”

“I could say the same for you, Shiho.” Takemi said, chuckling as well. She leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed. “You yourself were stuck in a hospital only a short time ago, too.”

Shiho just shrugged, nonchalant. “I was fine, I was only there as a precaution.” She smiled wryly. “You might say I just _skirted the edge_ _of disaster_.”

Takemi didn’t return the smile. The doctor had come to know Shiho quite well; well enough to know that the girl tended to deflect uncomfortable questions and introspection with nearly inappropriate jokes and self-deprecating humor, intended to be outrageous enough to derail the conversation.

“Look, Shiho. I get it. My youth was… interesting, too.” Takemi said. “I’m not asking you to ‘just get over it’. I want you to take all the time you need. But I don’t think you should be spending all of that time in a cramped clinic with a workaholic doctor.”

Shiho sighed. “And I thought you liked having me around.”

“The guilt trip won’t work, Shiho. I don’t like having you around. I _ love _ having you around. You’re efficient, you’re a fast learner, and you treat every patient who comes through that door with respect and compassion. But sometimes, I think you’re still on that rooftop.”

Shiho let out a slow breath through pursed lips. “...That’s a low blow, doc.”

“Doesn’t make it untrue. I want you to go out more. Join a club. Spend time with friends. Get a boyfriend. You’re being outdone by a seven year old!” Takemi said, waving at the door.

Shiho frowned. “...I’m not really interested in the last thing.”

“Oh, _ really _.” Takemi moved quickly, striking like a viper. She snatched up Shiho’s phone.

Shiho grasped at it in futility, unable to get to Takemi in time.

“If you’re uninterested, then why is your photo gallery prominently featuring Guinea Pig and friends?” Takemi asked. “I especially like this one of him getting out of the water at the beach. And this one of him wrestling in the sand with that blonde boy.”

“Just because I’m not playing the game doesn’t mean I can’t scout the players.” Shiho replied, shrugging.

Takemi laughed. “Fine. But seriously. Medicine is a tough path in school, and an even tougher career. Look at me! How much spare time do I have? You need to have fun while you can.”

“Right, right… I’ll try, doc.” Shiho said, sighing. She looked up, as the door to the clinic opened. Oh! Hey, Blondie. Here for your appointment…? ...Whoa. You alright, Ann?”

>>>

Takemi watched Ann leave a short time later, accompanied by Shiho. Shiho had quietly sent Makoto and Futaba home, out of mercy; Ann’s bestie had the sense that calming Ann down might take a while. The doctor shook her head with a little smile. Ann had started ranting to Shiho about Ren, but continued grumbling when she entered the exam room with Takemi, continuing to vent about her pet boxer to the doctor even as she asked the blonde girl questions and examined her.

_ ‘So you’re completely healthy, then?’ _

_ ‘Yes. He’s such a know-it-all sometimes, right?!’ _

_ ‘Do you smoke at all?’ _

_ ‘Hm? No, of course not. And it’s not like I don’t know what people might say, but why should that bother me? After what he said at the training camp, I thought this stuff wouldn’t bother him anymore--’ _

_ ‘Any allergies at all?’ _

_ ‘Just pollen sometimes. Seriously. It’s not like I don’t listen to him. It’s just that if we’re going to be together from here on out, he…’ _

_ ‘And any family history of clotting or other bleeding disorders? Any cancers?’ _

_ ‘My grandma on Daddy’s side had a blood clot after she broke her hip. Nothing else, though. And you know, he’s so oblivious to when other girls hit on him… What am I going to do when-- I mean, if we get married? What if…’ _

Takemi just nodded and tried not to laugh. Their entire fight seemed to be predicated on the fact that both Ann and Ren assumed they were going to be together in the near and distant future. They were so in love with each other that they were blind to the fact that they were having ‘first world problems’ as far as relationships went. The doctor wrote Ann a prescription and sent her on the way, politely suggesting that she go and do something to work out her anger. She pointed them toward the batting cages in Yongen as an example.

_ ‘Hm. I wonder how my little guinea pig is handling this little fight…’ _

>>>

Coach Shinoda, of the Shinoda Boxing Gym, was a short, sturdy man with a bushy moustache and ‘fox eyes’ that seemed perpetually closed. He was short and barrel chested, with shoulders that suggested he was once a serious athlete… He was in fact, at one time, the Japanese Featherweight Champion. If Shinji Takeda was a gruff man, becoming tiger-like at ringside, his old friend Tetsuya Shinoda had a steadier style. He always had a little smile on his face, whether at practice or ringside at a fight. He somewhat resembled a sleepy walrus.

It was the same smile he had now as he observed a certain black-haired boxer, working out on his own on one of the heavy bags in the gym. A few of the other boxers eyed Ren with interest as well, and not only due to the article in _ Boxing Fan _ \- quite simply, they respected him. As the summer progressed, the kid had become less reluctant to come into the gym during busier hours. He was talented, focused, and worked out like a demon. The truth was, even if Takeda hadn’t called Shinoda ahead of time, Ren was clearly one of Takeda’s ‘sons’ - it was in the way he trained and the way he was a true student of the sport. From the moment he had thrown his first jab into a heavy bag in front of him, Shinoda knew who he had been trained by.

Today, though, Ren seemed to be hitting the bag harder than usual. The heavy bag seemed to dance in the air, the chain suspending it rattling as he worked. The rhythm was just a little slower, less even. Usually, it seemed like Shinoda could set his watch to Ren.

His smile faded slightly. He knew the signs of a young boxer with something on his mind. He approached, recalling the last part of his conversation with Takeda. The gruff old man’s voice had softened a little over the phone.

_ ‘Hey, Tetsu. ...Look out for him, will you? …’ _ An embarrassed silence before he returned to his usual tone. _ ‘I mean, me and Kana-chan put a hell of a lot of work into that brat. So look out for him. Yeah.’ _

_ ‘Heh. Sure, Shin-chan.’ _

Shinoda approached Ren.

Ren, ever focused, remained oblivious to the coach’s approach as his fists slammed into the heavy bag. The Phantom Thieves’ meeting had been… tense. Some of the reason was because of Futaba’s suggestion that Makoto spy on her sister. But the student council president had ultimately agreed to clone her sister’s hard drive for a lead on either a new target or the other Metaverse user in the black mask. More of the reason was because every mention of a new target or the Metaverse user led to Ryuji fantasizing about the glory, riches, and girls - even suggesting that they could reveal their identities at some point. Makoto looked ready to sock him one.

He slammed a chopping right into the bag. But he had to admit, the main reason behind the tension was him and his Songbird.

_ ‘Look, Ryuji, we don’t have a target. And with Kobayakawa caught in a scandal, we should lay low.’ _

The moment he said it, Ren regretted his choice of words. Ann had scoffed lightly.

_ ‘Seems like that’s your solution to everything, isn’t it?’ _

Ren was stressed, for various reasons. One reason that he didn’t really even want to think about. So he snapped back at her.

_ ‘Better than just ignoring things and hoping other people cover for us.’ _

_ ‘Guess I’m just too _ ** _childish and impulsive_ ** _ , right?’ _

Ren shook his head. Ann dragged the other girls off; Yusuke and Ryuji started to follow Ren, wanting to make sure he was fine. Ryuji in particular tried to reassure Ren that the article wasn’t that big of a deal, really. And it wasn’t. He reassured them, sending them off. Ren sighed. It seemed like he had managed to fool his friends about the root cause of everything.

It hadn’t started with the article. It started at the beach, before they were even approached by those fans. It started when they were in that little shower facility, where they snuck off for some alone time. No matter how he struck the heavy bag, the memory intruded on his consciousness.

>>>

He dragged her in, but she had that impish smile he loved, her hand squeezing his. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her; especially not after applying sunscreen to her back had set his blood boiling. Not after spending the day staring at how that bikini covered just enough of her to highlight everything that _ wasn’t _ covered. Not after seeing how she was drawing the eye of nearly every man on the beach. 

He had to have her. He had to make her his again, as soon as he could.

As the door closed and locked behind them, he grabbed her, crushing his lips against hers, his tongue seeking entry into her mouth. She melted against him as usual, returning his kiss, their skin hot from the sun and arousal - and then he took hold of her, suddenly turning and pinning her to the tile wall behind her; he reached down, hooking one of her thighs with his arm, pinioning that limb to the wall as well. All he had to do was pull one of the ties of her bikini, and he’d…

Her eyes were wide. Surprised… ...maybe even _ afraid _.

He was normally so careful with her, so cognizant of the fact that only months before, a man intended to force her, impose his will on her. Even when they were ‘enthusiastic’ with each other, he always watched her, felt out how she was doing. The heated mood turned instantly into an uncertain chill.

They were rescued when someone knocked on the door and shook the handle to the facility. A voice outside broke the silence.

“That’s odd. I thought this was cleaned just this morning. Better get maintenance over here…”

Ann and Ren left as soon as the coast was clear.

>>>

Ren sighed.

He recalled the words that led to their first kiss.

_ ‘ _ _ ...I’ll never be scared of you, Ren. And you’ll never be alone. You… you have me.’ _

He wasn’t sure if that was true anymore. If she could be scared of him after all… then maybe she could leave him, too. Just like Reiko had, and it would be his fault. Again.

Ren was almost thankful for the appearance of the article in _ Boxing Fan _. It gave him something to focus on. It provided a reason for the tension between him and Ann, so that his friends wouldn’t probe any further. And finally, it gave him an excuse to push her away from himself. But pushing her away had turned into a mess of petty arguments and passive aggressive sniping.

_ ‘It’s not like I was telling her I want to break up. I just wanted some space to think. To sort out what the hell I was doing back there…’ _

Ren, of course, didn’t really recognize that he hadn’t _ told _ Ann any of that, about any of his lingering insecurities. The feelings of guilt and contrition over what he thought he had done were a little too strong.

An older voice interrupted Ren’s thoughts.

“Hey, kid. Enough on the heavy bag. You’re going to bust up your hands.”

Ren looked up. “Hm? Oh, sure, Coach…”

Shinoda looked at Ren curiously. “Want to talk about it, kid?”

“...Not really.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“Fine. Then let’s _ talk _ about it.” Shinoda replied, holding up a pair of hitting mitts. “Come on. I might be a bit different from Shin-chan, but you’ll feel better.”

“...Shin-chan? ...He lets you call him that?” Ren said, looking amused despite his mood.

Shinoda laughed, as he walked to the ring with Ren. “_ Lets _ me? More like I make him answer to it.”

“...Can I quote you on that?” Ren said, grinning, not believing a word of it. “I’m sure Coach Takeda would love to hear it.”

“Please don’t. Shin-chan was right about your mouth, too. Get in the ring, brat.” Shinoda said, chuckling.

>>>

-_ Plink- _

Shiho watched as the ball struck by Ann sailed into the netting at the far end of the batting cage. She whistled; it was a perfect home run hit. The blonde girl’s twintails seemed to almost bristle out of irritation.

“Yup. You’re pissed.” Shiho said.

“I’m _ not _ pissed.” Ann shot back, clenching her teeth.

“You totally are.” Shiho said, watching Ann ready the aluminum bat again. “You’re not terrible at ball sports like the champ, but you’re not _ this _ good. I’m surprised you’re angry enough that you’re able to summon home run strength, though.”

-_ Plink- _Another home run.

“What really happened? I know he suggested that you two keep your distance from each other, but normally you’d just pull him aside and talk to him…”

-_ Plink- _Fly ball.

Ann shook her head. “I… I tried. He came over the night after the beach. That’s when we started fighting. I tried to talk to him, but he kept pushing me away.”

Shiho frowned.”No… that doesn’t seem like something you’d let him get away with, either. Not unless you were trying to create some distance, too.”

-_ Plink- _ Low grounder. Shiho raised an eyebrow. She knew her friend well.

“...That’s it, isn’t it? Something else happened. Not just the article.”

Ann swung hard, whiffing completely. The force of the swing turned her halfway around. “What do you mean?”

Shiho shook her head, standing. “Yeah. Something else happened.”

Ann glared at Shiho, holding the bat on her shoulder in an almost menacing fashion. Her other hand was on her hip.

Shiho blinked, and then laughed. “Haha. That’s more cute than menacing, Blondie. Come on. You know you can tell me anything.”

Ann sighed. She walked over, dropping herself down onto the bench beside her best friend and handing her the bat.

“It’s a few things, probably. The first thing is the way he suggested it. It was like it was already a done decision. We’re supposed to be a team, you know? But he just barged ahead. The second thing is that no matter what I say about the article not affecting my life in any major way, he doesn’t believe it. He acts like he’s scared I’m going to just abandon him. I mean, does he really think so little of my feelings? I’m _ in _ this, and I thought he was, too.”

Shiho picked up the bat, going up to take her turn. She swung; the ball sailed into the back netting. “That’s fair. But still doesn’t explain why you wouldn’t just go and talk to him. Every other time he’s started brooding, you just grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him out of it. Figuratively.”

_ ‘...Or literally’.’ _Ann thought, remembering the time in Kaneshiro’s Palace when she wrapped her whip around his neck. She bit her lower lip lightly. “...The truth is, it has to do with the beach. When we disappeared for a bit.”

“Oh. You mean when you two did it in the…” Shiho paused, looking at Ann, her uncertain, anxious expression. “...Wait. What happened in there, exactly?”

Ann sighed. She stood up, walking closer to Shiho so she could explain quietly what happened between the two of them.

“...so it freaked me out a little, you know? It was like I was seeing this whole other side to him.” Ann said.

Shiho frowned, looking sincerely concerned. Maybe even a little angry, at Ren. “Do you feel unsafe? If you want me to come with you to talk to him… I mean, if he did something you didn’t like, you should still tell him--”

“It’s not that.” Ann said, quickly. As embarrassing as it was, she didn’t want Shiho to get the wrong idea about Ren. “It’s the _ opposite _.”

Shiho stared blankly at her friend as the blonde turned bright red, staring at the ground. A ball whizzed by, striking the back netting as Shiho ignored the machine’s pitch. Shiho slowly grinned.

“..._ Da~amn _, Blondie.”

>>>

Ren sighed, feeling physically exhausted but mentally much more clear as he left the station in Yongen, heading back toward Leblanc. It was always this way for him. Working out on his own always helped somewhat, but having a good coach or sparring partner to push him let him work that much harder, allowing him to more easily access the unconscious, instinctive part of his mind. It was a comfortable void, where there was nothing but his body and his target. For whatever reason, when he returned from that void, it always gave him perspective on his personal problems.

_ ‘This is stupid. I just need to talk to her, and things will be fine.’ _ Ren though, laughing at himself a little. _ ‘I’ll see her tomorrow, and we’ll sort things out.’ _

He rounded the corner, seeing Ann waiting outside Leblanc. She leaned against the wall, staring up into the myriad reds and oranges of the dusk sky.

_ ‘...Or today. Today’s good, I guess.’ _

She heard his approach, turning to face him. She gave him a nervous smile.

_ ‘All I need to do is talk to him.’ _ Ann thought. _ ‘Out here. In public.’ _ She hadn’t been scared of _ him _ during their last encounter.

Normally, Ann’s other self, Celestine, regarded the interactions of the young lovers with a sense of mild amusement. Apparently they were amateurs, by her standards: she found the two of them and their young romance ‘cute’. But at the beach, when Ren had almost dragged Ann into the facility, Celestine was abnormally silent - right up until Ren had pushed her against the tile, pinning her there almost forcefully… Her other self seemed to _ roar _ . As her Wildcard kissed her, devoured her, pinioned her leg to the wall, Celestine’s silence shattered into all-consuming command. To let him do this. To drive his lust to the point where he _ had _ to do this. To dominate him by submitting to him.

It was exhilarating, terrifying, arousing, and confusing all at once.

And since then, Ann hadn’t _ wanted _ to be alone with him, but _ needed _ to be alone with him. The contradictions and roiling amusement, command, and irritation from Celestine were too much to handle. She had to sort things out, and resisting the impulses was easier when they were fighting. It felt safer to have petty arguments, to snipe at each other. The article was perfectly timed.

_ ‘But enough is enough. _’ Ann thought, firmly.

“Hey, Songbird.” Ren said, carefully keeping his distance. It was hard; he wanted to pull her into his arms, to apologize, to kiss her hair. To breathe in freesias and pears. To bury her slender body in his embrace.

“Hey, Wildcard.” Ann replied, resisting the urge to throw her arms over his shoulders, to cling to him. To claim his lips, his mouth, his everything. “...Can we talk, for a bit? Alone?”

Ren nodded. “Then we’d better stay out here. Mona’s been a bit down since the beach, and I don’t have the heart to kick him out. He hasn’t really wanted to leave the attic unless it’s Phantom Thief business.”

“That’s fine.” Ann said. _ ‘Out in public is fine. Safe. Probably.’ _ Her eyes traced the lines of his lips, his jaw. He somehow always looked even better post-workout. “Look, I--”

Her phone rang. Frowning she glanced at the screen. It read ‘Bachan’ with the older lady’s smiling picture.

“Ah, sorry. I have to take this.” Ann said. “Bachan? Hm? Oh, I’ll be home later-- what? A _ curfew _? And you’re staying over?!”

Ann spoke heatedly over the phone, starting to gesture emphatically despite the fact that it wasn’t a video call. After a few minutes, she hung up, looking at Ren. Although Ren was only privy to one side of the conversation, he was able to figure it out.

“Your parents saw the article, huh?” Ren said, quietly.

“...Yeah.” Ann replied. “And they asked Bachan to stay overnight, most nights. And to make sure I get home by curfew. Apparently, this is the more lenient option. Daddy was thinking about flying back after he read the article, but Bachan and Mom talked him down… Bachan thinks the curfew is unreasonable, but she needs time to work on Daddy. Even though Mom’s on her side.”

Ren shook his head. “See? I knew that things would change. I should have--”

“Seriously?” Ann said, looking up at him. Irritation flared. Celestine did _ not _ approve of being denied of what belonged to her and her charge. Ren was, unfortunately, the closest target to lash out at, and technically, they were still fighting. “Will you stop it with the martyr act already? Not everything is your fault. And saying ‘I told you so’ doesn’t help.”

“I didn’t say that.” Ren said, his shoulders stiffening.

“No, but you meant it.” Ann said pointedly.

Ren crossed his arms. “Fine. Maybe I did. Looks like we’ll have to keep some distance now after all, doesn’t it?” 

“Like you could.”

“Watch me.”

From inside Leblanc, Sojiro rolled his eyes, watching the two through the window. Ann turned, her twintails catching Ren in the face accidentally on purpose. His left hand shot out like in a jab, catching one and giving it a tug in response. She whirled around to face him again, stabbing an indignant finger at him.

When Ren walked back in, shaking his head. He looked at Sojiro. “Can you believe her?!”

“I can barely believe _ you _. You literally pulled on her pigtails like you’re an elementary school boy who doesn’t understand his feelings of affection for her.” Sojiro said, bluntly.

“I… you…” Ren had no response for the painfully accurate assessment. “...I’m going to bed. Early.”

“I really hope you guys figure this out before Hawaii, kid. Or there'll be trouble in paradise.”

Ren couldn’t even appreciate the fact that Sojiro’s statement was both literal and figurative. He stormed upstairs.

Sojiro shook his head, amused. The bell above the door chimed, announcing the timely arrival of one Detective Prince. Akechi blinked, looking curiously at the stairs. 

“Ah. Didn’t I just see Amamiya-kun come in?” He sat down at the bar.

Sojiro prepared the usual for the shaggy haired youth, a pour over dark roasted Kona blend. “Yeah. I wouldn’t bother him today though, he said he’s going to bed soon.”

“Ah. That’s a shame.” Akechi said, watching the coffee siphon down into the waiting mug. “I was hoping to say goodbye. I have to leave tomorrow on matters relating to an investigation.”

“Really? You’ll be gone until he leaves, just on business?” Sojiro asked, sliding the coffee cup across to Akechi. “I’m surprised they allow that for high school students; even celebrity ones.”

“Ah, thank you.” He took a sip. “Just a few days, actually. Then I’ll be off on my own school trip.”

Sojiro nodded absently. “Ah, is that so? I’d imagine somewhere exotic… The kid’s going to Hawaii, and his friend’s going to Los Angeles...” He started cleaning the pour over siphon.

“Ah, no such luck this year.” Akechi smiled at Sojiro - that manicured, manufactured smile that was superficially friendly but offered no real clues as to what the Detective Prince was thinking. “Just a short distance out of Tokyo.”

“Oh? Where to?” Sojiro asked, out of politeness.

Akechi took another sip before smiling at Sojiro again.

“Kamakura.”

>>>

**Bonus Content**

**Tale of the Tape**

**Ren Amamiya - ‘Wildcard’**

**Fights: 21** **(Amateur boxing)****  
** **Wins: 21  
****Draws: 0** ****  
**Losses: 0** ****  
**KO%: 52% (10 TKO, 1 KO)** ****  
**Height: 5’9” (175cm)** ****  
**Reach: 72” (183cm)** **  
** **Fighting Weight: 135lbs (61kg) (Lightweight Division)**

**Mari’s Scouting Report:**

Ren Amamiya, known as ‘Wildcard’ for his creativity and adaptability in the ring, was an up and coming amateur boxer on the highschool circuit, fighting out of his hometown of Kamakura. His promising career took a diversion when on the evening just after winning his prefecture’s interhigh championship when he was arrested for an unprovoked assault of a prominent politician. As a result, he has been held out of competition for his second year of high school.

However, the boxer is keeping up with his training, and has even been spotted sparring with the WBC Lightweight Champion, Mamoru Yamanaka. Reportedly, Amamiya hasn’t lost his edge - if anything, he now displays an intensity in the ring that he previously lacked.

Amamiya is primarily known as an outboxer with a solid defense, preferring to keep his opponents at a distance - but he is unafraid to move to an in-fight if it means landing a solid counterpunch. His typical KO pattern is a dazzling array of left jabs, followed by a chopping right that takes advantage of his taller than average height and longer than average reach.

His greatest strength likely lies not in his boxing, but his coaching team (the Takeda family), his preparation, and adaptability. Given that Amamiya is still physically immature, he will likely move up a few weight classes as he ages. Hopefully, he will return to the competitive ring next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really hard to write. The chapter originally led right into Hawaii and the first couple days there, but something didn't feel 'truthful' about the way Ren/Ann were fighting in that version. I think it's because there's so much in a fight between lovers that's hard to capture, especially when they're a couple that generally get along. Small cues and changes in body language, a particularly hurtful passive aggression that I don't think I was able to really express.
> 
> So I went the route of looking at our couple through the eyes of people around them, characters I wanted to expand on a bit anyhow.
> 
> In my own experiences, the size of the fight is often completely disproportionate to the initial incident, or it evolves, becoming petty/angry and not even really _about_ the initial thing. And often I think loving the other person makes it worse. You can't get away from them, you don't want to just end it. So you fight. And you're angry that you're angry. It all becomes a mess.
> 
> But making up can be fun.
> 
> The bonus content is something I wanted to do after I hit 2K hits. Every once in awhile, I'll do a little 'tale of the tape' profile for a character (who may or may not be a fighter/boxer). Mari is Ohya's friend at Boxing Fan.
> 
> et^2 - Each of Ann's parents has the initials 'ET', so...
> 
> Elias, Ann's father - What we know so far: Protective. Refers to Ann as 'Princess'. Finnish-Japanese background, and apparently a Finnish citizen, as he had to go through the compulsory military service.
> 
> Chapter 26 should be easier. I thought about writing the entire thing first before posting 25 to ensure continuity, but I think it'll be alright to just go ahead. 25 was originally supposed to be out with the last cycle, but scrapping the entire first draft changed that, obviously -_-;
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	26. Zanshin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The concept of ‘zanshin’, or ‘the remaining mind’ is meant to illustrate a sense of constant, relaxed alertness in martial arts: before, during, and after each action. In a literal sense, this can be taken to mean the alertness one has after finishing off an opponent - keeping the blade or fist ready in the event they rise again, or to ensure that no one else is approaching. In humans, this must be trained; a drawback to having a mind capable of foresight._   
_In animals, this is natural. It is the wolf standing over a slain deer, teeth bared, hair bristled._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English dialogue is **bolded**
> 
> Other languages indicated as needed.
> 
> In the ring, why is a towel important - the idiom 'throwing in the towel' is from boxing. The final duty of the trainer is to 'throw in the towel' to forfeit the fight if the boxer's life/well-being is at risk.
> 
> Why outside position is important in anti-southpaw fighting, if I haven't made it clear in the text: https://www.expertboxing.com/how-to-fight-a-southpaw
> 
> ...And uh, finally... _really_ NSFW

September 7, 20xx 

It was a temperate Wednesday night in Tokyo. The concrete, polished skyscrapers, and subway tunnels were no longer retaining the same stifling heat of the summer. And yet, in Yongen-Jaya, someone still felt suppressed, as if the disagreeable haze of the summer heat was still somehow intruding on his mind, if not his body.

Morgana sat on the windowsill in Ren’s attic, overlooking the alley below. There was nothing to see, and the nearness of a streetlight tended to wash out his night vision, anyway. And still, he stared into nothing, just thinking and remembering.

_ ‘ _ _ You look out for all of us, your knowledge has saved us more than a few times, and I don’t think we could safely get through Mementos without your ability to transform. I think whether or not you’re human, you’re an important member of this team.’ _

At the time, the words were comforting - they told Mona that he _ mattered_, whether he was human or not. It didn’t fix the unsettling feelings he still had. When Futaba had joined the team, he felt like he was one critical step closer to finishing some unknown task. While the cat-bandit still couldn’t recall any specific details, he was starting to get the distinct sense that whatever this task was, there was no plan for what happened after it was done.

If there _ was _ an after.

Mona shivered, despite the comfortable temperature of the attic.

_ ‘I need to find a way to become human.’ _ Mona thought. _ ‘It’s the only way I can be sure that no matter what happens, I’ll have a place in this world.’ _

Mona wasn’t fooling himself anymore. He knew he wasn’t human. It made it even more critical to _ become _ human. The more he focused on that goal, the more he found Palace Treasures and _ felt _ human, even for a short time, the less he felt that unsettling satisfaction and fulfillment of a task completed.

_ ‘We need to find the next target as soon as possible. Get further in Mementos as soon as possible.’ _He thought, firmly. But that was far easier said than done. The entire team, save Futaba, was leaving for the United States. One to Los Angeles, the rest to Hawaii. And even if they weren’t, the Phantom Thieves were losing their focus entirely.

Ryuji wouldn’t shut up about glory, girls, and becoming a celebrity.

Makoto was distracted by her university and career prospects, and by being irritated with Ryuji.

Yusuke was always trying to consider his next work of art, or Leonardo and Donatello, his lobsters.

And finally, Ren and Ann were too wrapped up in their fight. Mona bristled at that.

At least Futaba was working. The orange haired girl was able to glean information from the files at a mere glance and was now working hard to find more in the cloned hard drive. Though, Mona had mixed feelings about her success.

_ ‘Ehehehe… here we go! It looks like Sae Niijima’s speculating that a single person or group of persons is responsible for both the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks. It looks like she’s thinking the same thing we are.’ _

_ ‘Nice. Way to go, Futaba! Man. I don’t know how we managed without you.’ _Ryuji had said, looking pointedly at Mona.

_ ‘Shut it, Ryuji. I know more about the Metaverse than _ _you_ _ . Right, Ren? We wouldn’t have gotten this far without me. ...Ren?’ _

Ren was too busy staring at Ann, who was blatantly stretching in front of the boy, arching her back. She caught his eye, giving him a mocking smirk.

_ ‘Need something, Wildcard? I can’t tell, because you’re _ _keeping your distance_ _ so well.’ _

Mona flicked his tail in irritation and fear. Fear that Ryuji was right, that he was becoming useless. Even if he wasn’t human, he was supposed to be an important member of the team. Without that… what did he have?

Just the unknown task. And then…

Mona pawed at his head, the closest he could get to rubbing his face in anxiety.

_ ‘I don’t want to disappear.’ _

>>>

Even on a Wednesday night, Narita International Airport was busy. The start of the school year always coincided with an uptick of activity for everyone, not just students. Also, it was the season for school trips - a higher than normal number of school uniforms were visible in the airport as various teachers wrangled their students into semi-orderly groups to wait for boarding.

Shiho practically skipped toward their gate. This was a trip to Hawaii, after all. Free time to explore on the 8th, followed by a luau in the evening. An educational trip to Pearl Harbor in the morning of the 9th, followed by yet more free time. And then on the 10th, the Dole plantation, with a final bit of free time to finish their trip before leaving on the 11th. It was going to be fantastic. Except…

Shiho paused, turning toward the pouting blonde following her. The two of them were uniform clad as well, though Ann had eschewed the hoody she normally tied around her waist, stuffing it into her carry-on before security. “...You two better hurry and make up. It’s been over a week since things have been weird.”

Ann huffed. “Are you worried about us, or whether or not we’re going to ruin the trip for you?”

“Mostly the second thing.” Shiho said bluntly, crossing her arms. “Seriously, though, hasn’t this gone on long enough? What are you even fighting about anymore?”

“The fact that he’s a jerk.” Ann replied, immediately.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Blondie. I haven’t forgotten what you said at the batting cage. Are you _ sure _ this isn’t in some part because you two can’t get any alone time to… ‘work out’ your issues? Between Bachan staying overnight and Mona sulking in Ren’s attic…”

Ann sighed.

“Maybe. _ Maybe _ that’s part of it. But the other part is that he’s a jerk. He basically said ‘I told you so’, and then the whole ‘watch me’ thing when I told him he wouldn’t be able to keep his distance.” Ann grumbled.

“So what? Are you going to break up, then?” Shiho said. “If you don’t want him, then maybe Shi-chan will give it a go-- Whoa! You’re in an airport, Blondie! I was joking.”

Ann put her carry-on roller case back down. “You’d better be. No. We’re not breaking up. He’s not getting off that easy.”

They approached the gate, spotting the aforementioned black-haired boxer as well as Ryuji and Makoto.

Makoto sighed, looking at Ryuji and his small backpack. She rubbed her face in a mix of concern and irritation. “Are you _ sure _ you packed enough, Ryuji?”

“What? It’s only three nights! And we’re going to basically be wearing our uniforms or swimming stuff for the whole time, right?” Ryuji replied. “Besides, if I’m packing too little, what about RenRen bringing too much? Who brings a gym bag to Hawaii?”

Ren smiled in anticipation. “We’ve got free time after Pearl Harbor. Kapolei Boxing Gym is just 22 minutes away from there. It’s the gym where Yamanaka-san trained before his fifth title defense against a challenger from Mexico. He…”

Ren trailed off, noting the looks of anticipatory boredom on the faces of Makoto and Ryuji.

Ren coughed. “...Anyway. It’s going to be fun. I’ve already got permission from Kawakami, and I called ahead to the gym last week.”

“Haha, cool.” Ryuji said, grinning. “I bet you’re gonna train every chance you get, right?”

“You bet.” Ren said, smiling. He then blinked, as something occurred to him. He eyed Ryuji’s bag and his uniform. “...You packed more than one uniform, right?”

“Why would I? That’s just extra luggage.” Ryuji replied. “It’s going to be fun, either way!”

Ren reached out, grabbing Mishima as the boy passed by. “Hey, Yuuki.”

“Uwah!? H-hey, Ren-kun…” Yuuki said, blinking.

“Want to be my roomie for the trip?” Ren asked.

“!! Oh! Sure!” Yuuki said, enthusiastically.

Ryuji blinked. “Brooooo… Seriously? Why?”

“You packed _ one _ uniform. We’re going to a hot place. What do you think that’s going to smell like by the last day?” Ren said, reasonably.

“...Oh. Oh, _ damn _.” Ryuji muttered. “Makoto, what should--”

She shoved her phone in Ryuji’s face, the _ buchimaru _cell phone strap dangling just below it. Listed were the hotel amenities, which included laundry. And a few other nearby, cheaper laundromats.

Ren grinned. “Wow. Really looking out for Ryuji there, Your Excellency.”

Makoto raised her nose in the air, frowning. “It’s my job as a chaperone on this trip.”

“Then why are you blushing, Mako-chan?” Shiho asked as she arrived, grinning just like Ren.

“I’m _ not _ .” Makoto snapped. “And you two are late. _ Please _ tell me you have your passports.”

“Sorry, Makoto. About being late. My passport…” Ann glanced at Ren. Ann turned around, putting her back to Ren as she bent down to pull her passport out of a pocket.

“It’s in here somewhere. It’s just really _tightly_ _jammed in_. Really _stuffed_.”

Ren made a quiet sound, somewhere between a whimper and a gasp. Mishima dropped his phone in shock. He nearly knelt down to get it, until Ren’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“Don’t you _ dare _ kneel down right now behind her right now.” Ren said quietly, in a conversational tone that was still somehow frightening.

Ann produced her passport, smiling pleasantly at Makoto. “Here it is~”

“Great.” Makoto replied. “I think it’s almost time for boarding. I’ll let Kawakami-sensei know that everyone’s here…”

Ann beamed at Ren. “So. You’ll be rooming with Mishima-kun, then?”

Ren nodded. “...Yes?”

“Good!” Ann turned to Mishima. “You know, MIshima-kun, Ren’s really been excited about the Phan-site lately.”

Ren’s eyes widened. _ ‘Oh no. No. Songbird, no.’ _

Yuuki blinked, before grinning excitedly. “Really?!”

Ann’s smile only turned _ more _ pleasant as she nodded innocently. “Mmhm! He’s actually been trying to find a time to talk to you about it, so rooming with him is perfect, don’t you think? I mean, you guys can talk all night! Make sure you don’t leave him alone for a _ second _, kay?”

She took Shiho’s arm. “Let’s go line up, Shiho.”

Shiho laughed. “Damn, Blondie. He really isn’t going to be _ getting off _ easy now, is he? I mean, he doesn’t get to ‘sleep over’ anymore, he’s got a mopey cat at home, and now a clingy roomie. Not even giving him the ‘self-serve’ option.”

Ann feigned innocence, shrugging. “No idea what you mean.”

Shiho’s laughter ended in a quiet sigh. While the fight had certainly created some amusing moments for the trolly teenager, it was getting somewhat drawn out. She wanted her friends _ happy _ . And right now, they weren’t _ un _happy, but things could be better.

She watched as Makoto sighed, shaking her head and facepalming again at a sheepish-looking Ryuji.

Shiho then turned to glance at Ren, whose eyes had taken on a glassy, thousand-yard stare as Mishima talked his ear off about the Phan-site, all the while nudging him and winking every time he asked what Ren thought ‘the Phantom Thieves might think’ about something.

And then her best friend, who was casually polishing her nails, casting furtive glances at Ren. Not just to see the destruction she had wrought, but eyeing his shoulders, his butt…

Shiho shook her head, smiling with amusement. Something she learned in English class actually had some relevance, for once.

_ ‘Four people, going to a paradise together with unresolved issues. Not _ _quite_ _ a magical forest and kingdom of fairies, but I think I can probably have some fun with this…’ _

“**Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill.**” Shiho murmured, in English.

Ann blinked, looking up. “Sorry, Shiho? What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all…”

>>>

September 8, 20xx 

“So _ that’s _ why we have so much free time on this trip?” Ryuji asked. He and the rest of the Phantom Thief family, excepting Ren, were seated at a picnic table at the luau that the school had arranged for them to go to in the evening, on a beach fairly close to the hotel. The sun was just starting to set. Apparently, it was one of only three activities that had been organized. “I mean, I’m not saying I don’t _ like _ having free time, but isn’t this a bit much? We already had the entire morning and afternoon.”

Makoto sighed. “I’m afraid so. There’s this, the Pearl Harbor visit, and the Dole Plantation. After the whole issue with Kamoshida, and then Kaneshiro preying on students, Shujin’s faculty has been in disarray. The killing blow was the scandal around Kobayakawa. It’s part of the reason why I had to come here to chaperone, and also the reason why the school was pretty accepting of students wanting to make their own arrangements. Like Ren.”

“Right. He’s going to that boxing gym after Pearl Harbor, right?” Ryuji asked. “More of his Yamanaka hero-worship.”

“It figures he’d find a way to drag Yamanaka into this…” Ann laughed. She allowed herself a soft smile, stirring her virgin Blue Hawaiian with her straw. “He really comes to life when it comes to boxing. I really like him when he’s like that.”

Shiho eyed her bestie. She felt mildly disappointed. _ ‘Looks like just being in Hawaii is doing the trick… my little intervention might not be needed after all.’ _

Yuuki frowned. “I can’t believe he took off for a run right after taking a nap. We were having a great talk about the Phan-Site on the flight, and then in the hotel room… He was really eager to get out on the beach.”

Ann affected an innocent expression.

The rest of the group exchanged glances. After Ann sicced Mishima on Ren, the boy had talked his ear off on the plane. Ren had been desperate to escape, literally running off. Unfortunately for Ann, she wasn’t going to have the last laugh. The luau wasn’t a closed event, and people not affiliated with the school were in attendance as well. So, the Shujin students were told to show up in uniform - it allowed the teachers and chaperones to keep tabs on them.

“Oh, hey. There he is.” Makoto said, looking up. “...Oh. Uh, Ann, you might not want to look.”

Ann looked; her expression turned to ice. Ren was walking toward the luau, fresh off his run. His hair was perfectly messy, as always. Like on the beach in Tokyo, he decided to run without a shirt. And without his glasses. That meant trouble in the form of two American girls, wondering why the cute Japanese boy was running so fast. As he politely disengaged from them to approach his friends, Ann shot a glance at Kawakami.

“Sensei! Shouldn’t he be in uniform…?” The blonde girl trailed off.

Kawakami was watching Ren approach as well, absently chewing on the straw of her drink as she eyed the boxer from head to toe.

“Sensei!” Ann snapped, her voice rising in pitch and volume.

“Hm? Oh! Right. Amamiya-kun mentioned he was going out for a run, and that he might not have time to change. I told him he was fine-- IT was fine. It was fine.” Kawakami said, coughing.

Shiho tried to hold in her laughter, failing miserably. “Serves you right, Blondie. You’ve spent the entire week teasing him.”

“I have _ not _.”

“Really? So you passport was _ actually _ ‘tightly jammed and stuffed’ in your bag.” Shiho said, skeptically.

Ren sat down at the table between Shiho and MIshima, opposite from Ryuji, who was flanked by Makoto and Ann. “Hey, guys. How’s the luau?” He glanced at the large _ kalua _ oven, where the roasted pig was being dug up. “Hopefully not too _ boar _ing.”

They all groaned.

“Da Vinci’s not even here to enjoy that, champ. Seriously.” Shiho said, shaking her head. She glanced at Ann, who looked like she wanted to either jump Ren and kill him, or just jump him. She smiled wryly, and then asked casually. “So. What’d those American girls want with you?”

“They were wondering why I was running.” Ren said, shrugging. “And it turned out they were into boxing… We were talking about Mayweather.”

“They seemed nice.” Shiho said, watching Ann’s knuckles turn white on her drink, the surface of the Blue Hawaiian shaking slightly.

“They were.” Ren said, innocently. “They even offered to show me around at some point--”

“What did you even say to them, anyway?” Ann shot at Ren. “Did they just happen to speak Japanese? I mean--”

“Er… Takamaki-san, sorry to interrupt. We were wondering if it was okay for us to hang out with you tomorrow? Neither of us are very comfortable with English.” She was a short girl with a violet bob cut. Akane Hayashi, if Ann recalled correctly.

Her friend, a tall, slender girl with long hair, glanced at the (still) shirtless Ren, before averting her eyes politely, a faint blush on her cheeks. “...Though if it’s too much trouble, maybe Amamiya-kun could? He was talking to those American girls?”

Ann stood, a tight smile on her face. “Hayashi-san, I’m happy to help! Why don’t we go and talk a bit about our plans for tomorrow? Seems like I won’t have anything to do during free time either, since my boyfriend’s going to be busy getting beaten up for fun.”

Ren frowned. “Hey, it’s not like I’ve been out of practice--”

“You didn’t look that good against Yamanaka-san, did you?” Ann said, sharply. She stood, leading the two girls away.

Ren shook his head slowly. “Oh, that’s a _ foul _, Songbird.”

Yuuki blinked, and then perked up. “Oh! I get that one! _ Fowl _ , and Song _ bird _. Haha.. ...ha..?”

Ren stared blankly at Yuuki.

Ryuji shook his head. “Read the room, bro… Anyway, RenRen. How friendly were those girls? Did you get a number? I mean, I thought Ann was pretty, but those chicks were--Shit!”

Ryuji jumped up, too late to avoid the ice cold virgin Mai Tai that Makoto accidentally-on-purpose elbowed onto his crotch. The fruity concoction quickly soaked through, leaving him feeling cold and uncomfortably sticky. “What the hell?! Seriously?!”

“Oh. Sorry, Ryuji.” Makoto said, cooly. “Looks like you’ll be paying a visit to a laundromat tonight after all.”

“I… you…!”

Ren shook his head. “Come on, buddy. I’ll walk you there.” He glanced over at Ann, who was chatting with the two girls. “I don’t much feel like enjoying the party, now.”

Makoto stood as well. “I’ll let Kawakami-sensei know where you two are going. Really, Ryuji. You should be more careful.”

She left before he could respond; soon, Mishima and Shiho were the only two left at the table.

Yuuki sighed. “If this is what the trip’s going to be like, then this won’t be much fun at all.” _ ‘...Just when I’ve been invited to be part of the group, too…’ _

“Hm? Oh, don’t worry.” Shiho said, smiling. “It’s all according to plan, more or less.”

She glanced at Ann. “That problem’s going to be pretty easy to solve, actually. So long as I have your help, Yukkun.”

Yuuki perked up. A nickname? For him? “What can I do?! I’ll do it.”

Shiho grinned. “Your enthusiasm is noted. So tonight, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to ask the champ all about Yamanaka, and why he’s visiting the boxing gym. I guarantee you that he’s going to talk _ your _ ear off about it, and eventually, he’ll say…”

>>>

September 9, 20xx 

“You should come with me!” Ren said, as the Shujin students left the _ USS Arizona _ memorial. “If you’re this interested, it’ll be fun. It’s an essential part of my ‘Left Hand of God Pilgrimage’.”

Yuuki numbly looked over at Ren, now understanding how the Phantom Thieves probably felt when he went on about the Phan-Site. He nearly forgot what he was supposed to say. “...Ah. I’d feel bad about leaving Suzui and Takamaki behind. Apparently, the two girls that were supposed to hang out with them backed out, and now they have nothing to do.”

Ren paused. It was still awkward whenever he was alone with Ann. But at least, this wouldn’t be alone. And who was he to deny Mishima’s newfound interest in Mamoru Yamanaka?

“Send them a text and tell them to come along. I’ll order an Uber.”

Yuuki nodded. He sent a text to Shiho.

**YM: He bought it** **  
** **SS: Strong work, Yukkun. Should be good here, too.**

Shiho put her phone back in her skirt’s pocket, looking over at Ann. “Hey, Blondie, since the other two flaked out on us, do you have any plans?”

“Hm? No, not really.” Ann had been glancing distractedly over at Ren, who was now standing on the curb with Mishima, his gym bag slung over his shoulder. “He’s so focused on his trip that he’s not even looking for me…”

“Right. Speaking of that, he’s actually pretty stressed.” Shiho said, seriously.

“What do you mean?” Ann asked, blinking in surprise. “Usually I’m pretty good at picking up his cues…”

“Well, are you that surprised? He’s kept his distance from you, so it’s only natural you wouldn’t see everything.” Shiho said, reasonably. “Yukkun just texted me. Apparently the only Japanese-speaking boxer at the gym is sick today, so there won’t be an interpreter… The champ’s a bit worried about it.”

“...Oh! Well, I could go along, but…”

“Right. Still not comfortable being alone around him, right? I’ll go with! Not like I have any other plans.”

The two walked over to Ren and Mishima, who were waiting for the car along with Makoto and Ryuji.

“Makoto, Ryuji? You’re going, too?” Ann asked.

Makoto shook her head. “Each student doing free time outside of the immediate Honolulu area had to submit an itinerary and a chaperone has to see them off. I need to account for who’s in the car and make sure that the driver understands to not drop them off prematurely.”

“And I’ve heard enough about Mamoru Yamanaka to last a lifetime.” Ryuji said, grinning.

The Uber pulled up; the students piled in, filling the back seat. Mishima went in first, followed by Ren, Ann, and Shiho.

The driver frowned, looking back. He spoke in English. **“You know, there’s only three seatbelts back there. One of you has to sit up here.”**

Ann translated; Shiho got back out. “Shotgun!”

Yuuki frowned, feeling his pants pocket. “...Oh, shoot. I left my wallet in the museum!” He exited the car.

Ren watched him exit, suspiciously. “...Hey, wait…”

Ann looked down at her feet, where Shiho had left a small tote bag, zipped up. “Oh, hey, Shiho, do you need this up front with you…? Shiho?”

Shiho was still standing outside the car, near the open window of the front passenger side. “Hm? Oh, no, Blondie. I packed that for _ you. _Some necessities. Have fun!”

Makoto poked her head in the window, speaking in passable English. **“Excuse me, I’m one of the chaperones. Please don’t let these two off until you reach their destination. It’s one of the rules of the school.”**

The driver nodded.

Ren blinked, his head snapping up. “Makoto!? You _ can’t _be in on this.”

Makoto smiled wryly. “Never really got you back for the paint cans and tripwire, Ren. And everyone’s tired of your fight. Consider us even. Have fun~!”

Ren turned, jiggling the handle of the door on his side as Ann did the same. Both Shiho and Yuuki had engaged the child locks before exiting the car.

“Son of a--”

The car drove off; Shiho waved pleasantly, holding up her phone to photograph the occasion. She frowned. “Really? The middle finger, champ? Rude. Welp. That should take care of that.”

Ryuji sighed. “Man. Feels like we just cut out a shit ton of tension… Maybe we can actually have some fun, now.”

“Indeed.” Yusuke said, approaching. “I’m glad to see that steps were taken to ensure that those two reconcile.”

“Yeah, I know, right Yusuke? I-- ..Wait, what?! How did you get here?!”

Yusuke tilted his head curiously. “...Well, first, I went to Narita International. There, I boarded a plane, and then..”

Makoto shook her head. “No. Weren’t you supposed to be in LA with the rest of the Kosei second years?”

“I was.” Yusuke said. “Unfortunately, a storm coming from the south forced us to divert to Hawaii. It seems as though due to the timing of the storm, we’ll be spending our school trip here as well. It’s remarkable that our faculty was at least able to arrange a trip to the Pearl Harbor memorial…”

Ryuji suddenly perked up. “...Does this mean Hifumi’s here, too!?”

“Yes, actually.” Yusuke said. “She was interested to know that you were going to be here, also.”

“She was?! Oh, awesome. Dude, you gotta help me. You can even call it bird-manning, I don’t care, just…”

As Ryuji went on, he didn’t notice Makoto bite her lower lip before turning aside. “I’m going to report to Kawakami-sensei. ...Stay out of trouble, you guys. I’ll see you a little later.”

Yuuki sighed, speaking so that only Shiho could hear. “So much for saving the trip. Niijima-senpai doesn’t look too happy…”

He glanced over at Shiho.

Shiho only smiled. “Oh, no. This is _ good _. I can use this…”

>>>

In the car, once their friends were no longer within sight to see the rude gestures, Ren and Ann turned back around. They glanced at each other briefly, before buckling up as far apart from each other as possible. Ren took out his phone to send an angry text to the gang, surprised to find that the LINE app was already open with a single text from Futaba.

**FS: Both your phones are locked out. You actually have to talk to each other. Enjoy~!**

Ren shook his head. This was so absurd that he couldn’t help but chuckle.

The driver glanced in the rearview.

**“Hey, guys. Can you confirm the destination? Kapolei Boxing Gym?”**

Ann sighed. At least she had a reason to be there. “Ren, he’s asking--”

**“Yes, that’s correct, thank you.” **Ren replied, in fluent, albeit accented English.

Ann stared at Ren, her jaw agape. “...But Shiho said that you needed me here to translate…”

Ren shook his head, laughing. “I don’t see why you’re surprised about Shiho lying. This is the same Shiho that manipulated Yuuki into manipulating me and orchestrated us being alone in this car. I’m fluent, Songbird. The inn sees a lot of American and Chinese tourists. It’s good for business for the son of the owners to be able to chat up the younger guests. I’m fluent in English, sort of okay with Mandarin, and I can say the word ‘punch’ in six languages.”

“...So you didn’t just memorize the syllables to ‘The Way You Look Tonight’?” Ann asked, in a quiet voice.

Ren smiled softly at the memory, looking out the window in mild embarrassment, not quite over his oddly selective stage fright. “...No, not just memorization of the syllables. I understood and meant every word.”

Ann’s heart went aflutter at the sight of him looking shy. “...Thanks. That’s sweet.”

The Hawaiian scenery slipped by them as the Uber took them west and south. The silence went from awkward to comfortable as they looked out onto Pearl Harbor, the car making good time along the Kamehameha Highway. Ann wasn’t sure if she took Ren’s hand, or if it was the other way around. All that mattered was that it seemed as though the week of petty arguments and sniping was over, and all it had taken was a moment alone on a beautiful highway in paradise, with a driver who didn’t understand Japanese and respectfully kept his eyes on the road.

“...Hey, Songbird?” Ren said, quietly.

“Mm?”

“I’m sorry. I was stupid.” Ren said, without looking at her. “It wasn’t just the article--”

A click announced the blonde releasing her seatbelt. She moved over to the middle seat, buckling up there so she could take hold of his arm.

“I know. I know, Wildcard. But what was it? What made you push me away?”

“I thought I scared you, went too far. I mean, it was just in April that Kamoshida...” Ren said, trailing off. He knew he didn’t have to finish that thought. “And I thought that if I could do that, then with the article, you’d…”

Ann shook her head, squeezing his arm in a hug. “I told you. Nothing you can do would ever scare me, Ren. I _ know _ you. You’re not like that. And some article in a sports magazine isn’t going to push me away from you. We’re a team, right? You can’t just barge ahead and make decisions about us on your own. We’re going to face things together.”

Ren sighed. “I know. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Ann murmured, hugging his arm again.

After a moment, Ren smiled. “So? What about you, Songbird? Normally you drag me kicking and screaming out of my own head when I get this way instead of letting things turn into bickering and lashing out. What was different?”

Ann stiffened, thinking of the _ other _ reason. The heat of his body pressed against hers, the way he had grabbed her, spun, pinning her up against the wall--

She let go of Ren’s arm suddenly, her cheeks pink.

Ren blinked in surprise, at first wondering if he had mis-stepped. But her expression was odd. A mix of confused and something _ else _. He changed the subject, glancing at the tote bag. “...Anyway, what did Shiho pack for you?”

Ann, grateful for the change in topic, picked up the tote bag, unzipping the top. She opened the bag. She squeaked, slamming it shut.

“...Ann? What’s in the bag?”

Ann shook her head rapidly, turning from pink to carmine. Wordlessly, she handed the bag to Ren.

The boxer opened it carefully, peering inside at the contents.

The tote bag had been filled halfway to the top with square, foil packages and a selection of Ann’s underwear. Apparently, Shiho had no qualms about rifling through Ann’s luggage, nor with paying a visit to the ABC Convenience store beside the hotel to make a ‘sensitive’ purchase. There were at least two dozen inside.

Ren blinked. Calmly, he zipped the bag up, looking at Ann.

“So. Is that going to be enough?” He said, with a well-composed poker face.

Ann stared at Ren incredulously.

Ren’s lip quivered under the gaze before he lost his cool, bursting out into laughter.

Ann started smacking his arm, giggling herself. “This.. haha… this isn’t funny! How am I supposed to walk around with a bag like this?!”

Laughter filled the back of the car as it made its way into Kapolei, a sense of normalcy finally returning to the couple.

>>>

“Holy _ shit _. You gave her a bag full of condoms and sexy underwear?!” Ryuji said, eyes wide.

Shiho shrugged, as they sat gathered around a table at a Big Bang Burger. Ryuji, Shiho, Makoto, Yusuke, and Yuuki had just finished souvenir shopping for everyone back home. “It’s not like I expect them to go and have sex. I mean, his itinerary says they’ll be back before lights out. But it’ll get them to laugh together.”

Makoto sighed. “That’s hardly appropriate, Shiho. But I understand your reasoning.”

“...Ugh. I feel sick…” Yuuki mumbled.

“Oh, come on.” Shiho said. “You were the one who actually went in and bought the condoms. Why are you feeling sick, now?”

Yusuke frowned. “I believe Mishima-kun is _ literally _ feeling sick. He was the only one that bought a roadside coconut…”

Ryuji sighed. “Come on, Yuuki. Let’s get you to the bathroom. Yusuke, help me out.” The two stood, helping Mishima stumble to the restroom and leaving the girls alone.

Shiho looked at Makoto. “You doing okay, Mako-chan?”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Makoto said, almost defensively.

“Because RyuRyu’s been going on and on about his date with Hifumi tomorrow night.” Shiho said. “And when he isn’t, he goes on about whatever piece of American ass walks by.”

“He can do whatever he wants.” Makoto said, mumbling. “He keeps saying, he’s not dating anyone.”

“...Do you _ want _ him to be?” Shiho asked, bluntly.

“Why should I care?” Makoto asked, glaring at Shiho.

“Because you care about everything else that has to do with him.” Shiho said, reasonably. “You worry about what he eats. You made sure he had a way to clean his uniform. You make sure he keeps up with his studies.”

Makoto scoffed, taking a sip of her soda. “You’re describing a mother.”

“A mother doesn’t look at him the way you do. Or at least, I hope not.” Shiho said, briefly looking both disgusted and amused. “If anything, I just described a wife. A really clingy one, too.”

Makoto choked, sputtering. Shiho patted her back.

“Look, Mako-chan. It’s not like this is one-sided. My take on it? He _ thinks _ he wants to be with a girl like Hifumi. He _ thinks _ he wants to be some big shot ladies’ man. But didn’t he come running, when he thought you were in trouble? And you’re the only one he’s told anything about his future plans to, remember? Ryuji Sakamoto’s strong suit isn’t his mind. He’s scattered, like I said. But his heart is reliable. And I think it’s saying _ one _ name right now.”

Makoto shook her head. “Whatever you say, he’s still going to go out with Hifumi tomorrow. And from the sounds of it, he’s going to ask to start dating her. So it doesn’t really matter how I feel… ...Honestly, I don’t _ know _ how I feel. He just irritates me. _ Instantly _, sometimes.”

Shiho suppressed her smile. “Fine. How about this? If he ditches his date with Hifumi for you, you’ll give it a shot?”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Shake on it.” Shiho said.

Makoto nearly grabbed Shiho’s hand, before eyeing the girl suspiciously. “...you’re not going to do something involving a bag full of contraceptives and locking us in a car together, are you?”

“I promise.”

“Fine.”

Makoto shook Shiho’s hand.

The wind picked up in the distance, sounding like the wail of an angry ghost despite the sunny sky. Makoto frowned.

“That’s… strangely ominous.”

Shiho smiled at Makoto. “Don’t worry. _ I’ll _ be fine.”

>>>

In the Kapolei Boxing Gym, Ann watched with interest as Ren participated in training alongside the other boxers. They were mostly amateurs, like Ren, with a smattering of pros. Ann could see why Ren had wanted to visit so badly; the place was decorated with Yamanaka posters and paraphernalia from his title defense. Apparently, the lightweight champion still visited the gym to train when he had a fight that was going to take place in areas with a similar climate to Hawaii.

_ ‘He’s amazing, Yamanaka-san.’ _ Ren had said, excitedly. _ ‘He’s exacting with his preparation, despite his talent. He tries to train in the exact same climate, the exact same altitude. Everything he does is about the fight. He’s like a modern-day warrior monk…’ _

She might have felt a bit jealous if it weren’t for the plumeria blossom Ren had found outside shortly after, tucking it above her left ear.

_ ‘Above your left ear means you’re taken.’ _ He said, kissing her cheek, out of view of the gym’s doors and windows. _ ‘Can’t have any of the boxers in there trying to take you away from me.’ _

Ann smiled fondly at Ren as he shadow-boxed, briefly adjusting the flower. She really did love him like this. Elsewhere, particularly in the Metaverse, he carried the burden of command. Although he bore it increasingly better, there was still a palpable difference to the way he was now. His heart was lighter. His smile was genuine, beautiful, and unburdened.

An unfamiliar voice interrupted her thoughts.

**“Hey, welcome to the gym.”** An American boy, seemingly of similar age to Ren and Ann, stood in front of the bench, speaking in English. **“What’s your name?”**

Ann looked up at the owner of the voice. A boy, around her and Ren’s age. He had brown hair, blue eyes. He wasn’t bad-looking, but certainly no Ren Amamiya or Yusuke Kitagawa. She also wasn’t particularly fond of the way that his eyes lingered on her, giving her the ‘head to toe and back’. She gave him a polite smile and nod. This habit, unfortunately, was fully ingrained in her from her upbringing, regardless of how she actually felt about the person she was speaking with.

**“I’m Ann Takamaki.”**

“**Keith Shaw.”** He replied, taking the smile and nod as an invitation to sit down beside Ann.

“**You here with that Japanese dude? He was wearing a uniform too.”**

**“I am. He’s my boyfriend.” **Ann added, casually. She crossed her legs, turning her body slightly away from Shaw.

“**Oh, really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. You don’t really look good together. Though, I guess that’s why you’re wearing that flower over your left ear.**” He reached for her temple, ostensibly to adjust the flower.

Ann dodged his hand as if performing a headslip. “**I can take care of that myself, thanks**.”

“**Whoa, sorry.** ” He said, laughing, holding his hands up defensively. “ **Sorry. I just wanted to have a look at it. So, why are you going to a Japanese high school? You look American to me.”**

“**I’m part Japanese.**” Ann answered, still trying to be polite as she craned her neck, watching Ren starting to hit the mitts.

**“Wow. But your hair’s really pretty… That can’t be the natural color.”**

Ann rolled her eyes at the unsubtle neg. _ ‘Fine. Gloves are off, chump.’ _

She didn’t even bother looking at him.** “Look. I don’t know what you imagined a Japanese school girl would be like, but that you can take your pickup artist crap out of here. Really? Trying to initiate early contact, negging? Come on. So why don’t you get back to training?”**

**“Wow. That time of the month?”** Keith stood up, his friendly smile gone. ** “You know, guests ought to be more respectful.”**

**“Excuse me. Is there a problem?”** Ren asked, in lightly accented English.

Keith sneered, speaking in a mocking faux-Japanese accent. **“‘Excusuh me. Eez there probulemu?’”** He walked off, laughing.

Ann glared at his back. She looked at Ren, her current issue with her boyfriend forgotten for the moment. “Ren, why the hell are we here? If that’s an example of how they are as boxers, then…”

Ren sighed. “The head trainer here, Coach Ota, took me aside to warn me. Shaw’s an import from the US mainland, a senior high school amateur boxer who’s about to turn pro. Ota would have kicked him to the curb months ago, but the owner of the gym wants a pro in the lightweight division. And the owner is Shaw’s uncle. Shaw’s a massive problem. Bullies newcomers, hits on anything female, is blatantly racist.”

“Is he a good boxer?”

“Yes. Southpaw, 20-0-0 amateur record, half of them knockouts.” Ren said.

“Are you going to fight him?” Ann asked.

“I hope so.” Ren replied, an unfamiliar look flashing across his handsome features.

Ann caught it - it was something like the expression he had when he shadowboxed in front of her the first time. A little smile, or smirk. A sense of anticipation. Only this time, with the thought of an actual opponent… he seemed more focused. As he watched Shaw start to hit the heavy bag, striking heavily from his southpaw stance, something alien flashed across Ren’s handsome features.

Like he was hunting.

And in the next moment, it was gone. Practice continued normally.

The spurned Keith Shaw kept staring at Ann, undressing her with his eyes. He kept staring at Ren, too, especially after he found out that the Japanese youth was his approximate age and weight. He certainly wasn’t undressing Ren with his eyes - rather, he seemed to be calculating

Coach Ota appeared, stepping out of his office as he quickly grabbed his keys and headed for the door.** “Hey... Kawai, you’re in charge. I’m going to step out for a second. Volunteer firefighter duty calls.”**

**“You got it, Coach. Alright, guys. Form up. Let’s do some sparring.”**

Keith stepped forward, with a cocky smile.** “Sounds good. Our guest is in my weight class. Why don’t we give it a go? I looked it up. His record’s about the same as mine.”**

Kawai, a welterweight pro in his 20’s, shook his head. **“Coach said no one spars with you unless he’s present, Shaw.”**

**“...My uncle just organized a fight for you, didn’t he? One that might put you in line for a title shot. Shame if that got pulled.”**

Kawai blinked. **“...What? You wouldn’t…”**

**“That depends.”** Keith said, a slimy grin on his face.

Ren climbed into the ring.

“! Wait, kid, it’s fine, you don’t have to…” Kawai said, switching to his first language.

Ren smiled at him. “It’s fine, Kawai-san. I’m happy to accommodate. What are the rules?”

“Three rounds, three minutes, three knockdown.” Kawai replied, automatically. “That’s our standard for sparring.”

Keith sneered. **“Hey, hey. You two better not be conspiring against me there. Not that it’d help you.”**

Ren nodded, putting in his mouthguard. He glanced at Keith - the American boxer wasn’t bothering to put on headgear, already getting into his stance.

**“No headgear?”**

**“Don’t need it for you.” **Keith replied.

**“Alright.”** Ren replied. He raised his guard. The bell rang to signify the start of the first round.

Keith moved in, his right hand leading. Ren raised his left, to touch gloves.

The American boxer smacked his left hand aside, ignoring the sportsmanlike gesture. He immediately launched two jabs with his leading right and planted his leading foot on the outside of Ren’s leading foot. A left cross followed after the second jab in a sharp 1-2.

The punches thudded into Ren’s guard. Deftly, he backstepped, resetting their positions and getting his foot out from the inside.

For the first round, Ren seemed to be little more than a sandbag. The leader of the Phantom Thieves spent most of his time blocking, as Keith utilized a swarming, brawling style to overwhelm the Japanese boxer. The brown-haired American boy grinned, occasionally glancing at Ann mockingly as he pummeled Ren over his guard.

Kawai frowned, holding a towel, poised to throw - he wouldn’t let a guest get hurt on his watch, even if he had failed in stopping this fight in the first place. He paused, though, on seeing Ann.

Ann watched, without a hint of concern on her face. She had fought at Joker’s side in the Metaverse countless times. She knew what he looked like when he was struggling and when he was worried. She also knew what he looked like when he was studying an opponent. It wasn’t often necessary in the Metaverse, with their abilities. But when he did it, it started like this - blocking attacks, until he gained an understanding of the range and timing.

As he began to understand, he would start parrying.

Keith’s grin faded as his punches stopped giving him good feedback - instead of solid impacts against the guard of his opponent’s gloves, forearms, and elbows, he instead started feeling his own gloves slide or slip past.

And then, if his opponent was still standing, Ren wouldn’t even need to parry anymore.

The Japanese boxer started to effortlessly slip and weave around Keith’s punches, no longer needing to hold as tight of a guard. The round ended, with Keith panting from the effort of three minutes of constant attack. Ren smiled slightly as he passed the American, going to his corner.

Kawai approached Ann. “Has Amamiya-kun fought many southpaws before…?”

“Only one that I know of.” Ann replied. “Mamoru Yamanaka.”

“...Wait. _ The _ Yamanaka? ...Wait, wait. Hold on. He’s the same Ren Amamiya who sparred with him in Ogino Gym?”

“The same.” Ann said, proudly.

Kawai grinned. “This’ll be fun. Shaw only _ thinks _ he’s as good as Yamanaka…”

In the second round, Ren took a more open stance. His left hand was held lower, in his preferred ‘hitman’ stance.

Keith sneered.** “Tommy Hearns fan, eh? Like some Jap would have the power to pull that off.”**

If Ren was bothered by the comment, he didn’t show it. His lip was quirked in that infuriating little smile as his shoulders jogged, his body moving lightly on his toes.

Keith tried to rattle him again. **“Though, you’ve got to be packing ** ** _something_ ** **, right? How else are you gonna keep a blonde slut like that satisfied? Hey, how about this? If I win, you let me give her a ride.”**

Still nothing. Ren just grinned a little wider at Keith, simultaneously annoying and unsettling the American.

Keith stepped forward, jabbing with his right.

It was a good, sharp jab. One honed by hundreds of hours of practice against mitts, heavy bags, and opponents, both shadow and real. It was a jab that Keith had every right to be proud of; the rhythm and form were picture perfect. So perfect, in fact, that Ren had completely captured the timing of it during the first round.

Ren slipped to the outside of the right jab, smoothly countering with a left hook over Keith’s shoulder. He struck him in the jaw and sent him stumbling.

It was during that stumble that Ren began to dismantle his opponent.

Ren’s left jab shot in, striking in doubles and triples at face and body as he circled to the left, keeping his leading foot on the outside, keeping a wide open attacking angle. He started adding right straights, alternating between the body and head, ruthlessly striking whatever target was open.

Abruptly, he backstepped, giving up the advantageous position. Surprisingly, his smile widened just a little more as he jogged his shoulders, keeping his body loose, relaxed. His grey eyes shined with amusement.

Ann grinned. “That won’t work again… Yamanaka tried the same thing to Ren.”

Kawai blinked, looking closely. Keith, knowing that Ren had taken the ideal position against a southpaw by circling clockwise, tried to herd him into a corner by guarding and gradually shifting his foot position.

Ren stood in the center of the ring, his smirk turning into a full on mocking grin.

Keith cursed, his face already mildly swollen from the stinging lefts. He advanced toward the Japanese boxer menacingly. **“I’m gonna beat that smile off your fucking face, Jap…”**

The bell rang, signifying the end of the second round.

Kawai frowned, looking at Keith’s face. **“Hey, Shaw. Want to call it? Your left eye’s starting to close up.”**

**“Shut your fucking mouth, Kawai.”**

Ann, at Ren’s corner, smiled up at him. “Looking good, Wildcard.”

“Thanks, Songbird. I learned a lot from Yamanaka… ...san…” He trailed off, his eyes looking past Ann’s shoulder. The gym grew silent as the door opened.

Mamoru Yamanaka strode in, in the flesh. He wore a simple grey suit and white shirt. His hair was still in a tight ponytail, and his goatee, as always, neatly trimmed. The suit was perfectly tailored, but it didn’t seem to _ fit _ him. Dressing up a hungry lion didn’t make it look any less dangerous.

Kawai ran over; the two of them exchanged polite bows repeatedly. Kawai apologizing for not being aware that the champion was going to visit; Yamanaka for showing up unannounced. The pro looked over at the ring, his eyes showing surprise and recognition on sighting Ren. He accepted the offer of tea and a seat, watching the ring with interest.

Ann looked at Ren. She hoped he wouldn’t be rattled by his hero watching him. She prepared reassuring words.

Those words died on her lips as Ren stood up. He looked determined, eager. And something else more… primal.

This was a new side of him. He had described to her what his usual tendency in boxing had been before, but this was her first time watching him in action. Amateur fights were three round affairs. The first round was observation, capturing his opponent’s timing and distance. The second round was investigation, using primarily his own left hand to gauge his own distance and his opponent’s response to both a physical and a mental attack - hence the grin. And the third round… well.

The third round was going to be a hunt. Ren’s eyes were a flat, cold grey. Nothing existed except his opponent before him.

Keith started to charge from his corner, but came to an abrupt halt. Just like Jiro had, in Ren’s final match before his conviction.

The mocking smile was gone. The steady jog of the shoulders and slight bounce on his feet were gone, replaced instead by an ominous sort of stillness and pressure. The same stillness of a serpent waiting to strike, a stone cold motionless made more profound by the explosion of speed that was sure to follow after.

And follow it did.

A left flicker jab lashed out as Ren quickly circled to his left - not as quick as the previous round, though. The jab was narrowly dodged by Keith as he swayed back. Instinctively, Keith lashed out with a right jab in response.

Ren slipped the right jab he had baited, countering with a left hook to the body, the leather thudding hard into Keith’s body.

This repeated several times; Ren kept ruthlessly punishing Keith for using his right jab. Left hooks and jabs slammed into Keith’s body, shoulder, and face over and over, sometimes two or three in a single exchange.

**“Mother.. Fucker…” **Keith hissed. His left eye was swollen shut. The damage wasn’t deep; it was simply that Ren’s jabs struck with such sharpness that they created a swelling similar to being whipped, or slapped. The bigger problem was in his lungs and abdomen, where Ren’s fist had struck repeatedly, depriving the American boxer of the oxygen critical for him to fight. His legs and arms burned as the lactate built. The fight was essentially lost, for Keith. Like many southpaws, he relied on the fact that many orthodox fighters were unused to fighting southpaws. And Ren Amamiya had already sparred against the best out there.

Kawai cocked his arm back with the towel, ready to end it.

**“Don’t you fucking ** ** _dare_ ** **, Kawai!” ** Keith snarled. He charged aggressively at Ren. This was just a spar, but he refused to lose face. He wouldn’t lose to some no-name amateur out of Japan in front of the lightweight WBC champion. Yamanaka was the man he wanted to fight for the title. Time was running out. Ren would win on points; Keith needed a KO reversal. He caught the timing of one of Ren’s jabs, slipping to the outside, bringing his left cross into line with Ren’s head. He stepped into it, prying his entire body weight behind the blow, enough to knock anyone out. It was going to be a perfect, textbook counter from a southpaw fighter. But the Japanese boxer disappeared - into the blind spot of Keith’s swollen left eye, slipping to the _ inside _, the opposite of what the Japanese boxer had been doing the entire round.

Ren stepped forward with his right foot, switching stances, just like what Yamanaka had done to _ him, _but in reverse: Going from orthodox to southpaw. As his weight shifted, he pivoted on his leg, slamming a right hook home into Keith’s temple and sending the American lightweight boxer stumbling to his right.

A left jab caught Keith in the face, stopping his lateral movement. Ren, back in orthodox, advanced on his reeling opponent. Two quick jabs were immediately followed by a hard over hand chopping right, all three punches connecting. The American crumpled to the canvas.

Kawai quickly rang the bell.

The American was out cold, but all the same, Ren stared his opponent down. He stood there, like a wolf over a fresh kill.

Ann’s breath caught, transfixed to the spot. This was _ definitely _ another side to Ren. He hadn’t fought angry. Far from it. He was controlled, calm. He fought with a confidence and creativity that she had only caught glimpses of in his fight against Yamanaka. Maybe it was the hero worship, or the fact that the champion was just too far above Ren.

It wasn’t the violence that was catching her attention. It was the self-assured dominance and ferocity that struck a chord deep within her. Something that confused her again, and made Celestine stir in the depths of her being. Something that set her heart to racing.

_ ‘...What the _ ** _hell_ ** _ is wrong with me?’ _

“_ Zanshin _ . _ ” _Yamanaka said, now standing beside Ann. He had moved there with a quiet fluidity and grace such that he had simply escaped the girl’s notice.

“I’m sorry. You looked confused?” His voice was polite, calm. A breeze over a still pond. He watched Ren closely. “He’s demonstrating _ zanshin _. A state of relaxed alertness, or continued spiritual, mental, and physical readiness. He’s had a good trainer. He’s completely committed himself to the moment of the fight. Rare to find that kind of focus in a fighter his age.”

Yamanaka smiled, extending a hand to Ren, who quickly made his way down from the ring. Ren extended a gloved hand, before blinking sheepishly, yanking them off and hurriedly shoving them into Ann’s hands. He shook the champion’s hand enthusiastically.

“Yamanaka-san! What brings you here?! I mean, it’s not like you have to have a _ reason _, if anything, I’m the one intruding, and--”

Ann rolled her eyes. Whatever state Ren was in was gone, lost in the hero worship. She watched the two, holding his gloves, feeling equal parts amused and jealous.

_ ‘Focus in the moment, huh…?’ _

The door slammed open again. Coach Ota was back, now wearing a raincoat. He was utterly soaked. The wind howled in the background of a now dark sky.

**“We’ve got a problem, guys. Close up shop. We’re all going home.”**

His eyes scanned the room, focusing on Ann and Ren.

**“Except the two of you.”**

>>>

“And in weather news, the storm that diverted Flight JL62 from Los Angeles to Honolulu has now turned south, pelting the island of Oa’hu with winds up to sixty kilometres per hour. While not a hurricane, tourists and residents have been advised to stay indoors. Several major highways have been closed as a precautionary measure, and…”

Inoue blinked, looking up at her husband, who was sitting in the living room of the inn’s family quarters. Kenji had his radio on as he tinkered with an old blender in hopes of repairing it and selling it.

“Ne, Ken-san. Isn’t that where Ren’s gone to?”

“Mm. The kid’ll be fine. He wouldn’t run out into a mess like that, unless Ann-chan or Mamoru Yamanaka were somehow involved.” Kenji muttered, holding a small screw between his lips.

“It’s funny how you mention the love of his life in the same sentence as the lightweight champion of the world.” Inoue said.

Kenji grinned, taking the screw and fixing it into the blender. “Ann-chan’s going to find out how thin that distinction is one day. If she hasn’t already.”

Inoue laughed. She sat down on the _ tatami _-matted floor beside Kenji, peering at the blender. 

“Any luck? Will it blend?”

He hit the button. The old thing roared to life. “Yep!”

She kissed her husband’s cheek, smiling. “My hero.”

There was a soft chime from the doorbell at the front entrance. 

Inoue frowned. “That’s odd…”

It was past the time where anyone would come hoping to use the dining room, the only thing in the inn that they were licensed to serve customers out of. Without a liquor license, of course.

Inoue stood. “I’ll get it, Ken-san. You clean up here.”

Kenji nodded. He put away his tools, carefully putting them and the repaired blender in his small hobby room. Within moments, the man heard his wife calling from the inn, connected to the family quarters by a short hallway.

“Ken-san, come here! It’s one of Ren’s friends!”

Kenji scratched his beard, blinking. He stood up, heading eagerly down the hall. “Really, Inoue-chan? I thought he mentioned they were all going to the States on their school trips? Who could it be?”

“Oh, you’ll never believe it!” Inoue shouted, excitedly.

Kenji stepped into the entrance hall, looking past his wife, who held the door open for a shaggy-haired youth, who was carefully removing his shoes. He wore a white shirt, black slacks, and a vertically striped black and white tie. He looked vaguely familiar.

“He’s the one from the television! Can you believe it? Our boy’s dating a model, _ and _ he’s close friends with a celebrity!” Inoue gushed.

He smiled at Kenji.

“Hello! Sorry for the intrusion, sir. I’m Goro Akechi.”

>>>

The storm was now in full force over the island of Oa’hu. The Shujin students were safely gathered inside the hotel, either hanging out in their rooms, or else in the lobby and other indoor areas. Most of the students were relaxed; they had gotten to enjoy most of their day before the storm truly touched down anyhow and it was projected to pass by the following morning.

There was tension, however, in one room.

Shiho and Ryuji looked up anxiously as the door to the room opened.

Makoto stepped inside, a relieved smile on her face. “They’re fine.”

The other three sighed, the tension immediately bleeding out of them.

Makoto continued. “They’re going to spend the night in Kalopei. Funny enough, they actually ran into Mamoru Yamanaka of all people. He’s an odd fellow from what Ann was saying on the phone. He dropped them off at the hotel, and then handed them his room keys, saying he ‘didn’t need them’. Then he drove off into the storm.”

“...What? Seriously?” Shiho asked, shocked. “Why? Is he going to go and do something like train in a storm?.... ...Wait did Ren...”

Makoto threw up her hands, rolling her eyes. “Ann stopped Ren from following Yamanaka. For such a smart guy, our leader’s a complete moron sometimes.”

Ryuji laughed. “I can imagine it. RenRen, sitting in seiza on a beach in the storm, watching Yamanaka shadow-box to a background of pelting rain and howling wind…”

Shiho chuckled. “I really don’t know how Ann deals with him, when he’s like that. She says she likes him when he’s in his element, too. I guess they’ll be back tomorrow morning… nice. My plan worked out even better than I thought. Might use the contents of the bag after all!”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible. Anyway, there’s not really much for us to do, now. I think I have a deck of cards in my room. Hang on, I’ll be right back. Might as well get Mishima, too…”

After Makoto left, Shiho looked over at Ryuji, lying on the couch. “So. Hope this doesn’t put a damper on your date with Hifumi-chan tomorrow.”

“It shouldn’t.” Ryuji said, shrugging. “I mean, we’re just going to catch dinner, and go for a walk.”

Shiho asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seems like the perfect set up. She’s the kind of girl that’s your type?”

“Y-yeah! Totally.” Ryuji said, quickly, puffing his chest up. “I mean, she’s kind, and has a good personality…”

Shiho nodded. “Oh, really? So what if another girl showed up, with exactly the same personality?”

“...Then I’d go for the prettier one?” Ryuji replied, uncertainly.

“So then looks are the most important thing? The second answer’s the real one, RyuRyu.”

“Oh, come on, Shiho.” Ryuji said, throwing a pillow at her.

Shiho laughed, deflecting it. “Seriously, though. Are you going to confess? Ask her to date you?”

“Maybe.” Ryuji sighed, deflating. “I don’t know. I mean, how do you know when you should? She’s pretty, and I thought that was all a guy needed, you know? Decide that you like her, and then ask. How did Ren and Ann hit it off?”

“In a dim boxing gym, sweaty and exhausted emotionally and physically.” Shiho said, dryly. “I don’t think you’ll want to replicate that with Hifumi-chan. And I don’t think either of them really ‘decided’ anything.”

“Right… ...I guess it’s supposed to be that easy, huh?” Ryuji mumbled.

“I wouldn’t call it easy.” Shiho said, shrugging. “Ann had Ren on her mind for weeks. Even when she didn’t want to.”

“Ren was the same with Ann.” Ryuji said, sighing. “I… can’t really say I’m the same with Hifumi. I mean, the last time I was going to be alone with her, I blew her off to go and help Makoto with that Tsukasa creep.”

“Right. Well, were there any other girls that caught your eye this summer?” Shiho asked, casually. “I mean, you kept talking about Kana-chan for awhile. Has she been on your mind?”

“Hell, no.” Ryuji shivered. “Way too much crazy. And during the training camp, I didn’t get much time to talk to Kaname-- er, Coach Takeda. Even after training, I spent most of my time setting up the fireworks, and then coaxing Makoto out of that cave.”

Shiho nodded. “Right, of course. The special training she went through. How’s she doing now, anyway? Mako-chan?”

“Oh! The creepy singing’s over.” Ryuji said, smiling with mirth at the recollection. “The last time we studied, she told me she was over it.”

“Really. You’re still studying with her?”

“Yeah. A few times a week. I really… .. ...I enjoy it. That’s probably pretty weird coming from me, isn’t it?” Ryuji said, sheepishly. “I mean, it’s not like we study all the time, though. Sometimes we just screw around and talk about cop movies and stuff. I mean, last time, we just left the diner and went to watch that new John Woo film just to settle an argument.”

“It’s not weird.” Shiho said, shrugging. “Seems like you spent a lot of the summer around Mako-chan. If you’re not sure about asking Hifumi-chan out, why don’t you ask Mako-chan about it? She seems to know you well enough to give you advice.”

Ryuji recoiled. “...I… I think that’s a really bad idea.”

“Why’s that?” The ravenette asked innocently.

Ryuji frowned. Why _ was _ that a bad idea? “I.. …”

Makoto knocked on the door before walking back in, cards in hand and Yuuki in tow.

“Hey, guys. I’m back. I miss anything?”

“Nope. Nothing at all.” Shiho smiled, taking the cards. “Five card stud. Joker’s wild.”

>>>

In Kamakura, Akechi stood in Ren’s bedroom. It was the room that Ren lived in from the time he was old enough to have his own space. Like most people, the way the boxer had arranged it told Akechi much about him, in particular the way he lived before the conviction.

It had been so easy to get access.

His parents were trusting, gracious people, especially to anyone who their beloved son called a friend. They were incredibly grateful to the people who had befriended him; from Ren’s description, his group of friends - really, the family he had chosen - had saved him. So all Akechi had to do was hint that he was curious what Ren was like before he arrived. They even left him alone while the two of them went to prepare dinner.

Akechi turned, running his finger over a small trophy case tucked away in a corner. It was placed out of sight of the door and away from both the bed and the desk, suggesting that Amamiya didn’t find it particularly important. It contained the awards Ren had won in his first year of high school boxing. The inter-high prefecture championship and rookie of the year, among a few others.

The room was decorated on one side with posters of famous boxers, particularly Mamoru Yamanaka. On the other wall, idols and actresses. Something you’d expect from a boy his age.

Much more prominent than the trophy case were the pictures. Pictures of his family, of happy times together both at the inn and on vacation. Pictures of him training with the man that Akechi had looked up prior to arriving in Kamakura - Amamiya’s trainer, Takeda, along with his daughter, Kaname. Pictures of a beautiful girl, Reiko Takahase.

The entire room spoke of a young man who loved and was loved. From the lack of dust in the room, and the way the bed was neatly made, he was _ still _ loved. His parents were waiting for him to come home, to resume his life with them. 

Akechi had long since decided he hated Amamiya for his happiness. But with that hatred came an insatiable, obsessive curiosity. He had to know _ how _. Masayoshi Shido destroyed lives and families. Older men, stronger men with less to lose had fallen apart after Shido set his eyes on them. It didn’t make sense that one of his victims would still stand the way that Amamiya did. There was no way someone close to Akechi’s age could be this way. When Shido touched lives, they fell apart. Or they became like himself. Twisted wrecks of self-hatred and anger. At least Akechi had turned his wrath to good use. At least Akechi would get revenge.

Ren didn’t make _ sense _. He had true friends. He loved and was loved. More than not making sense...

It wasn’t _ fair _.

Akechi reached out, touching a picture on the end of the shelf. There were more fingerprints on the glass and scuff marks on the bottom of the frame than he would have expected. Although his detective skills weren’t as good as the public thought, it still told him that whoever placed the picture there had been conflicted.

When he inspected the picture itself, he could see why. It was taken just hours before Amamiya’s conviction.

A picture of a beautiful, happy family. The Amamiyas. The Takedas. Reiko Takahase.

He picked up the picture. Akechi laid down on Ren’s bed. He turned his head, taking a deep breath, taking in the scent of the pillow. He closed his eyes, imagining what it would be like. To lie in this bed, slowly blinking his eyes open to hear the sound of laughter and chatter in the kitchen, of a warm meal and warmer greeting waiting.

Or maybe the kitchen would be silent. Maybe he would hear the quiet breathing of that girl, Takahase. Or now, he supposed, Takamaki.

He opened his eyes. He looked closely at the photo in his hands, his face flat, expressionless. He ran his fingers over the faces in the photo, his mouth gradually forming an ugly, cold grin. His eyes glinted with the indiscriminate rage of a mad dog.

He imagined what those mornings would be like instead, if Amamiya woke to silence.

To lifeless blue eyes looking at him accusingly.

To a kitchen quiet for all the wrong reasons.

It was entirely irrational. There was nothing to deduce. He simply _ hated _. He giggled quietly, burying his face in the pillow.

_ ‘It’s not fair. I hate him. It’s not fair. I hate him It’snotfairIhatehim It’snotfairIHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIM--’ _

His phone rang. Akechi sat up, answering immediately when he saw the caller ID simply read ‘Unlisted’.

“It’s time. Your next target’s taken the bait.”

Akechi reluctantly put the picture down. “I see. I’ll take care of it.”

Inoue called down the hall. “Akechi-kun! Dinner’s ready!”

“Oh!” Akechi said, sitting up. His standard smile immediately reappeared on his face. “That sounds great, Inoue-san.” 

He glanced at the picture, his smile flickering briefly.

“I’m _ starving _.”

>>>

The wind howled in the small city of Kapolei; sheets of rain poured down on the city. The streets and beaches of the normally idyllic island were abandoned; all the tourists and residents had wisely taken refuge.

Ann looked out the window of the room that Yamanaka had kindly provided to them at the hotel before mysteriously vanishing into the storm. Ren was taking his turn in the bathroom to clean up. They had only spent a few seconds getting out of the champion boxer’s car and getting into the Marriott Ko Olina, but they were still completely soaked. 

It was more of a suite than a room. The main bedroom was equipped with a king-sized bed. There was even an adjoining sitting room with a comfortable couch and easy chair, and a large flatscreen television in each room. Far more than they could have afforded. Or at least, far more than Ann would have felt comfortable charging to her parents’ ‘emergency’ credit card. She sighed.

_ ‘And after I already asked Yamanaka-san for that favor…’ _She thought, glancing at her bag. Her actual, bag, not the tote bag filled with…

Ann shook her head, slapping her own cheeks lightly.

Her discomfort wasn’t entirely due to the generosity of the enigmatic boxer.

No, it was due to the proximity of the boxer she knew. Intimately.

She glanced in Ren’s reflection in the window as he stepped out of the bathroom. She still hadn’t answered him. Why she had been so eager to avoid him after that day at the beach. She studied his reflection as he toweled off his hair, wearing his spare uniform. Apparently he didn’t want to wear the bathrobe that matched hers. Nothing had changed in his appearance, really. The line of his jaw, the grey eyes that she found so compelling. His hair was perfectly messy, the way she liked it.

Objectively, absolutely nothing had changed.

So then, why was her heart still racing? Why was she so aware of the feel of the fluffy bathrobe she wore over her bare skin?

Why was Celestine so still again? Silently watching, not even a _ hint _ of amusement. Simply anticipation.

One part of her wished that Yamanaka would change his mind and return.

Another part of her would have wasted every ounce of her strength trying to summon Celestine into the real world to burn him to ash if he actually did.

Ren finished toweling off his hair, suppressing a sigh as he observed her. _ ‘Guess that sparring match freaked her out a bit. She said she wouldn’t be scared of me, but she’s never seen me fight before. Not in the ring, anyway.’ _

Although they made up on the car ride to Kalopei, Ann had said virtually nothing to him after the sparring match against Shaw.

He turned toward the adjoining sitting room, preparing to spend the night on the couch. Shiho’s tote bag aside, it probably wasn’t the time nor the place to see where they were from that perspective.

Ann watched him in the window’s reflection, feeling a combination of relief and dismay. It was unsettling.

_ ‘Night, Wildcard. I’m going to turn in, too. Wake me up if you get up first, okay?’ _Yep. That’s what she would say.

“...Aren’t you going to come in?” Ann asked, without turning around. She watched as he blinked, uncertainty crossing his face as he took a step toward her. He closed the door to the sitting room behind him. Ann cursed her own betrayal at the same time as she felt warmth spread from her chest, to her neck, her belly.

Ren started to cross the room, moving to do the usual thing when they caught a moment alone. Hug her. Refill on the scent of her. Kiss her. He stopped, halfway across. The tension in the room became palpable, like the static building in the clouds before a lightning bolt. There was only a single lamp on in the corner of the room. The dim light and howling wind gave the room a surreal, otherworldly feel.

And of course, the fact that Ann was so painfully _ beautiful _, with her hair down, wrapped almost regally in that plush bathrobe, added to that.

So for all of his fighting instinct and experience, the young boxer wasn’t sure how to address this particular opponent, this sort of tension. 

“Songbird…” He took a deep breath. “Are you okay? With me being here, I mean. I know what you said, but…”

_ ‘Why would you ask that? Everything’s fine, silly. Hey, let’s watch something on TV.’ _That was a good, safe response.

“I don’t know…” Ann murmured instead, turning to face him, but not meeting his eyes. Instead, she walked over to him, reaching to fiddle with the lapels of his shirt. She kept her eyes pointedly on the fabric. The fabric was safe. The fabric didn’t have quicksilver eyes, the ones that were capable of looking so sweet, and yet, so _ fierce _, as she saw today…

“Ann…” Ren said, carefully, putting his hands lightly on her waist. “You can tell me anything. Or nothing, if you want.”

Ann shook her head a little, trying to ignore the fires that his touch lit, even through the thick robe.

_ ‘You’re such a sweetheart. I’ll be fine. I think there’s a kettle and some tea over there. I’ll make some, and we can watch a movie?’ _

“...You’re always so careful with me, Ren.” Ann said, speaking his name like a caress. She leaned in, nuzzling her face against his shirt and collar like a cat - affectionate, but with the implication that she was marking her territory. She hadn’t been this close to him in days. Her eyes closed as she took a long, lingering breath. Despite the fact that they were halfway across the ocean, he still smelled of fine coffee and aged wood. He was warm, too. The warmth moved from her fingers, still playing with his shirt collar, into her heart and head, turning her consciousness into a pleasant haze of dissolving rationality and fading inhibitions.

“Well… I try to be.” Ren said, uncertain. The signals were mixed. Her hands were tense on his collar, but her body seemed to melt toward him. “I want you to feel safe with me.”

Ann nodded, clutching the cloth of his shirt just a little harder. She took another deep breath. She hoped he wouldn’t notice how hard she was holding on, to stop herself from clawing his shirt off, from kicking him out into the sitting room, from throwing herself at him, or from throwing a lamp at him. This was ridiculous. They had been having sex for months. _ Nothing _ had changed.

_ ‘And I love that about you. Don’t worry so much, Ren. Let’s watch that movie. Then… can you just stay with me? We can fall asleep together. It’s awfully late, and I don’t want to kick you into the other room.’ _

She dared to look up at him, her knuckles white. Her eyes drifted across his throat, where she liked to bite. His jaw, where she would nuzzle. The lips that she had kissed, so many times before.

To Ren, her bright blue eyes seemed a little darker than usual - perhaps just a trick of the light. Or maybe the howling, whistling wind was playing with his mind, making him look for some witchcraft responsible for the sense of building anticipation. Through the robe he felt the tension in her flanks.

“You always check on me… You always worry.” Ann mumbled.

Ren still felt uncertain. There was something in her tone, the way she held his lapels, the way she was moving under his hands. It wasn’t so simple as enticing him to ‘play’. There was a complexity here that threw him for a loop.

“...Well, I do love you, you know.” Ren said.

She looked up at him, finally. She met his eyes. Those damned, beautiful, silver eyes. They were so gentle. She wanted them _ not _ to be.

_ ‘And I love you too. So why don’t you tear this robe off of me, throw me onto the nearest surface, and fuck me senseless?’ _

“You don’t have to, you know. Be so careful all the time.” Ann said, her gaze slipping back down to his chest.

“...Sorry, what?” Ren asked, blinking.

Ann’s eyes widened. She let go of his shirt. “Nothing. Nevermind. Look at the time! Let me make you some robe before you go to movie. I mean, let me make you some tea before you tear off-- I mean, before you go to sleep. In the other room.”

She turned away, bolting to the safety of the hot water kettle on the small table in the corner.

_ ‘Now he thinks I’m nuts. I need a cold shower. All the cold showers.’ _

Ren stood there, staring at the blonde girl as she frantically tried to tear open the paper packaging of the tea bag. She had seemingly forgotten how to do this. The lighting was better near the kettle. He could see, now, the flush of her cheeks. The way her hands trembled.

_ ‘...Don’t have to be so careful…’ _ Ren thought, paraphrasing the words in his mind. He watched Ann’s movements with a different kind of interest, now. The corner of his lips quirked slightly. If Ann had turned in that moment, she would have seen the hunter she desired.

Ann accidentally tore open the tea bag itself, swearing as tea leaves sprinkled the surface of the table. “Oh. Well, there goes the earl grey. I think there’s another--...”

She trailed off, as Ren’s arms slid around her waist, pulling her back against him. She went immediately tense, eyes wide, but his voice... His voice was low, a sandpaper growl that made her muscles go slack. Her eyes half-closed on instinct.

“I don’t want _ tea _ , Songbird.” His voice into her ear put chills up and down her spine. Her heart pounded. Celestine broke her silence for that same roar of command. The feeling that told Ann to _ make him do this _.

This time, she didn’t hesitate. She surrendered to their shared gravity.

“...Then… then I guess you’re going to sleep in the sitting room, then…?” She murmured, even as one of her hands slid over his, guiding it to where she had tied her robe. The other reached up and back to caress his face. She shivered again as he kissed her hand. She felt the flick of his tongue lightly against the skin of her palm.

“If you tell me to go, I’ll go.” Ren said, with that same self-assured confidence she had seen earlier. As if he knew exactly what she would say. Heat spooled in her belly and below, a tingling of anticipation, heat, and dampness between her legs. This was Ren. _ Her _ Wildcard. The contradiction of simultaneous safety in his arms and excitement at his touch was _ perfect _.

He kissed her neck, gently putting his teeth against her skin. “Tell me to go, and I’ll go. Otherwise… Well. You might not get the chance later.”

Ann said nothing. She felt him start to pull on the tail of the bow knot keeping her robe closed.

“This is why you pushed me away, isn’t it? You’ve wanted this all week…” He said, nipping at her earlobe.

“I… I don’t know what you mean.” Ann said, pressing her hips and backside back against his crotch, letting out a little gasp as the robe fell open. She felt his hands against the bare skin of her torso, sliding up to cup her breasts.

“You do.” Ren said, his voice in her ear again. “And I wanted this, too…”

He turned her around, tilting her head up. Kissing her. It was slow, soft at first. She nearly forgot to breathe. Ann made a sound, something like a purr as her eyes closed, and lips parted invitingly. He tasted her. She sucked on his tongue as he pushed past her lips; she moaned into his mouth as one hand pressed the small of her back, the other drifting lower, exploring in careful detail the curves of her toned gluteals.

He guided her to the bed as the kisses increased in intensity and _ need _ . The back of Ann’s knees struck the edge of the bed. She clawed at his shirt, trying to tug it off. Ren obliged her; soft lips, eager tongue, and lustful teeth attacked the bared skin and hard muscle. She reached up, trying to drag him back in for another kiss. She wanted him. She wanted all of this, his _ everything _ , but nothing was helping. Nothing was stopping the feeling that started from the day at the beach. Every touch just added to an endless positive feedback loop of _ now _ and _ more _.

Ren didn’t indulge her in the kiss. He instead pushed her back. Slowly, but with inexorable force, guiding her onto the bed.

Ann almost hyperventilated with anticipation. Her robe was open, essentially naked under him. He was staring down at her with that hunter’s focus, the _ zanshin _ she had seen in the gym. There, his focus had been his opponent - his objective had been Shaw’s defeat. There was nothing there at the time but dominance and steel.

This was different, now. His focus was _ his _ Ann, _ his _ Songbird.

Dominance, again. But dominance and _ hunger_.

She shivered, closing her eyes. She arched her back slightly, her body exposed to him completely. She was prey that wanted to be caught.

Nothing came.

Her eyes opened again. He was still hovering over her, still staring. Now with that sexy, borderline irritating smirk. Ann’s eyes started to narrow indignantly. She started to say something until he leaned in suddenly, like a wolf lunging in for the kill. He silenced her with his voice, again just in front of her ear.

“_ Tell _ me what you want, Songbird.”

His hand drifted lazily up from her waist, sliding along her skin.

Ann bit back a quiet gasp at his touch, turning her head away. “You… ...You _ know _ what I want.”

That sandpaper growl again. “No, Ann. Look at me, and tell me what you want.”

Ann looked at him. She felt almost dizzy, drunk off his proximity and scent. His eyes bored into her. She felt compelled to do what he wanted, to comply… For a moment.

Annoyance asserted itself instead. Celestine approved, especially her next words.

Ann gave him a haughty, challenging look, despite her exposed body and position. A fierce spark in her eyes. “_ Make _ me.”

Ren laughed, his tone soft, his voice deep. “Oh, Songbird. I was _ hoping _ you’d say that.”

His hand cupped her left breast from below, drawing a quiet gasp from the girl. His thumb just _ brushed _ the flushed pink of her swollen areola. “...Ah…!”

Ann bit her lip. She quickly shrugged her arms out of the robe, now entirely naked. Her own hand went down toward her pussy, wet with arousal and anticipation. She wanted to feel… _ needed _ to feel something to ease the aching want between her legs. She would do it herself in front of him, if he wouldn’t. Despite her bold words, she’d show him how much she needed him. She wouldn’t have to say a thing.

Ren took hold of her wrist, her fingers just mere centimetres away from her goal. He pulled her hand away.

“None of that.” He said, with a casual impertinence.

Ren bit her neck, drawing another pained moan from her. He started to kiss down her body, her neck, her collar. His lips made contact with the upper swell of her perfect tits. Ann thrust her chest forward in anticipation, her hands caressing his face and tangling in his hair, prepared to cradle him to her breast. This was where he would start to pull the peak into his mouth, greedily suckling, making the ache of desire fade into a swirl of ecstasy and satisfaction as he switched from side to side. He was normally so attentive, so keen on making her feel as good as she made him feel.

Again, nothing came. A light brush, the faintest whisper of a touch across her painfully erect nipples from his lips. She realized then what he was doing.

He was purposefully avoiding the erogenous zones that he had come to know so well. He just skirted their boundaries, close enough to let her know what he _ could _ have done for her. He was relentlessly, erotically cruel. She would have been annoyed if it weren’t so _ hot _.

She whined wordlessly. She groped at his pants, the plaid uniform slacks. No belt. Just a button and zipper that refused to yield. Her hand felt the hard bulge that waited for her, making her redouble her efforts. She popped the button. Just a little more…

Again, strong hands gripped her wrists, bringing them above her head. He pinioned them to the mattress with a single hand.

The blonde writhed under him, trying to get her legs around him, trying to grind against his crotch. She let out a frustrated groan as he moved to lie alongside her instead of hovering over her. “Ren… Ren, _ please _…”

Ren’s voice again. All smoke and amusement. “Tell me what you want, Ann.”

Ann whimpered. The voice touched something in her mind, driving rational thought even further away, knocking the haughty challenge she delivered into the recesses. She rubbed her thighs together, trying desperately to get the friction she so wanted.

“Still nothing, Songbird?” Ren laughed, quietly. “Let me see if I can make you sing, after all.”

He let go of her hands. He slid down her body; he parted her thighs. She invited him eagerly, face flushed as she watched him. He leaned in, nuzzling the soft, trimmed hair of her mons. She watched with bated breath.

Any moment, now.

He moved painfully slowly. His mouth touched her labia; his lips parted in the same way as when he initiated a deep kiss. Ann’s heart pounded. Finally. Next, he’d push his tongue into her wet, hot pussy, just a little, first, before slipping up to lightly stimulate her clit. Her hands went down to tangle her fingers in his soft, tousled hair, to trap him there, to show him how much she _ loved _ when he went down on her… there. Captured, now, she started to push her hips up, her pelvis against his mouth--

His strong fingers peeled her hands away. He propped himself up, looking at her. His voice was soft, but the words were absolute.

“Do that again and I’ll stop, get dressed, and sleep in the other room.”

That was the _ worst _ possible outcome. Ann shook her head frantically. With a little smile, he returned to where he was. She bit the knuckle of her index finger with one hand. Her other hand clutched the sheets. Both in an effort to keep her hands off of him.

Ren watched for a moment. The sight of her, his beautiful love, desperate and full of _ want _ went straight to his heart. He wasn’t invulnerable to her. Her scent was all around him; her heat seemed to burn straight into his body. He was hyper aware of every little sound she made; all the little gasps and cries that put electricity down his spine.

He kissed her pussy again, this time slipping his tongue into her.

“Ren! Ren…!” Ann panted. He was turning her into a whimpering, sobbing wreck. So close. He was getting _ so _ close. Her hands cupped her breasts, squeezing, groping, pinching. She imagined it was him, all him. In any moment, he was going to start gently licking the sensitive skin on the hood of her clit to ease her into it… Then he’d close his lips gently around the erect, aching button, rolling his tongue around it, giving her the sweet release she wanted.

Once again, it never came. He came close, tantalizingly close. Occasionally, his tongue would brush the swollen nub, making her hips buck, her lips cry out wordlessly, loudly. It all felt good. _ So _ good. But…

“It’s… Ren…! _ Fuck _! It’s… ...it’s not enough!”

He was torturing her with the pleasure of _ almost _. Just enough to start scratching the itch, just enough to remind her of how bad it was. He relentlessly edged her, knowing the involuntary cues of her muscle and rhythm of her breathing enough to know when to back away, just in time to deny her orgasm.

Fingers replaced his lips and tongue. He still played with her, gently stirring her slick, tight entrance. Just teasing at moving to her clit. He laid beside her; she looked up at him, nearly mad with want. She whimpered wordlessly as he leaned in, kissing her ear, whispering.

“Tell me what you want, Ann. Just tell me…”

Ann’s mind offered nothing. There was only instinct. Lust. Desire. She didn’t care about embarrassment, about pride. About anything, except…

She reached up, grabbing him by the back of his neck. Pulling him down, her mouth to his ear.

He closed his eyes, _ feeling _ her more than hearing her. He had just spent the last while teasing her and edging her into desperation. He was physically stronger than her, taller than her. And yet, this was all it took. His plan to reward her honesty by carefully retracing and stimulating every erogenous zone he had teased started to fade from his mind.

“I want _ you _, Ren. Take me… I need you inside of me. Do what you want with me.” Her voice in his ear was husky and ragged. It pushed shivering pleasure up the back of neck, into the back of his brain. 

It was suddenly critically important for him to lose his clothes. Plaid pants and black boxer-briefs hit the floor. 

He knelt, poised between her legs. His eyes took her in. Her face, that angelic countenance that was just a few moments ago twisted in an almost painful _ need _ for him, now bore a knowing smirk, amused blue eyes. A graceful hand lazily slid up her taut belly, cupping her breasts from below, each in turn, clearly more for his benefit than hers. Her other hand, rather than reaching for herself and her own release, instead took hold of his hard cock. Not guiding him anywhere, not trying to push the issue. Just stroking, touching. Making him acutely aware of how hard it was, and how badly he needed this, too.

_ ‘...Was… was I _ ** _ever_ ** _ really in control, here…?’ _Ren thought, numbly. He should have known. She could always see right through him.

“Ah… Ann. That bag, where’s…” He managed to get out, looking for the bag of ‘necessities’ that Shiho had provided. He wanted to get up to get it, but her hand, moving slowly, rhythmically, felt so _ good _. He saw it, just beside the night stand. He leaned forward awkwardly, trying to ensure that he didn’t get out of her reach. His left hand supported his weight beside Ann’s right shoulder, his right reaching for the bag.

As the space separating them closed, she abruptly put an arm over his shoulder, taking hold of the nape of his neck. She stroked the hair there as she hauled him closer, her voice again in his ear. She started to kiss and lick at his earlobe, the sounds wet and hot and erotic.

The illusion of control he had fractured further.

“Hurry, Ren…”

Heat rushed to Ren’s face; he felt lightheaded and hazy. “Ann, just--”

“I need you. _ Fuck _ me… _Please..._” She panted, whined, and moaned her desire for him, seemingly directly into his consciousness.

The illusion shattered. His right arm ceased reaching. His mouth crashed into hers, hungrily kissing, art and subtlety replaced instead by mindless lust. His hips pushed forward as Ann guided him to her, the head of his hard cock parting her entrance, the familiar contradiction of her pussy intoxicating in how it was simultaneously pliant and tight, clamping down on his hardness.

But this time, the heat, the wet, the friction was overwhelming without the usual barrier. Any reservations or thought to future consequences was obliterated by the sensation and heat.

Ann screamed, not bothering to muffle her voice as she finally came. Her hips bucked wildly, her ankles locked around his back, keeping him hilted deep inside of herself. She sobbed his name, turning her head to allow him space to kiss, bite, and nuzzle at her neck as he continued to grind and thrust his pelvis against her, trying to somehow drive himself even deeper inside of her, his weight comfortably crushing her into the mattress. Every muscle in her body went simultaneously taut and then relaxed, tension replaced with a sense of euphoria. Hazily, she stroked Ren’s back.

Normally when this happened, he’d pause. He’d kiss her softly before starting to move.

He was perfectly still.

“...Ren…?”

His response was a harsh exhale, nearly a growl as he reached back, unhooking her ankles from around his back, splaying her legs apart. His hips rocked back - and he thrust back into her with nearly savage vigor. 

Ann cried out in time with his thrusts, the repeated deep penetration not allowing her to come down slowly from her orgasm. He pushed her into the swell of another wave, leaving her wanting more, harder, faster. She clutched his shoulders, reveling in the feel of the hard muscle and sinew under the skin, the powerful motion as he took his pleasure from her, the feeling of being _ filled _ with him. She urged him on, with a strained and smoky voice, uncaring how needy, demanding, and even outright dirty it sounded.

“Harder… _ deeper _ ! _ Fuck _me! Ren…! Ren!”

He stopped. He pulled out of her. 

Ann looked up at him, confused for a moment. His grey eyes were unfocused, dark with a base lust that she knew she had pulled out of him. She licked her lips in anticipation as he grabbed her leg, turning her onto her belly. He took hold of her hips, drawing her onto her elbows and knees before penetrating her sex from behind, sheathing his cock fully in her tight tunnel with a single stroke.

The unfamiliar angle was electric. His groin pounded against her ass. His hard cock slid against and stimulated her, stretching and pushing in new ways, making her eyes widen and back arch involuntarily. The pleasure was two fold: Physically _ and _ mentally, as Ann heard his harsh gasps, the sounds of her Wildcard giving himself over entirely to his overwhelming thirst for her. It made her feel powerful, to drive her sweet boyfriend to this. Another orgasm crashed into her mind and body as the head of his cock rubbed against a particularly sensitive spot inside of her. She muffled her keening scream in the pillow she clutched.

Ren gripped her waist so hard it almost hurt; she could hear him panting, his pace broken, his rhythm erratic. He was close.

She stole a glance back at him, her blonde tresses a disordered mess. She caught his eye; unspoken words reached him, broke through the desire clouding his mind.

_ ‘Come here.’ _

He leaned forward, lifting her blonde mane and pushing it over a shoulder. She rolled her opposite shoulder back and turned her head to him, kissing him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. He put his hand on her throat, the pressure firm but light.

Despite this, though, her eyes were bright, untamed. She drove her hips back against him, hard.

They moved in tandem - thrust forward; hips back. His teeth on her neck; her hand reaching back as he bit to grip and pull at the hair on his nape. Names and wordless cries. The dim light and the sound of the gales and torrential rain outside created a primeval isolation, a small world that was just want, and need, and _ now _.

She felt him start to spasm and swell inside of her. Her breath caught; she pushed back against him the moment he thrusted forward in a final lunge, spilling his seed in hot spurts deep within her. His hands clutched her round hips, trapping her as he ground his pelvis against her ass. Equal parts instinct and desire compelled him to drive his cum as deep into her as possible, to make every part of her belong to him.

She came again at the final thrust, the penetration and heat of him filling her pushing her to the crest of the wave. The walls of her sex, wet now with a mix of her desire and his release clenched down on him, the pleasure almost painful for both of them. The pillow did little to muffle her last ragged cries.

Panting, she smiled as she felt Ren’s weight settle on her back before he rolled to his side, holding her and nestling her against him like a spoon. 

They were silent for awhile, hearing only the wind and sheets of rain outside. Ann felt him breathe heavily from the exertion and quiet shock of the euphoric afterglow. She wondered what he’d say, when he caught his breath. He always had a way with words.

“...Holy _ shit _.” Ren mumbled.

Ann giggled dreamily. That worked.

He buried his face in her tresses, his strong arms keeping her captured against his body. “I might have to start more fights with you.”

Ann laughed, before exhaling a small, satisfied sigh. “You won’t have to.”

Ren nodded, indulging in her warmth and the scent of her hair. He tugged the sheets of the hotel bed over their bodies, starting to relax into sleep. Until a sudden, anxious thought occurred to him.

“Hey, Songbird?”

“Mm?” Ann mumbled, starting to doze off herself.

“We didn’t use any protection.”

“Ah… ... “

Silence. Ann kept her back to Ren, her shoulders tensing slightly. She spoke in a quiet, uncertain voice. “Ren… You’ll take responsibility, right?”

The floor seemed to fall away from Ren’s world. He sat up straight, eyes wide with the shock of reality. He looked at Ann. She sat up as well, holding the sheets over her chest. She averted her eyes, a demure blush on her cheeks.

Well. There was only one thing he could do. He took Ann’s hand, swallowing to try to clear his suddenly dry throat. 

“Ann, if it comes down to that, I promise you, we’ll get mar—oof!”

She smacked him in the face with a pillow, collapsing into peals of laughter.

“Oh my _ God _ . Seriously?! Do you really think _ this _is how I’d want to hear that from you?” Ann said, barely getting the words out around the giggling.

“..Wha..?” Ren stared at Ann blankly.

Still laughing, she looked at him, a devilish grin on her face. “I got on the pill while we were fighting. Got a prescription from Takemi-sensei after the first day of school, actually. Haha… The _ look _ on your face was priceless. Amazing…--Ack!”

Ren pounced on her, going after her ticklish sides with his quick hands. They wrestled playfully, tangling themselves thoroughly amongst the sheets and pillows. Ann eventually came out on top, pinning Ren’s wrists back on either side of his head.

“Mm. Caught you, Wildcard.”

“Happily.” Ren murmured, accepting the soft kiss. The just regarded each other for a moment, sharing a comfortable silence, an unspoken communication.

Ann felt his eyes drift over her face, her bare body. His gaze on her was nearly physical in its intensity. But even at his most desirous, he never made her feel dirty or ashamed. He still looked at her in a mix of wonder and disbelief, as if he had never seen a woman before. As if he had never loved in this way before, and never would again.

And for Ren’s part, as he looked up at her, he wondered when it had become so difficult to tell where his heart ended, and hers began. He smiled, working a hand free to reach up, brushing his fingers through her hair.

Ann smiled. She glanced up, remembering something as her eye caught the glowing green numbers of the clock on the nightstand. The time was just five minutes past midnight. September 10th.

_ ‘Third, he doesn’t celebrate his birthday and won’t tell anyone when it is. But it’s on September 10th, and if you get him something, he’ll really like it.’ _

“Ne, Ren.” She leaned down, kissing his cheek. “Sit up, and close your eyes for a sec.”

“Hm? You can do whatever you want to me without me closing my eyes, you know. I won’t be embarrassed.”

“Stop with the snark, Wildcard. Just do it.” She said, smiling.

Ren felt Ann get up briefly; he heard the sound of her bag being unzipped. She dropped something into his hands. Instantly, he recognized the feel of his boxing gloves.

“You can open your eyes. Happy Birthday, Wildcard.” Ann said, kissing his cheek. She snuggled up beside him as he regarded his gloves.

Ren blinked. “How did you know…?”

“Rei-chan told me that night, before she left.” Ann said, smiling. “Well? Do you like it?”

“...They’re _ my _ gloves. So yes?” Ren said, raising an eyebrow. “You know, most people wouldn’t let this count as a present.”

Ann rolled her eyes. She took the gloves, turning them so that the backs faced Ren. Someone had signed the black leather gloves with a golden permanent marker. On the right glove:

_ ‘Nice right hook, Amamiya-kun. Hope to see you in the pro ring someday soon.’ _

On the left glove:

_ ‘Mamoru Yamanaka, WBC Lightweight Champion’ _

Ren’s jaw dropped.

“...Jesus… Ann… …”

He reverently put the gloves down on the nightstand before crushing the love of his life in a hug.

“Breathing! Breathing…!” Ann gasped. “Breathing is necessary!”

Laughing, she shook her head and broke free, reaching and turning off the lamp. She snuggled in against him as they laid back down.

“I’m not worried about other women, Wildcard, but sometimes I worry about Yamanaka-san.” She said, laughing softly.

“That’s fair.” Ren replied.

Ann sighed. “It’s been an eventful summer.. Now I know my boyfriend is a boxing nerd, has a massive man-crush, and is apparently a polyglot.”

“Mm. And my girlfriend is a world-famous model used to chatting up celebrities and casually asking for autographs from notoriously elusive boxers. With parents who are both fashion designers.”

“...Yep! Fashion designers. Both of them. That’s _ all _ they are.” Ann said, eyes flitting to the side. She wasn’t quite ready to drop _ that _ particular bombshell. She kissed his collarbone, changing the subject. “You can say ‘punch’ in six languages. How many ways can you say something actually useful?”

Ren smiled, only just barely able to make out the playful glint in her eye in the darkness. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. Like ‘I love you’?” Ann asked impishly.

“Mm. Well.. How about we trade off? Winner gets to demand a penalty.” Ren said.

“Hm. Fine. You go first.”

“_ Wo ai ni. _Mandarin.”

_ “Je t’aime. _ French.” Ann replied, with a giggle.

_ “ _ ** _I love you.”_ **

_ “ _Seriously? We’ve been speaking English all day, and you go with that? I thought we’d consider that off limits.”

“You’re stalling.” Ren said. “So I win--”

Ann spoke in a whisper, kissing Ren’s jaw gently before burying her face against his neck. She was glad that the light was off as she spoke in Finnish.

“_Minä rakastan sinua…” _

Ren could feel the sudden heat on her face against his neck, the gravity in her tone. This was different. Though he didn’t understand the words, he understood the intent. These were words rarely said, if ever. So… there was only one reply, really. He forgot the game, instead speaking from his heart - or her heart. Who could tell, anymore?

“_ Aishiteru.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got way too ambitious. 17K words? Not doing that again if I can help it. Editing is a nightmare.
> 
> Mishima - My heart goes out to him. He just wants to belong. Don't worry - like Sir Galavant, he'll have his moment in the sun.  
Shiho - Still MVP. Don't have to be a Phantom Thief to be a Puck-ish rogue.  
Akechi - My apologies to Akechi fans. In GtD, he's a killer, the 'cleaner' for the UFP/Shido. He's killed or turned multiple people into vegetables, caused train wrecks, bus crashes. To me, that means he's one of two things - either he's a sociopath, and literally doesn't give a fuck, or he's rationalized/compartmentalized himself into an exceedingly fragile balance. I find the latter far more compelling. As he learns more and more about Ren, he's becoming progressively unhinged. It doesn't help that his Persona(s) and Arsene can vaguely sense each other, even if they can't 'tell' their masters
> 
> Yamanaka is meant to be a weirdo. He's enigmatic, only cares about boxing.
> 
> Apologies to anyone named Keith. Name picked due to that family guy episode where Peter is asked to name the worst name for a guy :)
> 
> And the last scene - I struggled with whether or not to even include this. Hawaii was actually where in my headcanon/oneshots I had tabbed as Ren/Ann getting intimate the first time, until GtD Ren/Ann spiraled toward each other at the end of Reiko's arc.
> 
> It certainly didn't happen like this, of course.
> 
> Part of the difficulty is after the couple makes the leap, how much sex is 'on screen'. I'm trying to have it serve a purpose - either a tipping point in their relationship, or a set up for something else. Other writers are better at PWP stuff.
> 
> The pill - There was a reason why Takemi was asking those questions in 25 :)
> 
> Minä rakastan sinua - I love you. There's a joke in Finland - the only time a couple will say these words is on their wedding day and on their deathbed. When a culture isn't terribly expressive, these words hold a certain gravity. While Ann by no means identifies as fully Finnish, she was taught enough by her father to understand the kind of 'forever' these words imply. Much like Ren's response to her. Neither of them would have said it were the lights not off, probably.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading. Next one is harder to write. Haru probably makes an entrance, but I need to consider how that affects/sets up the entire rest of the Okumura arc (basically, this and the next chapter set up/launch the next 3 or 4...)


	27. Eye of the Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Risin' up, back on the street  
Did my time, took my chances  
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet  
Just a man and his will to survive_
> 
> _So many times, it happens too fast  
You trade your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  
You must fight just to keep them alive_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UFP - United Future Party

September 10, 20xx 

There was a perpetual wind in Mementos. Sometimes a howling gale, other times, a gentle breeze. But either way, the air was never still - and never silent.

At its loudest, the rush of air seemed to carry the voices of a twisted choir, singing the same song wordlessly in broken, hollow voices, but all at different points of the melody. Tumbling, rolling, folding over each other, giving the impression that the wind was giving chase to whoever was fool-hardy enough to wander the dark, subway-like tunnels.

Worse, though, were the ‘gentle’ breezes. There were voices there, too. Whispers at the edge of hearing, just coherent enough that if one strained his ears, they might just hear the words. They enticed, promised of knowledge and secrets. They made one think that if they just _ listened _, or stepped a little closer where the dim lights of the tunnels didn’t quite reach, one might start to make sense of the maddening murmurs scratching at one’s mind.

But, _ they _ waited there. _ Shadows _ in the shadows. Grotesque, humanoid shapes with too-long arms and legs and masks roughly hewn to resemble the white _ sock and buskin _ masks of comedy and tragedy. They either stood motionless or shambled aimlessly - until they sensed human prey. There was something about the living soul that drove the desire to consume in the Shadows. They couldn’t know that it was _ familiarity _ \- that it was an unconscious desire to return to the Sea of Souls. And the most direct way was to prey on human souls. The sweet essence of life.

But they couldn’t know that the human they sensed today was no prey.

A Shadow exploded out of its shambling gait, launching itself at the man in the horned black mask.

A gauntleted hand caught the Shadow by where its throat would be; the other hand tore the white mask off, revealing the form of Anubis, God of the Underworld. It struggled to speak as it was throttled.

“Nngh… Strong. You are strong, human. I will join you--uurk!”

Akechi regarded Anubis for a moment, his head cocked to the side slightly, as if listening to someone unheard. He then smiled. Without being able to see his eyes under the red lenses of his demon-like mask, the expression was no longer manicured, or perfect for interviews: It was simply chilling.

“No, thank you.” Akechi said, with the casual indifference of declining a coffee refill at brunch.

His hand crushed the throat of the being, a sickening crunch heralding collapsing trachea, disintegrating vertebrae. Blood bubbled to the mouth of Anubis before Akechi dropped it, letting the spectral being fade into wisps. The other Shadows, watching from a distance, melted away from the man in the black mask. Instinct drove them to hunt, but the same instinct drove them to flee from the more dangerous predator.

Akechi made his way with purpose, pausing before a portal of swirling red and black. A pocket-realm, the beginnings of a Palace. He stepped through. For the UFP’s cleaner, the disorientation was now brief; a far cry from his early forays into the Metaverse. Now, he stepped agilely down as gravity reasserted itself, his boot striking the stone floor with an audible -_ click- _.

_ ‘Stone…?’ _Akechi frowned for a moment, glancing down at the floor of roughly hewn flagstone. Different from the wooden railroad tracks he expected. He looked ahead, his frown becoming a smile of mild amusement. Before him was a nascent Palace. Walls flickered in and out of existence. Everything was quarried stone and wood; battlements and drawbridges fading in and out of existence.

_ ‘It figures. Kobayakawa doesn’t have an original thought in his head. He did hear Kamoshida refer to Shujin as his castle during his confession...’ _Akechi sneered. Kamoshida had thought of Shujin as his castle as well, albeit for different reasons - he was the king, free to command and exert his perverse desires on all his subjects. The Detective Prince visited, once, before Kamoshida’s fall. It was part of his role as the UFP’s cleaner and Shido’s left hand to be aware of the Shadow-selves and the Palaces of anyone associated with the organization. Kamoshida’s castle had been showy, gaudy, and perverse - essentially what a ‘castle themed’ room in a love hotel might look like.

Kobayakawa’s nascent realm was different. It was all thick walls, heavy wrought-iron gates. It all represented the man’s single overwhelming desire: To be safely hidden away.

Akechi walked into the only room that seemed to exist, the large entry hall. There, he found Kobayakawa’s other self. The man looked at Akechi, his clothes flickering between his suit and a royal costume similar to something once worn by Henry VIII in his later, more rotund years.

“How dare you!?” Kobayakawa shouted, raising his scepter. His clothes stabilized for a moment as the monarch. “How dare you step into my realm without my permission? I’ll have your head--”

“Oh, _ really _ .” Akechi said, continuing his approach. “ _ Your _ realm? Have your desires become so overwhelming that you’ve forgotten who gave you all of this?”

Kobayakawa’s golden eyes widened; his proud, outraged expression crumbled with a whimper as he remembered. His clothes faded back into his wrinkled brown suit. “I… No. I’m sorry. I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t!”

“Good. Not that it matters.” Akechi said, drawing his FN Model 1910, the assassin’s pistol that lit the powder keg to begin the first World War. He screwed a silencer onto the threaded barrel with a casual familiarity; not that there was anyone to hear the shot. But in his experience, the assassin found that the act of doing this seemed to have a certain effect on his victims.

“...No! NO! Please! You can’t!” Kobayakawa said, falling to his knees as he became unhinged with the delicious terror that Akechi wanted. “I’ve been loyal! You can’t!”

“Oh? Loyal?” Akechi said, smiling. He stepped forward, pressing the barrel of the weapon to the forehead of the fat man. “Is that what you call your actions? Setting up a meeting with the police? Preparing a contingency plan, a box to be opened should you die or become incapacitated? Interesting.”

“...You… you know about the…” Kobayakawa stammered.

“Of course.” Akechi cocked the hammer back on his pistol. Again, while unnecessary, the Detective Prince did enjoy the usual reaction of his targets to the soft click. “Oh, don’t worry. In a manner of speaking, you _ have _ been loyal. You’ve reacted just the way _ he _ wanted you to. We’ve even changed the contents of your contingency box to reflect the information _ we _ want revealed. In a way, you’ll become far more useful in death than you ever were in life.”

Kobayakawa started sobbing; his words were incomprehensible. He stared up at the red eyes, the black mask. The barrel of the gun pressed against his skull; the metal was no longer cold, having been warmed by the man’s sweat and skin. Despite his fear, it felt like it belonged there. Like it had always been there. Like this was where he was destined to end.

Hesitation gave Kobayakawa’s Shadow hope.

“There is one question, though…” Akechi mused.

“...W-what is it?! I’ll do anything, answer anything, I’ll--”

The suppressed report of the pistol cut him off, blowing out the back of Shadow Kobayakawa’s skull with the exit of the bullet. Brain matter and bone struck the flagstone floor.

As the Shadow-self’s body collapsed to the floor, its clothes flickered between suit and king’s robes, back and forth, until finally the man disappeared into wisps.

Akechi turned, cleaning and holstering his pistol.

The question hadn’t been for Kobayakawa.

_ ‘..Hm. Ren Amamiya, that time.’ _ Akechi thought, shrugging to himself. Up until recently, he had always imagined the face of Masayoshi Shido on the face of his targets, both in the real world and the Metaverse. Lately, though, the face of his ‘friend’ had slotted in, at least half the time.

Akechi smiled, as he stepped back into Mementos. _ ‘Shame that I can’t find his other self in here…’ _

That itself was unusual. The assassin usually had no trouble finding his target in this realm. In fact, after honing certain abilities of his primary Persona, he could find _ anyone _, so long as they didn’t have a Palace of their own already. He had even spent some time watching Amamiya’s parents, wondering how Ren would react if Kenji Amamiya suddenly went berserk, killing his lovely wife and burning their inn down.

He had backed off, though. That wouldn’t be very ‘circumspect’, as Shido would say.

_ ‘...I should try to find that girl of his.’ _

The timer on his phone chimed.

_ ‘Ah. Nearly late. Business before pleasure, after all…’ _

>>>

Ren slowly opened his eyes to the sight of a familiar wall, a familiar window. It was his room at the Amamiya Ryokan in Kamakura. It was the winter. He could tell from the feel of the air, from the way the sea looked outside his window. From the snowflakes that drifted through the air. It was occasionally cold enough to snow in the town, but never enough for it to stick to the ground. But most of all, he just knew. After all, he knew this dream.

This dream used to be one of the past; a yearning for what he used to call his ‘happier times’ with Reiko.

Over the past few months, the dream had taken on a new tone.

It was a future; one of many possible.

It was a future he dared to _ hope _ for.

So when he turned to face the reason why his bed wasn’t cold, he wasn’t surprised to see Ann’s sleeping, peaceful face. Her blonde tresses loose, spilling over his bed.

He smiled.

“Hey, beautiful--”

“W-w-who are you calling beautiful, Inmate?!”

Ren startled, jumping in his seat. He was suddenly upright, seated behind the long table of a pro boxing pre-fight press conference. His head snapped to the right. There sat Justine and Caroline, the two Wardens of the Velvet Room. They sat in chairs beside him in the position of his corner team - rather, they each sat on a short stack of books that were on the chairs to ensure that they could each see over the table. Justine casually made notes on her clipboard, her legs kicking in the air. Caroline was glaring at him, her cheeks pink.

“I believe he was referring to the naked girl sleeping beside him in the dream we pulled him out of, Caroline.” Justine said, distractedly.

“N-naked?! You think you have time to fool around like that, Inmate?!”

“What the _ hell _?!” Ren shouted, both in surprise and irritation. He started to stand until he was blinded by a camera flash. He looked down. The boxer himself was wearing an expensive suit. It was meant to be a glitzy affair, apparently, from the appearance of the suit and the conference room itself. A Vegas-level fight, with millions of dollars and fame on the line.

The camera flashes continued, forcing his attention back to the crowd in front of him. Multiple shadowy figures sat there, their faces indiscernible amongst the bright lights and camera flashes. He could make out press-badges and sound recorders, though. Questions were shouted one after another, so quickly that he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Caroline stood on the stack of books, shouting.

“SHUT IT! One at a time! You, the one in the newsboy cap!” She pointed with her riding crop.

Justine, now in the crowd and wearing the appropriate newsboy cap, stood up. She spoke in her usual quietly bored tone. “So, Inmate. Please explain how you’re still keeping up with your rehabilitation despite surrounding yourself with distractions?”

“Distractions? What the hell are you talking--” Ren started.

Caroline nodded sagely. “That’s a concern of this jerk’s corner as well. The Inmate is completely unfocused and lazy.”

“Unfocused? _ Lazy _? What the hell are you even talking--”

“Next question, please.” Justine said, once again seated on her books and chair. She gestured at someone in the crowd. “You, in the crowd. The one who thinks the Inmate is cute when he isn’t being a useless idiot.”

Caroline stood, hissing. “Jus-TINE! You promised!”

“I promised I wouldn’t tell him. I didn’t. I merely described you accurately.”

“A-_ hem _.” Caroline coughed, raising her nose imperiously. “Inmate. Aren’t you even a little worried? The news media has been referring to you and your team as ‘Cheese Champions’ - full of holes! What are you doing to fix this?”

Ren sighed. Nothing to do but play along. “I don’t understand what you mean. My team and I have come through every challenge stronger than before. We aren’t going to fail--”

“That confident, are you?! Two of your members are doing nothing but run circles around each other! Another one draws _ lobsters _ all day. The only one of you doing any work can’t fight on her own! And you… you and… ..you’re.. Just _ what _ were you doing last night?!” Caroline managed to stammer out.

So much for playing along.

“That’s none of your damn business!” Ren shouted.

“He was team building. Vigorously.” Justine answered, mildly.

“Fuck this.” Ren stood, flipping the table onto its side. It crashed to the floor, setting the cameras to flashing once again as the shadow-reporters eagerly caught the moment of the freak out. “Where the hell is Igor? Can we hurry this up and get to the part with the cryptic message and implications of more sacrifices?!”

The voices of the press faded away; the conference room vanished into the main boxing ring.

Still in his expensive suit, Ren stood under the lights across from Justine and Caroline.

“The Master is… indisposed.” Justine said, quietly. “So it falls to us to deliver the message.”

Caroline nodded. “So listen up!”

“...The Master wants you to know that he sees you and your team losing focus.” Justine said.

“Is fame and glory the reason why you’re rehabilitating?” Caroline said, crossing her arms, scoffing. “Should you really be just aiming to make a big impact? What’s your goal?”

“You tell me. You’re the ones who--” Ren started to say.

“No.” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Caroline who interrupted this time, but Justine. She approached Ren, somehow seeming much taller than her tiny form. The boxer found himself breaking into a cold sweat. “You still don’t understand, Trickster.”

She paused in front of him.

“...This, this is all for you.” She gestured at the ring and surrounding arena.

“Justine, what are you doing? The Master said--”

“Ssh. This is important, Caroline. This… this isn’t just a prison where you placed yourself, Trickster. We call this your Rehabilitation, but the aim isn’t to return you to society. The aim is to hone you, like a grindstone to a blade. You will not return to society. You must remake it. You must--”

She suddenly backed away, shaking her head. “I… ...what was I saying…? Curious.” She looked at Ren, her face back to the impassive mask. “The Master would ask you, Inmate. Why are you here?”

“...Shido.” Ren said, quietly.

“So you aren’t completely thick-headed.” Caroline said, recovered from the surprise of her sister’s outburst. “That’s right. You have his name. You know he has a Palace. Why haven’t you done anything?”

“I… that’s _ personal _. I can’t ask them to get involved.”

Justine nodded. “A noble thought. But if you continue on your present path, you will not need to make that choice.”

“So that’s it? You haul me in here to tell me that I’ve lost focus, only to tell me to keep doing what I’m doing? This doesn’t make any sense.”

Caroline shook her head. “No. We’re here to tell you that you aren’t ready. And that you’ve been putting off a choice.”

“You’ve compartmentalized.” Justine said, waving a hand. The ring split down the middle, separating Ren and the twins from the other half. There, the form of ‘Joker’ materialized, shadow-’boxing’ while brandishing twin blades and guns.

Caroline sneered. “So convenient for you, isn’t it? The ‘you’ in the real world versus the ‘you’ in the Metaverse. The Joker is the violent one, not you? Is that right?”

“No, I’ve accepted that--”

“You’ve accepted _ nothing _.” Caroline said.

“And unless you resolve this, there will be nothing but Ruination.” Justine added.

In his heart, Ren knew they were right. The anger and outrage he felt were still there. He still ‘killed’ in the Metaverse, he still betrayed everything he was taught growing up. He had simply… tabled the discussion. Compartmentalized. It was Joker, not him, so he told himself.

“...Then, what should I do?”

“That isn’t for us to say, Inmate.” Caroline scoffed. “Figure it out. And fast. You’ve got trouble coming.” She moved to dismiss Ren.

Justine again interrupted, raising a hand.

“...Justine?” Caroline murmured, confused.

“...Trust in the bonds you have forged, Trickster. They… and…” Justine winced, struggling to get the words out. “...and… Arsene… will be your armor. Have faith.”

>>>

Ren woke, in the real world, this time. Ann was still nestled against him, her back against his chest, his arms around her. A quick glance at the digital clock sitting on the nightstand told him it was half past five. Early, and he was wide awake. A consequence of his ‘philosophical discussion’ with the twins.

_ ‘The worst part about it, is that they’re right. Who am I, really? What do I want to be? What do I _ ** _need_ ** _ to be?’ _

Carefully, he disentangled himself from Ann. Sitting up, he smiled softly at her. Somehow, the knowledge that she’d accept him, no matter what the answer to that question was, quieted the building turmoil in his heart. He gently stroked her hair; she turned her head, nuzzling his hand like a cat, a little smile in her sleep. She knew it was him, even in her slumber.

_ ‘Is it that simple? Fall in love, and it doesn’t matter what kind of ‘blade’ I become?’ _

He leaned down, kissing her cheek before slipping out of bed. He tucked her in. It wasn’t that simple, he knew. It was a salve; it was something that softened the blows of the existential crisis brewing within him, but not the answer. As Takeda had told him, he was still incomplete. He hadn’t truly dealt with the darker side of his boxing.

_ ‘How do I do that?’ _ Ren had asked Takeda, so many months ago. How did he find the answer?

_ ‘By boxing,' _ Takeda had said.

Ren smiled. In the dim twilight of morning, he found his gym bag.

>>>

A short time later, the young boxer dashed along the beach near the hotel, his bare feet kicking up sand in his wake. He slowed to a jog, finishing his interval as he nodded politely to some of the resort staff who were busily clearing the debris from last night’s storm. During his jog, he took note of the beautiful sunrise, painting both the sky and water a stunning orange and red… It was perfect.

_ ‘I’ll have to show Ann…’ _He thought, fishing his phone out of the case strapped to his bicep. He raised the camera, snapping a photo - and then noting a very familiar figure backlit perfectly by the rising sun.

“...Yamanaka-san?” Ren said, shocked. The champion was already on the beach, shadow-boxing. Ren came to a stop a respectful distance away, watching as the champion boxer moved gracefully and decisively. His punches were crisp, his footwork perfect. Even though there were no ropes, Yamanaka moved perfectly within a six by six metre square, not once stepping outside the boundaries.

It was then that Ren noticed - the champion’s eyes were _ closed _.

_ ‘...Incredible.’ _Ren thought, in awe.

Yamanaka came to a halt, turning to face Ren, his eyes open. He smiled, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for the WBC Lightweight Champion to be shadow-boxing at six in the morning on a Hawaiian beach.

“Good morning, Amamiya-kun.”

“...! G-good morning, Yamanaka-san!” Ren managed to stammer. “Thanks for signing my gloves! You have beautiful penmanship.”

_ ‘...Seriously!? _ ** _Penmanship_ ** _ ?!’ _

The champion boxer stared at Ren quizzically, as if expecting something.

“...I mean, uh, I really love your feet. I mean, your _ footwork _ . Yeah.” Ren managed to get out. _ ‘This is getting worse. Way worse. Say _ ** _anything_ ** _ , please!’ _

“Well?” Yamanaka said, curiously, stepping off to the side.

“...Well what?” Ren asked, blinking.

“Aren’t you going to shadow box? You’re done your roadwork, aren’t you?” The older boxer asked, motioning at the ‘ring’.

“...Oh!” Ren moved forward eagerly. The signed gloves, ‘making up’ with Ann, and now this - the day had barely started, and it was already the best birthday the young fighter had ever experienced.

He took his stance, visualizing his opponent. He started, his left cutting into the air--

A pebble struck Ren in the forehead, making him stop.

Yamanaka smiled pleasantly, forming a ‘V’ with the index and middle finger of his left hand, pointing at his own eyes.

“...Right. Of course.” Ren shut his eyes. This wasn’t a problem. If anything, it made visualizing an opponent easier. He started shadow-boxing, letting his rhythm and focus take over as he saw his opponent. He slipped a right cross, timing a left jab to the face for a counter, immediately getting ready with his chopping right…

Another pebble struck him, on his left shoulder.

Ren stumbled, blinking his eyes open.

Yamanaka just nodded at Ren’s feet.

He looked down, seeing that he had crossed the boundary of the ‘ring’ Yamanaka had drawn in the stand.

“...Ah. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just box.” Yamanaka said, simply.

The session continued like this; Ren shadow-boxed, interrupted by pebbles whenever he stepped outside the ‘ring’. By the end, he was no longer getting pelted by stones. He slowly came to a halt, sensing that the champion was no longer really watching. Sure enough, he was seated in the sand, watching the colors of the water change as the sun continued its ascent. Ren moved to join him.

“Thank you, Yamanaka-san.”

“You’re welcome.” He said. After a pause, he glanced at Ren, who jumped a little at the man’s steady, intense gaze. “Did you understand the point of that?”

“...You were teaching me to control the ring without having to see the ring.” Ren answered, after a moment.

“That’s the surface of it, yes.” Yamanaka said, shrugging. “But I wanted to show you a problem with your boxing. You’re too focused on your opponent, to the exclusion of your surroundings.”

Ren blinked, shaking his head. “Funny you should mention that… I was just recently told the opposite. That I’ve lost focus.”

“People like to say that.” Yamanaka said, drawing in the sand with his finger absentmindedly. “They think that the way to achieve the defeat of your opponent is to see nothing _ but _ your opponent. And, they’re not wrong. Not completely. It’s a good way to win. Not a good way to get out unscathed, though…”

He drew a single dot in the sand. “What’s my KO percentage, Amamiya-kun?”

“Seventy.” Ren said, automatically.

“That’s right.” Yamanaka said. “Would you believe it could have been close to 100%? I’d have retired by now, though… If you do nothing but focus on taking your opponent apart, you’ll win. That’s true. But parts of you will give out. Your body, probably. Your mind will get distracted. Your spirit will hurt. Boxing’s a rough sport. However you try to sugar-coat it, we’re trying to injure each other. You win by hurting the other man, and as a species, we aren’t programmed to do that. We’re programmed to punish ourselves for it, in fact.”

Ren frowned. “But it’s not like we _ want _ to hurt the other person--”

“No. You do.” Yamanaka said, shaking his head. “We all do. To believe anything else is an insult to the ring and your opponent. You are there to destroy each other. With the utmost respect. Tigers in the shape of men.”

“But, didn’t you just say…” Ren started to say. Yamanaka had just finished telling him that he was too focused on defeating and hurting his opponent, only to have the champion boxer tell him that was entirely the point.

“Boxing’s a contradiction.” Yamanaka said, softly. “Every martial art is. We train our bodies and learn skills that have been developed to efficiently and effectively inflict harm on other human bodies. And yet, we espouse these arts as a means to build character and strengthen the spirit. Do you remember when I took a hiatus, after my seventh title defense?”

Ren nodded. “I was shocked. Everyone was.”

“I needed to think about why I was doing this.” Yamanaka said, his normally neutral, calm voice showing a hint of regret. “Jose Esquiero. Third round technical knockout. I didn’t kill him, thankfully, but he never boxed again. Still has trouble with bright lights and sudden movement, though…”

“...What did you find out?”

Yamanaka shrugged. “Not much. I studied for a short time under an aikido sensei. I didn’t find my answer, but I found my reason.”

He drew three circles, forming a Venn diagram in the sand. “_ Bushido _ has eight virtues, but for us simple boxers, three pillars is easier. Body, mind, and spirit. If you focus solely on the body, that makes you at best, an athlete. At worst, a thug. Mind, a scholar. Spirit, a monk.”

He tapped the middle intersection. “Here is the warrior. Simple, right? Except that everything is a contradiction. When you commit acts of violence - and that’s what boxing is, no matter how you describe it - you hurt both the spirit and mind. When you strengthen your spirit, you no longer feel the need to fight, and mental debate seems a bit silly. When you work on the mind, you become a skeptic, unbelieving of _ ki _ and uncertain of what physical might can accomplish.”

Ren just listened as Yamanaka drew a wider circle around the Venn diagram.

“Frustrating, isn’t it? ...But if you can find the balance - or maybe more accurately, if you could find a way to fold the contradictions into a sort of harmony... Well. That’s my reason. That’s why I box.”

Yamanaka smiled. For a moment, he looked much like Ren, when the younger boxer was training. Eager. Enthusiastic. 

Ren looked at the diagram quietly. Right now, he understood, he wasn’t at the intersection. He had simply drawn a line in the sand between himself and his other half.

“...How are you going to get there, Yamanaka-san? How do you stay strong, without becoming something detestable?”

“By seeing _ everything _ . Feeling _ everything. _ By being both focused and unfocused. Seeing and not seeing.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. 

Yamanaka laughed, suddenly. “I sound like I need a long, white beard, don’t I? How about something tangible, then?”

He reached over, lightly tapping Ren’s chin with his fist. “I’m going to get there by boxing, Amamiya-kun. I suggest you do the same.”

>>>

Ren returned to the hotel suite, feeling refreshed, albeit sweaty and sandy. He quietly pushed open the door, hoping that he hadn’t woken up Ann.

A towel struck him in the face.

Ren caught it before it hit the floor. He looked up to see Ann, wrapped in a bathrobe; her hair was loosely tied back into a lazy ponytail and she had a bemused expression on her face. Of course, somehow, she made the look seem like it belonged in a magazine shoot. He smiled (more than a little stupidly) at the girl. Her bemused expression turned into a faint giggle, knowing precisely the effect she had on him.

Ren shook his head. _ ‘Wonder why I’m still even surprised at how she looks…’ _

“So?” She asked, with a little smile on her face. She approached him, tilting her chin up expectantly. “How was it?”

Ren kissed her. “How was what?”

“Training with Yamanaka-san? I heard you change and leave the suite to go train, probably on a beach strewn with debris.” Ann said, shrugging lightly. “I didn’t want you to get hurt training alone, so I had the front desk send him a text that you were going out.”

“...Wait.” Ren said, slowly. “You not only got him to sign my gloves, but you became comfortable enough with him to ask him to be my training partner for the morning?”

“Happy Birthday, Wildcard.” Ann said, winking.

“Jesus. What did I do to deserve you?”

Ann shrugged, smiling. She kissed Ren again, before motioning at the side of the sitting room; breakfast was already there. “_ And _ I ordered breakfast. You can eat, after you tell me how perfect I am and take a shower.”

Ren laughed. “You’re perfectly perfect… ...Are you going to join me in the shower?”

Ann smacked his chest with an open hand, lightly. “Don’t be greedy. We need to get back to Honolulu, remember? Dole Plantation. We can’t play hooky, and I don’t want to miss out on the soft-serve.”

“Yes’m.” Ren replied, with a cheeky grin. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“Go get cleaned up!” Ann said, laughing. Though, she understood his enthusiasm. This felt a little like they were newlyweds. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her robe as it buzzed, reading the text.

**SS: Hey, Blondie. Don’t hurry back. Dole Plantation got canceled, too much wind damage, so nothing but free time. And Mako-chan’s recruiting volunteers to help with beach cleanup for extra credit and feel-goods, like the student council prez she is. So keep yourself and the champ scarce. You two have fun?**

**AT: We did… And, thanks.**

**SS: ...did you two use my gift bag?? :D**

Shiho pasted a stamp to their chat that was simply a banana. A _ large _ banana. Ann rolled her eyes, thinking to ignore it - before smirking slightly. Her slender fingers moved decisively.

**AT: We didn’t need them. Still had plenty of ** ** _fun_ ** **, though.**

**SS: ...wait. You didn’t... ...Did you?**

**AT: Did what?**

A stamp of an innocent, yellow-furred bunny, staring into the sky.

**SS: You didn’t.**

**AT: No idea what you’re talking about.**

**SS: You DID. DEETS. NOW.**

**AT: No.**

**SS: God ** ** _damn_ ** ** it, Blondie, Shi-chan demands DEETS.**

Smiling, Ann silenced her phone. _ ‘...Hm. No need to hurry back, huh?’ _

Ren sighed, closing his eyes as the water washed away the sweat and the sand. He didn’t have an answer, obviously. Not after a single training session, even if it was with his hero. But it was comforting to know that the senior boxer struggled with the same issue, even years into his career. Of course, the _ degree _ of violence Ren was committing in the Metaverse was different. But there was something there, in what Yamanaka had said. There was the possibility of resolution, one that didn’t require him to become a monster, but still allowed him the strength he needed.

He opened his eyes, hearing Ann’s voice just outside the bathroom, muffled by the sound of the water and the glass door of the shower.

“Hey, Wildcard. I got a text from Shiho. Dole’s cancelled due to storm damage, so we can take our time getting back.”

“Oh? Alright, then. Sorry about the soft-serve, Songbird.”

“That’s fine. Plenty of places to get dessert, Wildcard.”

Ren thought he heard something else, a soft -_ fwump- _ of fabric hitting the floor.

“That’s true. You know, that soft-serve is sold all over the island. I’ll bet we could--”

The air in the shower changed as the door opened. He started to turn. The familiar and welcome sensation of Ann’s breasts pushing up against his back halted him. A light kiss between his shoulder blades.

“_ Plenty _ of places for _ dessert _.” Ann reiterated.

>>>

**SS: God ** ** _damn_ ** ** it, Blondie. Shi-chan demands DEETS.**

Shiho grinned, despite the demanding tone of her text. “Mission accomplished!”

She was wearing her school uniform, standing on the beach alongside Makoto. Several other similarly dressed Shujin students were around them, picking up fallen palm fronds, driftwood, and other debris from last night’s storm.

Makoto looked up, gathering fallen palm fronds in her arms. “I take it things went well with Ren and Ann?”

“Really well.” Shiho paused. _ ‘Maybe a little too well. Though, that was probably why Ann wanted to see Takemi-sensei…’ _

“Good.” Makoto said, smiling out of relief. “That was getting pretty drawn out.”

“Speaking of drawn out…” Shiho said, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, come off it.” Makoto scoffed. She placed the fronds in the growing pile on the beach, before adjusting her uniform. She hadn’t bothered with her leggings due to the heat and sand. “It’s not happening. All he could talk about this morning was his date with Hifumi-chan. And I decided that I’m over it.”

“That’s what he talked about. But who was the first one to volunteer when you brought up the beach cleanup? Shiho asked. “For the record, I’ve never seen RyuRyu do that sort of thing before, even when he was in the ‘good books’.”

“He was probably just trying to build a case to get a recommendation letter for university.” Makoto said, turning to hide the little smile she reflexively had at the memory of Ryuji enthusiastically raising his hand.

“Right. The university he wants to go to, because of _ you _.”

“I just helped him a little. He’s a very good friend.” Makoto said, composing herself and looking at Shiho neutrally.

“Then why is it every time I mention him, you adjust your clothes, hair, or hairband?” Shiho asked, slyly.

“Sh-shut up!” Makoto stammered. “That has nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, hey Ryuji.” Shiho said, looking over Makoto’s shoulder.

Makoto whirled, her face turning pink. There was no one standing there. She turned back to Shiho, actually _ pouting _, with her arms crossed.

“Oh my _ God _, you’re cute.” Shiho said, laughing. “...Oh. Hey, Mako-chan. It’s the real deal this time.”

“You’re so full of crap.” Makoto scoffed. She bent down to collect another palm frond.

“...Wow. Bold move, Mako-chan. Showing the goods.” Shiho said, with a grin that was somehow both mocking and approving.

Makoto’s eyes widened. She stood up straight, grabbing the hem of her skirt as she turned. Surely enough, Ryuji stood behind her, arms full of more debris. He had his eyes averted; his own cheeks a little red.

“Er… Hey, Makoto. Is this the pile…?”

“Y-y-yes!” She said, her face crimson.

Shiho stifled a laugh, before placing her own collection of driftwood and palm fronds down. “Hey, I think I heard Yukkun calling for help over there. Back in a bit.”

Makoto grabbed Shiho’s wrist, hissing at her quietly. “I heard _ nothing _. Don’t leave me alone with him!”

“I disagree. I definitely heard something.” Shiho twisted her wrist out of Makoto’s grasp. She whispered to Makoto. “He’s definitely more of a butt and hips guy, from what I remember. You’ve totally got this.”

“_ Shiho! _” Makoto whisper-snarled. But she could only watch as the former volleyball player moved off gamely, trotting away with a friendly wave, leaving her two friends alone.

Ryuji and Makoto stood there for a moment, making eye contact for a few brief seconds, before glancing away. Both of them started to speak at the same time, awkwardly.

“So, I--”

“Hey, you--”

They both stopped speaking. And then started again. Once again, at the same time.

“Oh, sorry. You go first, Makoto--Ah...”

“Ryuji, what were you--Oh…”

Makoto settled for not talking. Instead, she moved a short distance away to collect more debris; Ryuji followed her, doing the same thing. After a few more moments of silence and playing tag with their eyes, Ryuji spoke up.

“...Bummer about the Dole Plantation, huh?” Ryuji said.

“Yeah.” Makoto said. “At least, the teachers are organizing a small party and bonfire tonight. Shujin only, so we won’t have to share with other tourists. Last I heard, Kawakami-sensei was trying to rent a portable soft-serve machine, so we won’t miss out.”

“Heh. Nice. Ann’s going to freak out.” Ryuji said. “She’ll prolly try to hook it to her veins.”

Makoto smiled. “Shiho told me those two made up.”

“Good. Good…” Ryuji said, trailing off. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Shiho’s words last night had gotten him thinking. It seemed like whoever he was chasing after this past summer, the only girl who was really a constant in his life was Makoto. He had dropped a date with Hifumi to run to her side; his fondest memory at training camp was somehow their moment alone together in the cave, fake blood and all. And, she took him seriously about his career goals (after a brief laugh) when almost anyone else would have dismissed him. Conversations with her were… easy. Until now, anyway. He turned his head quickly as she started to look at him, feeling his eyes on her.

_ ‘Stupid. What would she want with an idiot like me, anyway? She’s just tryin’ to help me turn my life around.’ _

Makoto regarded Ryuji quietly. He really did irritate her instantly. But the other side of that…

_ ‘I was so happy when he volunteered this morning. Happier than when onee-san gave me this cell strap... Happier than I’ve been in a while. But I’m nowhere near his type.’ _

She looked at the ground, reaching for a piece of driftwood - Ryuji grasped it at the same time.

They looked up, surprised - their faces were just inches apart. They both startled, dropping the driftwood, standing up. A quiet cough from Makoto, a nervous chuckle from Ryuji.

“...You know, Ryuji. I should thank you.” Makoto said.

“Oh? About volunteering? No need. I was happy to do it. I mean…”

“No, not about that.” Makoto said, smiling, eyes still averted. She turned to him, smiling proudly. “I made up with Eiko. Thanks to your help.”

“Oh? That’s great!”

Makoto nodded. “She’s going to be alright. Just like you, she’s decided to apply herself, and think about her career and future. ...Just like me, too.”

“Oh? So you’ve decided on something?” Ryuji asked.

“I have. I’m…”

“Sakamoto-kun?”

They both turned.

Hifumi Togo stood a short distance away, green eyes wide with surprise. “Sakamoto-kun? What are you doing?”

Ryuji blinked, looking down at the palm fronds and driftwood in his arms. “Ah. Helping with the beach cleanup…” He trailed off.

Makoto could see why he was tongue-tied, to her chagrin. Hifumi was dressed for a day at the beach, wearing a navy blue bikini top with white stripes, and a matching skirt. The shogi princess was _ stunning _, with alabaster skin, long, slender legs, and a classically beautiful face… The student council president felt self-conscious, dirty with sand, carrying debris from the storm.

“And this is…?”

“Oh! This is Makoto Niijima, our student council president. It was her idea to do the cleanup. Makoto, this is Hifumi Togo.”

Hifumi bowed politely; Makoto did the same, only to result in dropping the palm leaves and wood she had gathered. With a frustrated and embarrassed curse, she dropped to her knees, quickly gathering them again.

Two more sets of hands joined her.

She blinked, looking up as Hifumi started to help without hesitation. She had heard all about Hifumi, of course. _ Ad nauseum _, from Ryuji.

_ ‘...And of _ ** _course_ ** _ she’s actually nice, too. Pretty with a good personality.’ _Makoto thought, more than a little bitterly.

She quickly gathered up the debris. “Togo-san. It was good to meet you. If you’ll excuse me.”

Before either of them could say a word, the brunette moved off as quickly as she could, nearly running over Shiho as she dropped the last of the beach detritus on the pile.

“There. All done. Shiho, thanks again. I’m going to--”

“Mako-chan, what happened?” Shiho asked, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder.

Makoto stood, hands clasped. She bit her lip, staring at the pile on the beach. “...Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Shiho looked over Makoto’s shoulder, seeing Ryuji speak with Hifumi in the distance. She sighed. “...You’re not over this, Mako-chan. Not even close.”

“What does it matter?” Makoto said, shaking her head. “Look at the way he’s talking to her. Even… even if I wanted to see if there was anything to this, it doesn’t matter. She’s perfect. She’s kind, she’s pretty, she’s smart. I… I just have a knack for finding guys who are unavailable.”

Shiho sighed again. “...Yeah. I suppose you do, Mako-chan. Hey. Tell you what. Let me borrow your phone, see what Blondie’s up to. I forgot to charge mine up last night, and I just drained it texting the girl. Maybe the three of us can go out, take your mind off of this.”

Makoto nodded numbly, handing over her phone.

“Don’t count yourself out yet, Mako-chan.” Shiho said, sympathetically. As she tapped away at Makoto’s phone, she glanced at her friend. The girl was clearly trying to work through her emotions systematically, much like how she approached her schoolwork. Makoto was an interesting complement to Ryuji. The boy’s mind was unreliable, but his heart was solid. Makoto was the opposite. Her mind was honed, trained. She wielded an eidetic memory with the precision of a scalpel. But her heart was almost innocent. It barely understood ‘like’ or ‘love’.

And yet, it wanted what it wanted. With Ren, it had been something like an infatuation borne out of gratitude. He was her first friend.

With Ryuji, though… through all their conversations they had, through the time spent together, they were developing an _ understanding _.

But neither of them could see it. On some level, they knew it - based on the painfully awkward yet entertaining interaction Shiho had been spying on before Hifumi arrived. But they had to be led to it gradually, or Ryuji’s tendency to try too hard would collide with Makoto’s unshakeable pride and tendency to overanalyze.

Shiho glanced again at Hifumi, and then Makoto’s phone, complete with the ridiculous, dangling Buchimaru strap.

_ ‘I can definitely use this.’ _

>>>

“How about this?! I could definitely use these!” Ryuji said, holding up Ren’s aviator sunglasses.

The blonde boy was rummaging through Ren’s suitcase, looking for something, _ anything _ to help him with his date with Hifumi. It was less than an hour away, and Ryuji was in a state of panic. He and Ren were in the hotel room that Ren shared with Yuuki. They had been, actually, for the past two hours as Ryuji tried on outfits from both his backpack and Ren’s luggage.

“Bro…” Ren said, sighing from his seat on his bed. “You can take whatever you want. But seriously. What happened to not trying too hard?”

“You don’t get it!” Ryuji said, a cold sweat visible on his forehead as he tried the sunglasses on, looking in the mirror. “I saw her in her bikini today, and she’s _ way _ out of my league.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “_ I _ don’t get it? Remember who I’m dating?”

“...Ah. Heh. Right. It’s hard for me to see Ann that way… She’s like an older or younger sister, depending on what kind of mood she’s in.” Ryuji said. “How did you work up the courage with her, anyway?”

“I didn’t.” Ren said, shaking his head. He gestured helplessly. “We just… _ happened _.” 

“Bro. That’s completely unhelpful.” Ryuji said, trying on the sunglasses, and then Ren’s white linen shirt.

“Don’t button that up all the way.” Ren said, standing. “Here.”

He walked over, making a few adjustments. Ren popped the collar, hooking the sunglasses in the ‘V’. He then nodded at the sleeves. “Roll those up. And maybe slouch a little less?”

Ryuji eyed himself in the mirror. “...Hey. Nice. How did you know all of that?”

“I didn’t.” Ren said, laughing. “Ann dresses me, remember? Before she came along, my summer outfit was just a black t-shirt, jeans, and an open short-sleeve button down.”

“True. It’s like you were wearing the same thing every day.” Ryuji said, shrugging. “...Anyway. Was it really that easy, with you and Ann?”

“Kinda-sorta.” Ren said, shrugging. “There was just… _ gravity _, I guess. You know how I tried to hold off? She did, too, I found out later. Both of us probably could have used more time. But that night, after Reiko said her goodbye…”

Ryuji paused, speaking cautiously. ASOBIBA was a distant memory now, but the pain remained. “...You know, you never told us what happened, exactly…”

Ren just smiled slightly. “It happened like you’re thinking, probably. We did everything out of order, Ryuji. I wouldn’t recommend using us as a model relationship. Or anyone’s relationship, for that matter. There isn’t a playbook to romance. Reiko and I were completely different from Ann and I.”

Ryuji sighed. “I guess you’re right, RenRen. You’ve grown wiser in your old age. Despite doing a sport that’s literally a concussion contest.”

Ren frowned. “Ann told you?”

“Yep. Happy birthday, bro.” Ryuji grinned. “We’re gonna have a _ huge _ party when we get back, y’know.”

Ren sighed. “Go. Get out of here. Go fall in love or make an ass of yourself. Probably both.”

“Lates.”

Ryuji headed for the door.

“Ryuji, wait.” Ren said. Ryuji turned back.

“There is one thing that was the same, Ryuji.” Ren said. “Between Reiko and Ann. Both times, I never had to convince myself I was in love. Both times, I couldn’t get either of them out of my head.”

“Right…” Ryuji said.

“There was something ka-chan used to say, when I asked her about how she and my dad got together. ‘Love was easy. Dating was a challenge, sometimes. And marriage takes determination. But the love was, and is, easy.’ “

Ren watched as Ryuji left. Smiling, he took out his phone.

**RA: He’s on his way.**

>>>

“Hey, Shiho. _ Shiho _.”

Shiho blinked, looking up at Ann. She put her phone down. The blonde girl had her hair in a half-up, half-down hairstyle. She wore her floral bikini, now with a matching sarong covering her from the waist-down. 

“Does this look okay?”

Shiho rolled her eyes, before grinning. “Stop fishing, Blondie. You look great, and you know it. And yes, your hair and sarong cover up the hickeys that the champ left. Heh. He can be a bit of a brute, can’t he?”

Ann smiled and blushed faintly. She had already shared the ‘deets’ with her bestie upon her return to Honolulu. She sat down beside Shiho on the bed. They were in her room, getting ready for the bonfire and party that had been arranged in lieu of the Dole Plantation trip.

“Not more than I want him to be.” Ann said, shrugging lightly. “Unless he’s utterly shameless, he’s going to be keeping his shirt on at this thing, too.”

Shiho laughed. “I’m glad you two made up. I was getting a little worried.”

“That’s a lie. You weren’t worried in the slightest.” Ann said, laughing. “You just wanted to screw with us.”

“Well, kinda. But I didn’t think you were open to that sort of thing.”

Ann gagged. “Gross. You’re like my sister, Shiho.”

Shiho nodded, frowning. “It was funnier before I said it. I regret everything.”

The two exchanged glances, before laughing. Ann glanced at Shiho’s phone. The screen was still on the text messaging app.

**RA: He’s on his way.**

“You know, if this works out, you’re going to be pretty bored. You won’t have anyone left to meddle with.” Ann said, smiling.

“Puh-lease. _ When _ this works, do you think RyuRyu and Mako-chan are going to make RenAnn kind of progress? Mako-chan would sooner pass out than jump Ryuji right off the bat. And Ryuji’s head would just implode.”

“_ Excuse _ me! I didn’t jump him.”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Right. You made gentle, loving eyes at him, led him upstairs with heart aflutter and hands a-trembling.”

Ann nodded defiantly.

“Tough shit. When I tell this story to your kids, I’m telling them that Mama jumped on Papa like he was the last bucket of KFC on Christmas Eve.”

“You’re the worst.”

“Yep!”

Ann smiled, looking at Shiho. “...You know, I was hoping that after this, you’d stop meddling and start looking after _ yourself _?”

Shiho raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Did the doc talk to you about me, or something?”

“No. But if Takemi-sensei’s worried about you the same way I am, that’s two people who care about you who want you to start living your own life properly.” Ann said, gently.

Shiho started to say something snarky or off-color. But the gentle, wistful look in her best friend’s eyes forestalled her. While Shiho knew Ann, Ann knew Shiho just as well. “...I know. I know. I’m just… worried, you know? It still disgusts me when guys look at me with anything beyond platonic friendliness. And what kind of guy would want a girl who’s afraid to even be _ looked _at, let alone touched? I mean… Thank God Mako-chan was there, at the beach. When that guy grabbed my wrist, I completely froze up. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I mean...”

“Shiho… I’m not even asking you to date someone.” Ann said, shaking her head. She turned, hugging her. “Not even close. I just want you to find something you can love as much as you used to love volleyball. You… you and Ren are my light, you know? Call me selfish, but I want you to _ shine _. I’d do anything to see you smile the way you used to. If it turns out to be a career in medicine, that’s fine. But I think there’s more good things in the world for you than living through your friends.”

Shiho hugged back, blinking away tears. “...Thanks, Blondie. I love you, you know?”

“I know. If there’s anything I can do…”

“Take more pictures of the champ. I mean, I don’t have any of his sleeping face, and--”

“Anything but that.”

“You’re no fun.”

>>>

Yuuki and Yusuke sat close to the bonfire as the party started; the Shujin students and faculty filed in. Some gave Yusuke odd looks, but permission from the student council president and the artist’s good looks went a long way.

Yusuke was busily finishing a sketch by the last light of the sun combined with the firelight, frowning. He then smiled triumphantly, holding up the sketch. “Mishima-kun. Tell me, what do you think?”

“Oh, that lobster drawing you’ve been working on?” Mishima said, trying hard to show some enthusiasm. He looked up. “It looks…. ….Oh. Oh, wow.”

Yusuke had somehow captured the _ essence _ of what it meant to be a lobster in his sketch. If there was a world competition on lobster art in the world, the rough sketch alone would have won the prize.

“That’s… that’s incredible.” Yuuki managed to say, shaking his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand how you turned _ lobsters _ into art…”

“Thank you.” Yusuke said, smiling. He closed the book confidently. He then looked thoughtful. “I might have said the same thing, a short time ago. My view of art was rather narrow…”

“What changed?” Yuuki asked, fiddling around with both his cellphone and is digital SLR.

“I met Ren and the others.” Yusuke said. “They showed me that to become complete as an artist, I needed to grow as a person, as well. I thought that my goal as an artist - of any artist - was to create true beauty. I think my goal is different, now… It is to capture _ truth _. And that, in itself, is beautiful.”

“...Heh. The truth of being a lobster?” Yuuki said, wryly.

“Verily. And in the painting I submitted to the competition, the truth of redemption.” He paused. “...At least, I hope it will be the truth. Is that your camera, Mishima-kun?”

“Hm? Yeah. I bought it in Akihabara and fixed it up last year. I started taking pictures and doing a little filming as a hobby…” Yuuki said.

“Ah. May I? Some of the students in Kosei study photography.”

Yuuki shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I’m not that serious. My parents say it’s a waste of time, and ‘not a fitting career for a family of our stature’...”

Yusuke took the camera, flipping through the images in the viewfinder. He paused at a few images here and there, studying them with such intense scrutiny that Mishima started to feel slightly uncomfortable.

“Er… Kitagawa-kun…?”

“Hm? Ah, my apologies.” He handed the camera back. “It’s a shame it’s just a hobby, Mishima-kun. I think you have talent.”

“R-really!?”

“Yes. Ah. Your phone.”

**RA: He’s on his way.**

Yuuki blinked. He then stood, getting his camera ready. “Right. That’s our signal. Help me keep an eye out for her, Kitagawa-kun. You don’t have to leave right away anyway, right?”

>>>

_ ‘RenRen was right, after all. As long as I don’t try too hard…’ _

Ryuji sat across from Hifumi on the patio of a small restaurant, close to the hotel the Shujin students were staying at. She was a knockout, as usual - this time, in a modest robin’s egg blue sundress, with a navy blue cloth belt tied in a bow at the side of her waist, accentuating her slim figure. She laughed, smiling at him.

_ ‘...This is super easy. I mean, it was a bit awkward at first, but now the conversation’s just flowin’…’ _

“...So you two started by studying, but ended up staying up all night watching old police movies?! How did you even pass the quiz?” Hifumi asked, giggling.

“Ah. Well, Makoto’s amazing, like that. She broke it all down so that even I could understand it…”

“You always put yourself down, Sakamoto-kun. With all this ‘even I could understand’ talk…” Hifumi said, shaking her head. “I think you should have more confidence.”

“R-really?” Ryuji said, eyes widening. _ ‘This is going _ ** _really_ ** _ well!’ _ He took a sip of his drink.

Hifumi tilted her head thoughtfully. “I should think so. I only met her once, but from the way you describe her, I think she’d appreciate that in a potential partner.”

Ryuji choked, nearly performing a spit-take all over the pretty girl across from him. “Wh-what?!”

“You like her, don’t you?” Hifumi asked, looking confused. She stood, thumping his back with the palm of her hand. She sat back down when his coughing subsided. “I mean, you were so quiet and nervous, to start. But then when I asked about your plans for after high school, Niijima-san came up, and you just lit up. You couldn’t help yourself from smiling.”

Ryuji started to protest. But things clicked into place.

The aquarium. One of their ‘practice dates’._ ‘You light up when you talk about things you’re interested in, did you know? I think that’s what Ren meant. If you fake it, even I can tell. If you just act like yourself, it’s… I don’t know. It’s fun?’ _

Training camp_ . _ _ ‘I don’t think you’re as bad of a catch as you make yourself out to be, Ryuji. You keep saying things like you don’t want people to end up like you, or how you need help to be like Ren. I think you’d do just fine being yourself.’ _

Crossroads. _ ‘Thanks for coming, Ryuji. You looked really cool when you were running in, you know.’ _

And a myriad of other memories. Shared moments. Quiet looks of understanding. She was the one he thought of whenever anything happened. He wanted her to be the first to know everything, good or bad. She’d always smile at him. Sometimes proud, sometimes after an exasperated sigh. But always happy that he had come to her.

...And he had spent the entire summer chasing after other girls. Right in front of her. And now he was on a date with another girl.

“...I am _ such an idiot! _” Ryuji said, clutching at his head, before slamming his forehead down onto the table with a thump.

Hifumi blinked, eyes widening before starting to laugh. “...If it makes you feel any better, Sakamoto-kun, this was just to say thank you. For helping me to resolve things with my mother. And I wanted you to pass this on to Amamiya-kun, also. The only reason I didn’t invite him was because I assumed Ann-chan would want him to herself while they were here.”

Ryuji’s phone vibrated.

Glumly, the boy reached over, picking it up.

**YM: Hey, Ryuji. I was playing around with my long lens on the beach... Is this Niijima-senpai? It looks like she’s trying to find something? I’d go over there, but it looks like she’s actually closer to where you said you were going for dinner?**

The picture was indeed of Makoto, wearing her bikini and skirt combination in the setting sun. She was on her hands and knees, sifting through the sand, looking somewhat distraught.

Hifumi glanced over at Ryuji’s phone, blinking. “I think you should go find her, Sakamoto-kun. Hawaii’s safe, but I don’t think it would be wise for a Japanese high school girl to be on the beach after dark in a foreign country, alone, dressed like that…”

“...Holy shit. You’re right! I can’t leave her there. I mean, she’s pretty scary, but still!” Ryuji nodded, standing. He turned, but then paused. “...But then I can’t leave you here alone, can I?”

Hifumi started to respond, but craned her neck, looking past Ryuji. “...Kitagawa-kun?”

>>>

Makoto sifted through the sand, looking for the _ Buchimaru _ cell phone strap that her sister had given to her. The first gift Sae had given to her freely, without any special event or obligation attached to it in years. It was a stupid, silly thing, she knew. Barely worth 500 yen, retail. Probably much less than that in materials. But it was important to her. It _ mattered _ . She couldn’t have Ren. Didn’t even have half a chance with him. She apparently couldn’t have Ryuji either. And there, she had a chance. At least she _ did. _That made it even worse.

Makoto smiled, letting out a bitter laugh. She had only listened to her heart enough to know that she even _ wanted _Ryuji in time for her to watch him run happily off on a date with Hifumi Togo. So no, she couldn’t have Ryuji.

But at least she could have the stupid fucking cell phone strap. If she could find the damned thing. Somehow. Buried somewhere in hundreds of metres of beach, where she had last remembered seeing it attached to her phone. Trampled underfoot by thousands.

_ ‘God damn it…’ _

She stopped. It was utterly irrational. There was no way she’d find it. She should get up, go back to the bonfire, and sulk while eating soft-serve. And possibly see Ryuji walk back to the party, holding hands with the shogi princess.

_ ‘...Fuck that.’ _

She went back to digging.

A voice interrupted her.

“Hey, Makoto?”

She looked up, her hands and knees covered in sand. Her eyes red from the tears. She didn’t even care, after seeing who it was.

Ryuji Sakamoto stood there, backlit by the moon and starlight.

“..._ Ryuji?! _” Makoto sprang to her feet. “What… what are you doing here?”

Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, Mishima saw you out here. He texted me.”

“And what about Hifumi?” Makoto said.

“...Yusuke’s walking her back to their hotel.”

“...Oh. Then what are you…”

Silence. Ryuji held out his hand, opening his clenched fist. Revealing the _ Buchimaru _ cell phone strap. Makoto stared in mute shock.

_ ‘Let me borrow your phone, see what Blondie’s up to.’ _

>>>

“And so you stole Makoto’s cell phone strap, so it would force her to look for it on the beach. And then you orchestrated a situation that would cause Ryuji to go to her out of concern, and even provided an ‘out’ for him so that he could leave Hifumi behind, guilt-free? _ And _ you handed Yusuke the strap?” Ren asked, eyeing Shiho askance. They sat side by side on a piece of driftwood that had been dragged over to the fire as a bench.

“Yep!” Shiho said, nomming on her soft-serve.

“..._ And _ you bite your ice cream, instead of licking it. Savagely. Like an animal.” Ren said.

“Yep yep!” Shiho chirped.

Ren shook his head, laughing. “Oh my God. You’re all kinds of frightening. I can’t complain, though.”

“Of course you can’t.” Shiho said. She leaned over, speaking quietly. “After all, you got to have your savage way with a hot blonde model, didn’t you?”

“Jesus. How much did she tell you?!” Ren exclaimed, looking around. He wasn’t shy about sex, but he didn’t like to kiss/lick/bite/fuck and tell.

“_ Everything _.” Shiho said, grinning.

Ren sighed. He looked up, spotting Ryuji and Makoto approaching. They weren’t holding hands, but they walked close to each other, chatting with little smiles. They seemed calmer, now. They seemed to _ fit _.

“Heh. Looks like the operation was a success, Shiho. Remind me to consult you the next time we’re planning something.”

“Plausible deniability, remember? Besides, my talent lies more in good-natured mischief.” Shiho moved aside as Ann sat down on the log between them, holding two cones. One pineapple, one raspberry. She handed one to Ren.

Shiho glanced at the soft-serve. “Are those the last two?”

Ann shook her head. “They said they had enough for two more. Ryuji and Makoto are getting them.”

“Ah. In that case, duty calls.” Shiho stood up.

“...Duty? Aren’t you done?” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“Almost. Right now, the mission’s rating is ‘A’. I can get us an ‘S’.” She moved off, smiling.

Ren sighed. He put his arm around Ann, stretching his legs out. Ann eyed him. Apparently, he _ was _ utterly shameless. He had his shirt open, revealing the very prominent bruise on his collarbone. Thankfully, his shorts covered the one she had left on his inner thigh, from their second round in the shower.

Ren caught her eye. He smirked. “Regretting going public? Do I get to say ‘I told you so’?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Don’t start… I don’t think I mind you advertising, though. You’re becoming more popular as each day goes by. Didn’t I see you talking to one of Makoto’s classmates? Haru Okumura, right?”

Ren shook his head, frowning. “Just for a second. Then she got a phone call… She seemed pretty upset, actually.”

A light flick to his ear caught him off guard.

“None of that tonight.” Ann said, smiling. “We’re on vacation. If you want to investigate and see if you can help, then we’ll start when we get back.”

Ren laughed. “Right. Sorry, Songbird.”

They finished their ice cream in comfortable silence. Ann settled against Ren’s side, with a little sigh. “You know… I’d love to come back here again. Just the two of us.”

“Mm. Me too…”

“Or better yet, we could just never leave.” Ann murmured dreamily, closing her eyes. She hugged his arm. “I’ll call my agency. Tell them to get started on setting up a work visa. I’ll be a world famous model, operating out of Honolulu. You’ll be my kept man, and feed me grapes. Use a giant leaf for a fan.”

“That sounds completely sustainable and realistic. Let’s do it.” Ren said, distractedly, looking down at Ann. Or more specifically, a very prominent feature of her. As Ann hugged his arm, her chest pressed against his deltoid in a way that brought him back to last night. And this morning. Or every other moment where she…

She didn’t bother to look up. “You keep staring, WIldcard. It’s not like you haven’t seen me like this before. Or in a lot less, for that matter.”

“...Sorry. I’m entranced.”

“I’m glad.” Ann said, smiling. She now looked up at him, thoughtfully. They _ had _ been apart from each other for over a week. And while Bachan was working on the curfew, they didn’t know what sort of situation they were going home to. “...Want to get out of here?”

On the other side of the fire, Makoto and Ryuji slowly worked on the last two servings of Dole soft-serve.

“...Hey, Makoto. You never got the chance to tell me. What did you decide on, for your career? I really want to hear it.” Ryuji said, smiling as he took a break from his ice cream.

Makoto blinked. “Ah… Right. Well. I decided I want to become a police officer, with the aim of becoming the Commissioner one day.”

“Oh! _Damn _. Isn’t that really hard?” Ryuji said, eyes wide.

Makoto nodded. “You have to be an exemplary officer, and also have a strong academic background. But I want to do this. I don’t want anyone to go through what Eiko did. Or what Shiho did. Or any of the people who were exploited. There’s so much that goes on in this country, and no one seems to care… I think the only way to change it is by putting people in power who give a damn.”

She paused, eyeing him with that little smile. “You might say you inspired me to think that way, Ryuji. I don’t think it’s very different from the reason why you want to be a teacher.”

“...Heh. Glad I could be useful to you for once, Makoto.”

Makoto’s smile softened a little more. “...Not just for once, Ryuji. I hope we can keep helping each other…”

They settled into silence. Not quite comfortable. Tense. Maybe if they were alone, something might have happened. Something might have shifted, changed. But they were surrounded by their classmates. She was the student council president. He was a troublemaker, just starting to turn things around.

Makoto bit her lip. _ ‘...Can’t I just not care about that stuff? Just once?’ _

“Oops!”

Someone bumped Ryuji’s elbow as they passed by, knocking his soft-serve into the sand.

“!! Damn it, Suzui! That was the last one!” Ryuji said, pointing his finger accusingly.

Shiho shrugged, smiling. She caught Makoto’s eye, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

_ ‘Fine. How about this? If he ditches his date with Hifumi for you, you’ll give it a shot?’ _

Makoto shook her head slowly, with an amused, defeated smile.

“Can you believe this, Makoto? Seriously, I mean, she’s athletic, but that was pretty klutzy--”

“...Here.” She said, quietly.

“...Wha?” Ryuji turned. Makoto held her cone out toward Ryuji. She kept her eyes fixed on the fire. A light blush painted her cheekbones. Ryuji’s breath caught - the firelight accentuated the red hues in her eyes; it made her skin glow.

_ ‘...Holy…’ _

She glanced at him quickly, before her eyes flitted back to the fire. “...We can share mine.”

“...Thanks.”

A distance away, Shiho watched as Ren and Ann snuck off, presumably back to the hotel. Or maybe to find another abandoned change room slash shower facility. She then looked over at Ryuji and Makoto, stifling a laugh as the two shyly shared an ice cream cone, like they were middle schoolers rather than hormonal teenagers. She wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t even really confessed their feelings, yet.

_ ‘Well. That’s fine, too. All’s well that ends well…’ _

September 11, 20xx 

Kobayakawa parked his car down the block from the police station. He had no way of knowing whether or not they were tracking his car, or even who _ they _ were. But he had to assume. For the past day now, he had felt something he could only describe as impending doom. A premonition that things were going to end very badly for him.

So he had moved up the day he was supposed to turn himself in to the police. He was going to tell them everything. His connection to the UFP. How even a relatively minor member like himself (he was no longer under _ any _ illusions of how important he was) knew how high the corruption ran. He would expose as many as he could to save his own skin. Okumura, Arai. All of them.

He got out of his car, anxiously looking over his shoulder.

Even after he made his decision, things didn’t feel easier. Even the air felt oppressive. But everyone around him continued walking; it was just the normal metropolitan buzz.

_ ‘It’s… it’s just nerves. Nerves. That’s all. I just need to get across this street, and I’ll be safe.’ _

Sweat dripped down his brow, despite the comfortable temperature.

One foot struck the asphalt. His vision seemed to narrow, seeing only the crosswalk in front of him. The rest of the world around him faded to white.

_ ‘Almost… …almost safe.’ _

The other foot. His awareness shrank to just black asphalt. All he could think of was how important it was to get to the other side. He couldn’t think of why. Just that the other side meant _ safe _. It started to feel like he was walking through quicksand. Or slowly hardening concrete. Not that he could remember what either of those things were. His breaths became labored. He clutched his chest.

His body ground to a halt in the middle of the road. His hands dropped limply to his sides.

He didn’t see the truck rounding the bend in the road.

He didn’t see, period.

As his mind left him, he croaked out one final word. A word he didn’t even know the meaning of, anymore.

“....s...safe…”

Kobayakawa’s world became a blank slate. A white canvas that was in the next instant, painted in blood, shattered bone, and twisted steel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was also a lot of fun to write.
> 
> Ren and Ann in GtD weren't quite the stereotypical anime/manga romance. Their slow burn turned into a raging fire pretty fast. Ryuji and Makoto are a little more straight-laced, obviously. Fun to have that contrast (for me, anyway!), and definitely a different kind of love. The way I wrote Ren and Ann was very nearly love at first sight. For Ryuji/Makoto, more of a 'koi no yokan' situation. Where they get along at first, but gradually come to understand and see each other in that way.
> 
> Mama 'Miya saying that love is easy - Hope that people don't take this the wrong way. Not to say that you should be able to find it easily, etc. Just that her reasoning is if you love someone, you shouldn't have to find reasons/think about it. You just -do-. At least, I've been lucky enough to experience this.
> 
> Decided it would be too ambitious to start laying the grounds for Haru Okumura in this chapter. Will officially start next arc next time.
> 
> Shiho is, as always, the MVP. For those wondering, this is the reason why I introduced the Buchimaru cell phone strap WAY back in chapter 15. Back when Makoto was still crushing on Ren :)
> 
> No double/triple update this time - this is just to close out Hawaii.
> 
> Thanks for reading!! Wow. 5K hits. IOU all another Tale of the Tape. For now I sleep. @_X


	28. Alex Ariza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex Ariza was once the strength and conditioning coach of one of the greatest boxers of all time, Manny Pacquiao. In the opinion of some, Ariza helped Pacquiao to five overwhelming victories. However, Ariza had a rumored tendency to rub people the wrong way. Whether it was his training technique, or his outspoken attitude, the relationship between Ariza and the rest of Pacquiao’s camp soured. The trainer was let go.
> 
> _Almost immediately, though, Ariza was hired - to train Pacquiao’s next opponent, Brandon Rios. Ariza claimed afterward, in reference to Pacquiao:_
> 
> _“I didn’t leave him. He left me.”_

September 10, 20xx 

“...Want to get out of here?” Ann asked Ren, a coquettish smile on her face.

Ren looked at her, in her bikini, the sarong. Her hair in the half up, half down style that displayed a plumeria prominently and proudly over her left ear, announcing to the world that she was taken. That she was his. So of course, he only had one possible answer to Ann’s question. He stood, taking her hand.

With matching mischievous grins they darted away from the bonfire, heading back toward the hotel. In their enthusiasm, they didn’t notice the girl with curly auburn hair standing in the lobby as they passed by, also from the Shujin ‘farewell to Hawaii’ party. In fairness, she didn’t notice them, either. While she was dressed for the party in her aqua-blue polka-dot halter dress, she wasn’t in a celebratory mood. Not anymore.

“H..hey, _ Haru-chan _…” Sugimura’s voice slurred, over the phone she held. “What are you wearing…?”

Haru Okumura, third year and chaperone, let out a quiet sigh, nearly silent. Even an audible sigh would be enough to send her fiance, Hisahito Sugimura, into a fit of verbal abuse. And if she hung up, he’d tattle on her to her father, who would then lecture her on the importance of being a ‘good partner’ to her ‘future husband’, and then probably remove another of her rapidly dwindling freedoms. Not to mention make her apologize to Sugimura, in person.

So her choices were to either answer the question, or silence.

She thought of the boy she spoke to earlier tonight - the one who had helped her drag a piece of driftwood over to the bonfire as a bench. Ren Amamiya, the infamous delinquent transfer student who had somehow surrounded himself with friends, gotten the beautiful Ann Takamaki to fall for him, and was keeping out of trouble despite his rumor-laden arrival. And on top of that, he was crushing the second year exams - seemingly with no motivation other than pure defiance.

With that defiance in mind, she chose to answer the question.

“A dress.” She answered, flatly.

“Shh..shounds shexy. Wh… what’s it look like?”

“Like a dress made out of cloth.”

“...arre… are you being a _ bitch _ again…?”

“No. Just answering your question, Sugimura-san. How _ should _I answer?” Haru said, mildly.

“Er… you… you describe how… shhhexy your dress is.” He said. There was a sound of a breaking glass, on the background of thudding club music. He was probably in the VIP room of WARP Shinjuku, surrounded by both low level cronies and ‘friends’, or people the man grudgingly considered his equals. He was beyond having actual friends, apparently. He only kept someone around if they had a use.

“I see. Then, can you give me an example? What should I say? Something like…” She said, indicating that he should ‘fill in the blank’ for her.

“Like... Er… I’m… I’m wearing a strapless, slutty little thing… something that shows off my nice rack for you, big boy.”

“I’m sorry, can you say that louder? The long distance connection is poor.”

He repeated himself, loudly. He was cut off immediately by the raucous laughter of the men around him.

“Haha! You’re wearing a suit, Sugimura, but if you’re that enthusiastic, here, let me put this yen in your _ bra _ so you can go and buy a slutty dress later..!” Haru heard, yelled in the background.

Sugimura dropped the phone as he turned to yell back.

With a little smile, Haru hung up. Her smile faded after a moment, though. It was at best, a forgotten triumph. He’d wake up with no memory of it, and return to his usual disgusting self. At worst, it would be a pyrrhic victory. He’d remember the humiliation, and then he’d return it to her, ten-fold. He wouldn’t _ touch _ her, of course. Her father was too important for him to jump the gun like that. But there were other ways to diminish, other ways to cut her down.

In that moment, like so many before, the heiress wondered what the point of it all was. Her father, Kunikazu, had spent years grooming her to be his heir. He gave her the best tutors; he taught her how to survive in business. How to think. How to be ruthless, when necessary. He did all of this, only to tie her to a man whose only interest in her was as a trophy. Or as he crowed to his friends, his ‘high school slam-piece’. When she protested, when she told her father how she felt about it… even when she tried to tell him what kind of man her ‘fiancé’ was...

_ ‘I made this decision because it’s the best thing for our company and therefore our family. I do what I must, and so will you.’ _

She wished she could just stay in Hawaii. The last few days had been a blessing. Beautiful. Even the storm had brought a certain type of calm. But, the paradise around her was bittersweet.

_ ‘Mono no aware…’ _Haru thought. Literally ‘the pathos of life’, the term described the juxtaposition of life’s beauty against the bleak knowledge that none of it would last. It seemed that all this short reprieve had done was to make the future ahead of her seem colder. Sharper.

Her face sank into her hands. Her high-priced education was good for one thing, at least:

It made her smart enough to be miserable.

>>>

September 13, 20xx 

“Before we talk about the data Futaba uncovered, we need to discuss what happened at school.” Makoto said, her arms crossed. She stood in Ren’s attic after their first day back at school, with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. “Principal Kobayakawa…”

The Phantom Thieves had a rude awakening from paradise. Upon arrival, they learned that Kobayakawa was dead. There was an assembly early in the morning; Vice Principal Matsui, had spoken generously about the decreased man, claiming that his death was suicide due to a feeling of failure. Apparently, Kobayakawa loved the students of Shujin _ so _much that he felt responsible for being unable to restore a normal school life to everyone. And the best way to honor his life was to make that wish come true, apparently. By being good students, and participating fully in the upcoming Sports Day at the end of the week. It wasn’t going to be canceled; in fact, it was now being held in the dead man’s honor.

Makoto was glad she wasn’t asked to speak at the assembly as the student council president. It would have been nearly impossible for her to tell that many lies.

“Word from Ken-chan is that more than a few students at Shujin think the Phantom Thieves were behind it.” Ren said, grimly. “Some of them are even talking about it like he had it coming.”

Yusuke frowned, looking at his phone. “And others are saying that Kobayakawa killed himself because of shame over the Kamoshida situation. Essentially, they’re saying that we’re indirectly responsible… But no one is really ‘blaming’ us. People are being positive about us… ‘I wish the Phantom Thieves would take down the police and all the politicians’...”

Ann bit her lip lightly, before speaking. “There’s even Phantom Thief merchandise, now. It’s like we’re getting too big, too fast. I know that Kobayakawa wasn’t looking out for any of us… but he still _ died _. He was a living person!”

Futaba frowned, looking at her laptop. “People aren’t talking about justice, anymore. They’re talking about revenge. ‘He deserved it for covering up the crimes. They should go after the other teachers, too. And the police for not caring…’ That, or they want us to take down celebrities to make them confess dirt and gossip. I mean, even that NPC guy wants us to take down some pretty boy, doesn’t he?”

Ren sighed. “Yeah. We’re not doing that one, by the way. I’ll have a chat with Yuuki about it when I get the chance.”

Makoto shook her head. “People don’t even care if we’re doing the right thing anymore, do they…?”

Mona spoke up from his spot on the table. “We’re getting off topic, here. Futaba. Tell them what you found.”

Futaba switched windows, bringing up the summary of her findings.

“You asked me to find information on either a new target, or the other Metaverse user. I think I found a lead on both.” Futaba said, her over-large glasses reflecting green text and a smattering of images. “She’s found that several of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks seemed to either indirectly or directly benefit Okumura Foods. More specifically, Kunikazu Okumura. He’s gained the most from the incidents...”

“Okumura…” Ryuji said. “I’ve heard that name before…”

“The same Okumura Foods of Big Bang Burger.” Futaba replied.

Mona nodded. “It’s suspicious, isn’t it? In Sae Niijima’s files, no one has gained more from these accidents and mental shutdowns than Kunikazu Okumura. Following several of the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks, his competitors either resigned, or their stocks plummeted.”

“And people who were potential whistleblowers against Okumura’s business practices all mysteriously vanished, too.” Futaba said. “But… most importantly… I already tried putting Okumura’s name in the Nav. He has a Palace, for sure.”

Ryuji grinned. “That settles it, then! He’s totally our next target. He’s like a celebrity _ and _ a corrupt businessman.”

Mona meowed. “And he’s at the top of the rankings!”

Yusuke shook his head. “Hold on. This… That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s evil. And this Phantom Thieves fad is unsettling…”

Ann sighed, a worried frown on her fair face. “...Yeah. This excitement doesn’t feel _ normal _. We should let things calm down…”

“Seriously, Ann? Yusuke? You guys are going to back down? Look at the rankings! People think Okumura’s bad, and we have evidence right here!” Ryuji said. “This could be huge!”

Ann shook her head. “Are you even listening to yourself, Ryuji? There’s nothing there that directly shows he’s involved.”

“But he’s benefiting! And he has a Palace! It’s…”

“It’s circumstantial evidence, Ryuji.” Makoto interrupted. “It shows motive, certainly. And the Palace is suspicious. But nothing proves he’s directly behind the mental shutdowns. It could be someone else high up in the company, or even one of his business partners. There’s a reason why my sister hasn’t indicted him for murder, fraud, or anything else. She can’t prove it enough to the satisfaction of the law, yet.”

“But law isn’t justice.” Mona said. “No one could arrest Kamoshida, Madarame, or Kaneshiro, either. That’s why we came in!”

Ann looked over at Ren. He was leaning against the wall, his brow furrowed over his glasses. “Ren? You’ve been really quiet. What do you think?”

Ren looked up. He pushed off the wall, stepping toward the group. “On one side, we can’t just sit idle while some psychopath in a black mask is committing what amounts to serial murders.”

Ryuji and Mona nodded firmly.

“But on the other hand, we only have limited evidence that Okumura’s actually doing anything. Yusuke’s right. Having a Palace doesn’t make you evil. We have evidence of that sitting right here.” Ren said, placing a hand on Futaba’s shoulder. He squeezed gently, a silent apology for singling her out. She jumped slightly, startled at the gesture, but smiled up at Ren.

“But the rankings—” Ryuji started.

Ren shook his head. “Those things bothered me from the start. We’re the Phantom Thieves. We’re doing this for _ our _ justice. Blindly following public opinion is crazy. At the start of April, _ I _would have been at the top of that list if it existed.”

There was a stunned silence.

Ann shook her head. “Ren, that’s not true…”

“It is, Songbird.” Ren said, a slightly sardonic smile on his face. “A bad boy transfer student rolls in, scares the shit out of everyone, and does nothing but inconvenience the heroic volleyball coach of Shujin. Hell, I even punched him in the face.”

“Dude… But, that wouldn’t have mattered. Because _ we _ knew what.. ….oh.” Ryuji said, realizing what Ren was getting at. “We knew what was going on, first hand.”

“Changes everything, doesn’t it?” Ren said, sighing. “We had first hand knowledge of what Kamoshida, Madarame, and Kaneshiro were doing. In this case, we’ve got nothing.”

Makoto spoke up. “...And on top of that, I think my sister suspects the Phantom Thieves in Kobayakawa’s case. That means someone from the SID is going to be keeping an eye on Shujin, almost certainly. We should lay low.”

Ryuji sighed. “...I guess you’re right.”

Mona huffed. “Seriously, Ryuji? You’re going to back down, just like that?”

Ren turned to Mona. “He is. We all are, Morgana. All of you are important to me, and I’m not comfortable with us risking our lives without a good reason.”

He continued, squatting down by the table so that he was at eye level with the cat. “It’s not like we’re going to sit and do nothing. We have a few Mementos requests, so we can at least get a little further, right? And we’ll keep investigating Okumura. Now that we all know who we’re looking at.”

Mona narrowed his eyes, flicking his tail in irritation. “Do we even have any more leads?”

“We do.” Ren said. “Her name is Haru Okumura.”

>>>

The Okumura house - or more rightfully, mansion - in Minami-Aoyama was beautiful.

Not the lively, warm beauty that Haru had just returned from a day ago. The Okumura household was a different kind. The facade of the house was clad in blue-grey volcanic basalt with a finely honed, smooth finish. Any attempt to peer inside the stone-wrought home simply showed the curious viewer their own reflection in the coated glass of the windows. It was a private, dignified grace from the outside.

Within, the polish and precision continued. Every centimetre was dusted and cleaned by a handful of servants. Highly paid to ensure that everything was clean and in its proper place. Highly paid as well, to ensure that their eyes remained focused on their tasks and their lips remained sealed. Yes, the Okumura ‘home’ was beautiful. But while Hawaii was teeming with life, bursting at the seams with the energy of renewal, Haru’s home was severe and unforgiving. A beauty of stone and silence.

-_ Slap- _

A silence rarely broken, except in the anger of the patriarch.

“You useless _ child _ !” Kunikazu shouted, his hand returning to his side from the follow-through of the blow that stung his daughter’s face. “You humiliated Hisahito Sugimura in front of his partners _ and _ underlings. Did you really think that I wouldn’t hear about it? His father is livid.”

Haru kept her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes downcast. This would be over soon, if she kept silent, save for apologies in the appropriate pauses. Her father would berate her for a few minutes, lose interest, and leave while throwing some cliche about how she had to do the best thing for the family - him - while he left her rooms in disgust.

Kunikazu scoffed. “I thought I taught you better than this. I - rather, _ we _ \- need the Sugimura family. Hisamoto Sugimura is an influential politician, a man high up in the United Future Party, so I need you to be _ cordial _ with Hisahito. Luckily, I managed to settle things. _ Again _.”

A pause.

“I’m sorry, Father.” Haru said.

“Good.” Kunikazu said. He turned to leave. He paused, glancing at the glass terrariums that hung in the window of Haru’s sitting room, each of them growing a different plant. A relic of her deceased mother. “Your mother and I had an arranged marriage, also. She understood her duties well, Haru. You would do well to do the same.”

Fortunately for Haru, Kunikazu didn’t turn back to see the momentary look of grief and rage that flashed across his daughter’s face.

_ ‘She understood her duties, Father.’ _ Haru thought bitterly, rubbing her cheek. _ ‘So well, that she stayed by your ungrateful side until the cancer wouldn’t allow her to.’ _

She sat down on the loveseat below the dangling glass bulbs. Her mother had been a botanist, working in a prestigious position at Todai’s Department of Botany. Each of the terrariums above Haru were an example of her mother’s work. In one, a miniature _ Acer Momiji, _ a _ bonsai _ tree small enough to fit on the palm of her hand. Haru had lovingly planted it in the terrarium to look like a tree on a grassy meadow. In another, a single flower growing in the real showpiece - reclaimed soil from an area close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Her mother had discovered a way to clean the soil several times faster than natural radioactive decay.

But Kurenai Shimizu gave all of it up. All to fulfill her family duty to marry Kunikazu Okumura and solidify a business alliance. It hadn’t been bad, at first. Kunikazu and Kurenai learned to be fond of each other; they even learned to love each other. Haru could even remember a time where silence wasn’t the rule in the Okumura household - it was merely a precursor to laughter, to music. To a new game or joke.

But things changed. Kunikazu grew cold; Kurenai grew ill.

Kurenai’s dying wish was for Haru’s fate to be better - to not waste away, married to a man so cold that his words upon learning of her cancer had been, ‘Oh. I see.’

And so as Haru wept for her fate, she also wept for her mother. Hisahito Sugimura would not learn to love her. He would marry her. Use her until she was past the age of his fetish. And then expect her to faithfully waste away as well, while he looked for his next ‘toy’ - willing or unwilling, preferably the latter.

But what else could she do?

Haru curled up on the plush cushions of the two-seater sofa, crying herself to sleep. Beside her, her phone winked on; a new icon appeared.

A glowing red eye.

>>>

Much later in the evening, Morgana sat on one of the barstools in Leblanc. His tail hung off the back of the stool, flicking back and forth slowly. In front of the tuxedo cat, there was a glass tumbler filled with milk, alongside some _ otoro _ on a plate. Ren had poured the glass and left the fish as an apology. He and Ann were upstairs; it seemed that Ann’s caretaker had been successful in lifting the curfew. Or, from what Mona gathered, Yui, Ann’s mother, Erika, _ and _ Ann had refused to speak with Elias Takamaki until he backed off his insistence on the curfew.

In any event, Mona wanted to be alone. The way he was staring at the glass of milk in the scotch glass, he might have seemed a hard-bitten film noir detective, had he a little fedora and trench coat.

True to Ren’s words, the group ventured into Mementos after the team meeting. The addition of Futaba to the group had completely changed the way they worked through the labyrinth; it had even changed the way they _ thought _ about the dungeon.

_ ‘I don’t think stealing Treasures has anything to do with Mementos expanding.’ _ She said, as she slid her goggles down over her eyes, her slender fingers moving quickly across the unseen keyboards of her heads up display. _ ‘According to what I’m seeing, Mementos is expanding even now - and we haven’t stolen anything, lately. I think it’s more related to the public’s cognition of us…’ _

Mona shook his head. He leaned forward, lapping at the milk in the glass. _ ‘What have I been doing…? What do I _ ** _really _ ** _ know? Am I really supposed to be their guide? Or…’ _

He shivered. As they fought through the tunnels, he felt at first, a sort of pride. Their teamwork was already good; Futaba’s near-omnipotence made them act with the cohesion of a single mind, but with the creativity of eight separate combatants. Watching them, Mona felt pride… and that unsettling sense of impending _ completion. _

Especially as he watched Joker.

>>>

The group of rogues pushed further than they ever had before on a single incursion. Futaba’s ability to map out the floors without having to explore them completely allowed them to make direct lines towards the subway platforms that marked the way down to the next level. They were in high spirits - but they were running out of steam. Even with the fortifying effects of Leblanc’s coffee, they were getting fatigued.

They stood at the entrance to the next subway platform. There, stood their final target for the incursion: Yohei Kiritani, the former soldier-of-fortune and current killer-for-hire.

He saw the thieves’ approach, already shifting into his true form: that of the demon, Rakshasa. And he wasn’t alone. He stood, surrounded by demonic humanoids in tactical gear, all armed with assault rifles and submachine guns. Shades of his past as a mercenary commander.

“Come on, Phantom Thieves! You got the guts?!” He crowed, laughing.

Mona shook his head. “Guys… this looks like trouble. We’re tired. We should back off—”

Joker stepped forward, glancing at Futaba. “If we leave now, is there any guarantee that we’ll find this platform in the same spot? How far back would we have to start from.”

Futaba frowned, checking. “...Five floors.”

Joker looked ahead at the crowd, bristling with weapons. He glanced back at his team. Tired, but willing to go forward. Slowly, he smiled. A crooked, reckless grin.

“Everyone. Buff up. Defense, agility, evasion, attack. Everything you’ve got.” He said, calling forth Succubus as well, for Rebellion. The scantily-clad demon draped herself over Joker’s shoulders from behind as she cast her support magic on her master, a sultry little smirk on her face. She winked at Panther.

Panther rolled her eyes, a hand on her hip. She threw her head back haughtily; as always, Celestine’s influence was stronger in the Metaverse. “Smirk all you want. You should know that he’s completely _ mine. _”

Succubus’ laughter was enticing and smoky. “Oh, honey. I know. Hawaii was _ fun _. I’m glad you had it in you. Pun intentional.”

Ann blinked. She turned nearly as red as her catsuit. “You… you _ saw?! _”

“Oh, yes. Nice work, sweetie.” She wiggled her fingers at the girl before disappearing back into Joker’s mask, laughing.

Ann stammered, her face burning. She was interrupted, though.

“Hey, Songbird?” Ren said, smoothly putting his arm around her waist. His crooked smile was still there; he drew her body against his in a way that made her heart thrill. Ren had his back to the waiting Kiritani. Futaba’s jaw dropped, having never seen the two of them under the influence of the Metaverse before. Makoto put a hand in front of the girl’s eyes, averting her own eyes as well.

“...Yeah, Wildcard?” Ann mumbled, tilting her chin up, her hand on his chest.

“Don’t be mad.”

Ann blinked. “About that Succubus? Why would I…!!”

He abruptly shoved her backwards into Makoto; the brunette stumbled into the other Phantom Thieves, sending them all safely back a few steps.

Ryuji pushed his mask up, stepping forward as they regained their balance. A barrier of cursed black fire rose up between them and Ren, Arsene making his presence known. “Dude! The hell are you doing!?”

Ren shrugged. “Something stupid. Rest up, guys. I’ve got this. Skull, you modified the clips exactly the way I asked, right?”

“...yeah.”

“Good.”

In a blaze of black flame, the Black Wing armguards appeared over Ren’s costume. The leader of the Phantom Thieves dashed forward, drawing not his pistols, but two magazines for his guns. Each of them had the addition of a long, sharp spike on the end; each of them were promptly stabbed through the chest of a demon mercenary.

There was a brief silence of disbelief from both sides as the humanoid beings fell, landing flat on their backs - still alive, barely. The spikes just missed their hearts but pinned them into the subway floor, preventing them from both joining the fight and from disappearing into the ether.

Kiritani stared in shock. “Are… are you stupid, or something—”

He was interrupted by a blaze of gunfire. Ren moved in and amongst the legion of demon mercenaries, pistols akimbo. The enhancement to his already startling speed from the Black Wing, combined with the support magic of his allies, allowed him to predict and move untouched amongst the streams of automatic gunfire. He danced in tight pirouettes and rolls, acquiring targets, firing without looking - after all, to him, they looked like they were moving in slow motion.

From Mona’s point of view, he was a black and red blur, lit by the twin muzzle flashes of Faith and Vengeance. He looked invincible. The Black Wing armor seemed to grow more detailed, to the cat’s eyes. More familiar.

More _ right _.

Ren’s guns clicked empty as the last of the mercenaries fell.

Kiritani stepped forward, sneering. The demon pointed his swords. “You’re out, ‘Joker’. Let’s see how a punk like you handles a veteran in hand-to-hand.”

“...Let’s not.” Ren said. He clicked the releases; the spent magazines dropped from his guns. He knelt, slamming the two magazines he had spiked into his first two victims home. He stood, pulling the spikes free, casually finishing off the previously impaled mercenaries with simultaneous shots through their heads.

Kiritani was already almost on top of him despite the rogue’s cocky words. Twin scimitars slashed out at Ren.

Ren didn’t have time to deploy his wrist blades - he parried with the barrels of Faith and Vengeance, gunfire ringing out as he turned this close-quarters battle into a gunfight.

Kiritani was equal to the task, though - spinning, redirecting the pistols away, forcing Ren to parry. Sparks flew as sword struck gun barrel. It was almost too fast to follow as the assassin showed that one could indeed bring a knife fight to a gunfight. Bullets grazed his red skin from time to time, but he was otherwise uninjured.

Faith and Vengeance clicked empty. Ren was forced to hold his guns up as Kiritani leaned in with his scimitars, edges pointed at Ren. He tried to overcome him with sheer weight, sneering at the thief.

Ren smiled.

He released Faith’s magazine, the spike dropping straight down - and into Kiritani’s foot.

With a howl, the demon lost focus - and Ren slipped to the left, allowing Kiritani to stumble forward, and into the waiting magazine spike of Vengeance, finishing the fight. The Shadow faded back into his human form, mumbling words that seemed to make Joker tense up for a moment, before he faded away.

Joker turned, the cursed flame barrier vanishing at the same instant as the Black Wing armor. He holstered his guns. Completely unscathed.

Panther stalked forward immediately, her fists clenched. She stopped in front of Joker, glaring up at him.

Joker just raised an eyebrow, grinning. “Are you mad?”

She opened her mouth, looking like she was going to yell at him. Instead, she paused. She smirked.

Makoto rolled her eyes; she put a hand on Futaba’s shoulder, turning her to face the other way.

Panther grabbed Joker’s lapels, jerking his face down toward hers, kissing him. The sort of kiss that left him breathless, mask askew, eyes wide. Hair more messy than usual.

“...so.. ..uh, not mad..”

“No. I’m _ really _mad. I’ll show you how much later.”

>>>

Mona was bothered. Not so much at Ann and Ren. He was over that.

There was a muffled thump from upstairs, and maybe a giggle.

Mona’s tail twitched in irritation. _ Mostly _ over that. In any event, Ren simply didn’t look like he needed Mona very much anymore.

_ ‘...But the scarier thing is that… that doesn’t bother me. It actually…’ _

Mona hissed, as if trying to fend off the feeling. But it was there, regardless. He was feeling unsettled about feeling _ fulfilled _ . It was the same sensation, again - like he was a tool that was happy to have been used appropriately and discarded, with his objective complete. The opposite of a human. The opposite of a _ living thing _.

_ ‘...No! I won’t have it! I can’t accept this! ...It’s all connected. Futaba’s wrong. Treasure is connected to Mementos, somehow, and getting close to Treasure makes me feel… feel more like a human. With wants, desires. With a right to exist. I… I have to do something.’ _

Mona hopped off the stool. He felt a flash of guilt, remembering Ren’s words of concern. How he didn’t want any of them to risk their lives delving into a Palace without good reason.

_ ‘...There’s no harm in just looking, right? Ren… Ren doesn’t have to know.’ _

>>>

September 17, 20xx 

It was Shujin’s sports day, or _ undokai _. As per usual, the day started with opening ceremonies, with speeches from acting Principal Matsui, the head of the PTA, and a few local politicians. Each of them echoed Matsui’s speech from the assembly earlier in the week, touting the dedication, generosity, and other fabricated virtues of the deceased Kobayakawa.

With this complete, though, the day progressed through Shujin’s usual mix of traditional and modern events, pitting the east side of the school (Blue) versus the west side (Red). It was a fair way of dividing up the second year students, who missed the majority of the practice for the events due to the school trip.

At lunch, students gathered in groups to eat with their friends and whichever family was able to attend. It was generally a happy, relaxing break. Generally.

“Stop being a pussy and _ eat the fucking rice. _”

“_ You _ eat it!”

Shiho waved a bento box at Ren, brandishing chopsticks with something that could loosely be described as ‘rice’ pinched between. They sat in the shade of the tree, seeking shelter from the sun during this warm, September day. Shiho, Ann, Ren, Makoto, and Ryuji were all lucky enough to be together on the western (Red) team, and all sported the appropriate headbands. “It’s better this time!”

Ann, sitting beside Shiho, but out of her line of sight, shook her head frantically at Ren.

“I have my own.” Ren replied, reaching into his bag. He pulled out two of his own bento boxes, stacked together.

“_ Fine _.” Shiho huffed. “Then, Blondie— Traitor!”

Ann was already beside Ren, leaning against him with a giddy smile on her face as he opened the bento he had made for her.

Shiho sighed. She started to eat - and then immediately made a face. “...Oh. Oh, God.”

“Got you covered, fam.” Ren said, grinning. “I thought it would come to this.”

He dug out a third box from his bag, passing it to Shiho. Begrudgingly, she took it, opening the box.

“This can’t be that much better, I mean, it looks just like…”

It was _ beautiful _. Complete with the small hot dogs carved to look like octopi. Shiho’s jaw dropped. She quickly recovered.

“Well, it can’t _ taste _ that much better.” She took a bite. “I mean, it… …”

She nearly cried at how good it was. She caught Ann and Ren’s knowing grins. She huffed, turning her back so they wouldn’t see her scarfing the meal down.

Ren laughed. “It’s just another couple of months until you’re cleared for full activity by your surgeon, isn’t it? Is not being able to do any events today bugging you that much?”

“Watching you guys flounder out there is terrible. If I were in these things, our Red team would be way ahead. It’s annoying.” Shiho muttered. “...Speaking of annoying, where’s Mako-chan and RyuRyu?”

They were annoying because despite the progress made in Hawaii, they hadn’t actually starting dating. Or even directly confessed their feelings.

“I mean, it’s like something out of a manga. He looks at her. She catches him. They blush. She hints that _ maybe _ she’d like to go out somewhere. He chickens out. They end up at a diner anyway, _ studying _ .” Shiho said. “It’s like that _ Kimi ni _something or other.”

“_ Kimi ni Todoke _.” Ren said, immediately. “It’s one of the best…”

Shiho grinned.

“...manga that Kana-chan liked to read.” Ren finished, coughing.

Ann and Shiho spoke in unison. “Riiiiight.”

“Oh, hey. Here they come.” Ren said, grateful for the interruption. Makoto and Ryuji approached, sitting down under the tree with their friends.

“Hey, guys!” Ryuji said, grinning hopefully at Ren’s bentos. Ann and Shiho immediately hunched over the delicious food, practically growling at the bottle blonde.

“Oh, _ come on! _ I forgot my lunch, and Ma’s at work, so…” Ryuji said. He trailed off, though, as Makoto wordlessly put a box wrapped in cloth in Ryuji’s lap. “...Oh! Uh, thanks, Makoto.”

She nodded, focused intently on her own lunch as Shiho, Ann, and Ren grinned at her.

Makoto looked up, her cheeks red. “Oh, shut up.” She said, briefly glaring at the three. She then gave them - and Ryuji - a little smile. “...Anyway. Ren, isn’t Mona with you?”

Ren shook his head. “He said he had something to do. He’s been a bit distant, lately. I think he’s still disappointed in the decision we made at the team meeting.”

Makoto sighed. “It’s for the best, though. We don’t have any more information, yet. Haru Okumura’s in my class… But I haven’t exactly been very social with her. It would be strange for me to just start talking to her out of the blue.”

Ann nodded. “I get that. What’s she like, though? The rumors around the school are that she’s stuck up, a corporate princess. But these are the same people that talked shit about me and Ren.”

“That’s about the size of it.” Makoto said. “The rumors are mean-spirited and from what I can see, untrue. She keeps to herself, but doesn’t act conceited. She’d just rather tend to the school’s gardens…”

Shiho looked thoughtful. “...Okumura. You know, I think she’s signed up to help out with first aid this afternoon. That could be your in. She’s assigned to the actual infirmary.”

She paused, before taking an exaggerated sip out of her bottle of _Pocari_ _Sweat. _“Though, I have _no idea_ why you’d want to talk to her. Certainly couldn’t be something related to larceny in a metaphysical plane of any kind.”

Ren chuckled, before looking up at a crowd gathered nearby. Mostly male, both students and a few teachers. “Hm. What’s going on over there?”

Ryuji perked. “Oh, we saw her on the way over here. Someone’s mom. She’s _ really _ pretty, so that’s why all those guys are gathered around, trying to help her find her kid. They’re just getting in each other’s way, though. She hasn’t even been able to tell them his name.”

Yamada was in the crowd. He seemed to have shouldered his way through, using his imposing frame. He was leading the woman out. She was short, slender. Young looking, with pixie-cut black hair and warm brown eyes.

“Ah, sorry about these guys, ma’am.” Yamada said, smiling.

“Oh, my. No need to apologize. Everyone here is so polite.” She replied. Ann looked at her out of curiosity. She was indeed pretty, but that crowd seemed a bit excessive.

The woman smiled.

Ann’s eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat. The smile was stunning. Charming. And _ familiar. _

“Now, what did you say your name was? Who’s your son? Maybe I can find him for you?”

Ren stood up slowly, his face reflecting an odd mix of shock, guilt, and joy.

“Ka-chan?!”

>>>

“Hold on, Amamiya-san. I can’t type that fast. Can’t… swallow… pills. Got it.” Shiho said, typing notes into her smartphone.

Inoue smiled. “Technically, Ren and I are both Amamiya. Inoue is fine, Suzui-san.”

“Oh! Okay, Inoue-san. Then please, Shiho. Now, you said he cries when he’s reminded of _ which _ anime and dramas…?”

Makoto sighed, shaking her head. The girls had been left to their devices as the boys took the field for _ bo-taoshi _, a traditional game that had each team holding a pole up on each end of the playing area. The objective was simple - topple the other team’s pole before they took down yours.

“Ann, are you okay with Shiho grilling your boyfriend’s mother for all of his gaps and weaknesses…?”

“Hee…” Ann mumbled, giddily flipping through a little photo album Inoue had prepared of Ren’s elementary and middle school pictures for the purpose of giving to the blonde girl. “It’s fine, totally fine. Oh my _ God, _ this is cute… …! Oh! Is he wearing his dad’s suit, in this?! And he’s at the piano, with a _ candy cigarette _ in his mouth?!”

“That’s right, Ann-chan. That’s when he was eight or so, at the talent show we hold each summer at the inn.” Inoue said, with a chuckle. “I had to pin the sleeves and legs up so he could play, and so he wouldn’t trip. He wanted to ‘look cool’.”

Ann giggled, looking out at the field. The poles were being set up. “It’s hard to believe he ever looked like this.”

Inoue looked over at an approaching Ren. She reached over, looking remarkably like her son as she casually flipped the book closed. The front was labeled with ‘STAMP COLLECTION’. She then smiled innocently up at Ren, as he walked up to where his mother and the girls were seated. He frowned.

“Ka-chan, you’re not making Ann look at that, are you? I don’t know why you always carry that around with you.”

“Hm? Oh, no. I was just hoping she might have a few of the ones I’m missing from Tokyo.” Inoue replied.

“...Right.” Ren said, looking at Ann suspiciously. She was grinning at him like he was a bumbling puppy. She was in fact imagining his elementary school self. He then looked at Shiho, who was also grinning at him like he was a puppy. Only, she herself looked like a hungry coyote. He then shook his head, taking off his glasses. “It’s looking like it’s going to be a rough game. It’d be a bad idea to wear these.”

“Oh. You haven’t played this before, champ?”

Ren shook his head. “My old school stuck to modern games.”

“You need to take off your shoes. And you’d better lose the shirt, too. Most of the other guys are. It just gives the other team something else to grab on to.” Shiho said, reasonably.

“...Oh. Right.” Ren said, shrugging. He did just that, handing his shirt and glasses to Ann.

“Greeeeat.” Shiho said, casually snapping yet another photo of him on her phone.

Ann was too happy about the photobook to complain. She just beamed at Ren. Ren looked at his girlfriend suspiciously again.

Ren frowned. “...Is that _ really _ a stamp collection—”

“Ren! We’re starting soon, come on!” Ryuji called.

Ren turned, jogging over.

Makoto stood as well. “They want me to help officiate. And Shiho, you should probably head over to the first aid area. There’s usually a few scrapes and bruises after this…”

Shiho nodded. They left Ann alone with Ren’s mother.

There was a brief, awkward silence. Inoue’s introduction had been so sudden, that Ann hadn’t had time to feel nervous - until now.

“Er.. ...so, Inoue-san, was the trip alright…?”

“You shouldn’t call me that.” Inoue said, sternly.

“Oh…” Ann said, quietly. She had a sinking feeling that this was going to turn into a ‘let’s hate the girlfriend’ situation. Ann wasn’t completely sure if she could hold it against the woman, either. Not with how Reiko had broken Ren’s heart, even if the girl didn’t want it to end the way it did.

Inoue broke out into a little laugh. She leaned over, clasping Ann’s hand. “You can call me ‘ka-chan’, or some variant of it, Ann-chan.” She flashed her winning smile at her.

Ann felt a shot through her heart again. Obviously, she didn’t find Ren’s mother attractive in _ that _ way. But this was Ren’s smile, only with far more practice. The effect was devastating. Ann returned the smile shyly. “Oh… Okay, ka-chan. You know, I didn’t expect you to treat me this well.”

Inoue laughed. “From the way Ren talks about you, Ann-chan, if I didn’t treat you like a daughter, I’d be losing a son. And more than that…”

She sighed, her youthful energy fading for just a moment. “When he talks about you, he very nearly smiles the way he used to. So… Thank you. Thank you for taking care of him”

Ann just nodded. “Like I said before, ka-chan. We take care of each other.”

“...Oh? It got quiet, all of a sudden.” Inoue said, curious.

Ann blinked. Her eyes went down to Ren’s glasses, in her hands. Then his shirt, beside her. She rolled her eyes in irritation, standing up.

On the field, Ryuji also looked annoyed as he eyed his best friend. “Dude. Do you have to stand _ right _ beside me?”

“For what we have planned? Technically, yes. It’s going to be a mess out there, and we can’t lose track of each other.” Ren replied, casually. He started stretching, dipping low into a runner’s lunge. As he did this, shirt off, there may have been a few gasps from the sidelines. Possibly even the cliche ‘kyaa’. The sight of the boxer without glasses at Shujin was somewhat rare; without a shirt was new. Very new. “After all, Yuuki’s life is at stake.”

Mishima looked over at Ren sharply. “What?! You said this was safe!”

“Oh, don’t worry. Ryuji and I will be fine.”

“Oh, okay.” Mishima sighed. “...Wait, what?”

Ryuji continued. “Just when I thought I was going to get a little attention, for once…”

“Don’t you have all the attention you want? I thought you and Makoto…”

Ryuji blushed. “Uh, yeah. That’s kind of why I don’t want you _ right _ beside me. I mean, I’ve been hitting the gym again, but I don’t really want the comparison.”

“That’s cute. Is that why you went down in shorts size? I was wondering why you’ve become Captain Tight Pants outside the Metaverse, too.”

“Shut up. And how is Ann okay with you looking like this?”

Another silence fell upon the field. The two boys looked up.

Ann moved directly for Ren, looking determined despite the pink tinge to her cheeks.

“Apparently she’s not.”

Ann stopped in front of Ren. She didn’t say a word, but in front of all in attendance, she untied her headband, and re-tied it around Ren’s left arm. She gave him a brief look, before drawing herself up, casting the coldest gaze her blue eyes could muster at the girls who were up until now, carefully studying Ren.

She then left the field, to teasing shouts and laughter from the audience.

Inoue hid her mouth behind her hand, laughing. “Oh, my…”

“Hm. Well.” Ren said, grinning.

Ryuji frowned, glancing at the Blue team. The boys were all glowering at Ren. They were already annoyed; but now, the hottest girl in school and professional model just boldly marked her territory - right in front of a group of boys who, for the course of the game, had free license to be rough with Ren. “Looks like it’s going to be a rough game, RenRen. They’ve got you marked.”

Ren nodded. “Perfect. All the better, for both objectives.”

He cast a glance at Mishima, who gave Ren an anxious thumbs up.

The crack of the starter’s pistol set everyone to action.

Each team’s ‘attackers’ charged the opposing team’s defense, lively, bordering on violent scrums erupting at both ends of the field.

Ren darted for the Blue team’s pole. Exactly as Ryuji predicted, the Blue team immediately honed in on Ren, eager to rough up the boxer. The leader of the Phantom Thieves slipped and dodged attempted grabs. One Blue team member dove at Ren’s waist in an attempt to tackle him - Ren jumped, planting his bare foot on the boy’s back, and launched himself into the air toward the Blue team’s pole.

He shorted the jump; he disappeared into the Blue team’s defense, a group of boys all wearing blue headbands, surrounding the pole.

The stalemate went on for a while. Both teams knew who the athletic, ‘dangerous’ people were on either side. Ren had already won a few short distance sprinting or calisthenic type events. Ryuji anchored the Red team’s relay.

But no one suspected Yuuki Mishima, who had largely been involved in large, group games, or else busied himself by taking pictures with his SLR camera.

“Yuuki!” Ryuji shouted, suddenly turning his back to the scrum near the Blue pole. He knelt, holding out his clasped hands.

Mishima dashed toward Ryuji, muttering a quick prayer. He jumped, planting a foot on Ryuji’s hands - the blonde boy launched him toward the pole. He could see instantly that he was going to short it, too. Instead of trying to make the jump, he did what Ren and Ryuji had told him earlier - he summoned agility he didn’t know he had, scrambling over the wrestling, cursing boys and trying not to fall underfoot. No one paid much mind to him; he wasn’t a threat. He moved until he saw a single arm wave from within the scrum, with a red headband tied around the bicep.

Ren shoved a defender away, putting his back against the pole, and holding his hands out like Ryuji. “Do it, Yuuki!”

Mishima took the boost - Ren sent him up; the smaller boy caught the very top of the pole with the full force of his jump.

The defenders, shocked, tried to hold up the pole. But even as light as he was, he was at the end of a long lever with gravity on his side. Inexorably, slowly, the pole toppled - the West won.

The audience and Red team erupted into raucous cheers at the bold play. The Red team put Mishima onto their shoulders; the win had clinched their victory for the overall event, too.

The scrums on the field dispersed, revealing remarkably only scrapes and bruises. Except for one person.

Ren Amamiya was lying face down on the grass, apparently unconscious.

>>>

A short time later, Ren laid in one of the infirmary beds, fully conscious. Glasses and shirt back on. He smirked. _ ‘Well. That was pretty easy, after all.’ _

Ren faked his injury in order to be taken to the infirmary. It would be a good chance to speak with Haru Okumura alone without anyone actually witnessing him approach the girl. He sat up. Just behind the curtain, Haru Okumura was speaking with the school’s nurse, taking instructions

“...And that’s it. He should be fine. I’ll go and find his mother and tell her that it’s nothing serious, Okumura-san. Thank you for helping.”

“Yes, of course.” She replied. Ren had no idea what she sounded like, but her diction and polite tone suggested a high class upbringing. He waited until the door closed. His hand moved to push the curtain aside, but paused as the door opened again.

_ ‘Must have forgotten something…’ _ Ren thought. However, he was mistaken.

“Hey there, _ honey _.” Said a new, male voice. One that made even Ren’s skin crawl. It reminded him of Shadow Kamoshida; arrogant and slimy. It was worse, though, hearing this in the real world. Here, he didn’t have the backup of Arsene and his weapons.

“Sugimura-san? You’re not supposed to be here.” Haru said, her voice taking on a hard edge. “My father would—”

“Your father would let a lot go, with how you’ve _ misbehaved _. You’re supposed to be a good girl, remember? A faithful, loving future wife. And instead, you just embarrass me, over and over. I think I’ll have you make up for it. Right here, right now…”

There was the sound of metal clattering to the floor followed by a dull thud and rattle. A surprised and fearful gasp.

Ren stood up and threw the curtain open.

Haru was a pretty girl of average height, with fluffy and curly auburn hair. Like her classmates, she wore the Shujin gym and athletics uniform. Track pants and tee shirt - the hem of which was currently being pulled on by a grown man wearing a flashy white business suit, violet shirt, and black tie. His other hand gripped her wrist. He had her pinned against a cabinet; scissors that Haru had briefly wielded were on the floor.

Sugimura’s predatory leer turned into an irritated grimace when he noticed Ren.

He snarled at Ren. “Get the fuck out of here! This is between me and my _ dear _fiancee.”

“Hm? Oh, I can’t. I’m injured.” Ren said, stepping into striking range. “You know, to be in here, you either have to be hurt, or one of the medical staff.”

Sugimura drew himself up, letting go of Haru. She backed up, pulling the hem of her shirt down. Her eyes flashed with impotent rage. She wasn’t so weak as to just wilt at the man’s aggression; but her father had already shown her whose side he would take if she fought back.

“Well, I’m neither, you little shit.”

Ren smiled. That pleasant smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I can see that. You’re not medical staff. And you’re not hurt. _ Yet _.”

Sugimura, like most bullies, was a coward. If he had known that Ren Amamiya was a boxer, he might have backed down with a few stinging insults. And _ no _ cowering. Not at all. But in his eyes, this was just another high school student. Sugimura was a grown man, and the son of an affluent politician. So, he sneered. 

“Is that a threat? Do you _ know _ who I _ am _?” He said, with the emphasis that Ren had only previously ever heard in movies or television dramas.

“White suit, violet shirt. Either one of the 9/10 dentists who recommend a toothpaste, or you’re going to sell me some fried chicken.” Ren replied, nonchalant. He then slipped left, dodging the sudden sucker punch from the man. Almost lazily, he dragged his right leg behind him with footwork that both Coach Takeda and Kanade would have smacked him for.

Sugimura tripped over Ren’s leg, falling headfirst into the curtains. He tangled himself up as he felt, knocking his forehead against the rail of a bed.

“Fuck! Damn brat, I’ll sue!”

Ren raised his eyebrow. “...Seriously? Who _ says _ something like that?”

Sugimura stood up slowly, taking his palm away from his forehead. His eyes widened at the sight of the blood. “Piece of shit… I’m going to find out who you are, and—”

“Ah! _ There _ you are!” Inoue said, poking her head in the door. “You know, Kaneda-sensei said you were all better. But I think you look a little woozy to me, _ Akira _-chan.”

The petite woman smiled at Ren.

“...Right. Right, of course.” Ren said, smiling back. He thought fast. “Thanks, _ Kurusu _-sensei.”

Inoue looked at Haru. “Can you help me walk Akira back to his class? I think your other friend here needs a bandage.” She poked her head back into the hall. “Excuse me? Kaneda-sensei?”

Inoue moved baffled Sugimura with her dazzling smile, cheerful disposition, and ability to move from task to task like a buzzsaw. Within moments, she, Haru, and ‘Akira’ were walking down the hallway together. They paused outside class 2-D. Inoue smiled at Haru.

“Eto… You said your name was Haru Okumura-san? Why don’t you go in first? I’d like to have a word with my son.”

Haru nodded, mystified at the sudden appearance of not one, but two saviors.

Inoue closed the door behind Haru. She put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, holding him at arm’s length, looking up at him. Studying him, in the way only a mother could.

Ren looked back… but his gaze faltered first. His mother had just walked in on him getting involved, again. Putting his nose where it didn’t belong. He was going to break her heart again. He was…

Getting hugged.

Inoue sighed, her arms around him as she squeezed. “Thank God. You haven’t changed that much at all, have you, Ren-chan? Thank God for that…”

Ren blinked. “...you haven’t called me that in years.”

She pulled back, smiling. She wiped at her eyes. “Sorry. It’s a mother’s right to keep seeing her son as a little boy.”

“You’re not mad? At what you saw?” Ren asked, quietly.

Inoue shook her head. “No. It’s you, to a tee.”

Ren shook his head. “Ka-chan… I don’t understand. I don’t understand how you and oya-ji…”

He trailed off, but the unspoken question hung in the air.

_ ‘...I don’t understand how you two forgave me. For destroying everything we had.’ _

Like many mothers, she was able to understand what her son was getting at. She smiled, brushing some lint off his shoulder fondly. “Ren. I come from a Christian family. Your father’s was Buddhist. Do you know why we never pushed you in either direction?”

“Hm. Well, it would have made the afterlife _ really _ awkward. Can you imagine? Either you’d be up in Heaven, watching as oya-ji sits in Limbo with all the other righteous non-believers waiting for a reincarnation that never happens. Or he’d be reincarnated as a hawk or something, and you’d end up as something awful for being a terrible Buddhist. Like a newt, or a Scientologist.”

Inoue made a face. “Really? You don’t think either of us would make it to Nirvana?”

“It’s hard to imagine Siddhartha Gautama at the gate to Nirvana, saying ‘it’s all good, _ come as you are _ . _ ’ _to either of you.“ Ren replied, with a straight face.

Inoue rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha. Just because I don’t listen to American music, doesn’t mean I didn’t get the pun.” She slapped his cheek lightly. “Smart mouth. You’re lucky it’s a pretty mouth too, or Ann-chan would dump you.”

She smiled at her son. “Anyway. Off topic. We didn’t push you one way or another because all that mattered to us is that you believe in _ something _ greater than yourself. It doesn’t really matter what, Ren. For you, it wasn’t hard to see that you had something early on. You’re a romantic. Just like your father. You believe in love, in your friends. And in justice, real justice.”

Ren was taken aback at the frank words. His mouth opened; closed.

Inoue hugged him again. “What kind of mother would I be if I wasn’t proud of a son like that? Now go on. You’re dying to ask Okumura-san how she’s doing, isn’t she? You can’t leave someone in need alone.”

Ren smiled. “Right. Thanks, ka-chan.”

“Mm. I mean, you tend to collect strays. Just look at that Akechi-kun. You know, he came to visit the inn?"

“...What?”

>>>

In one of the Palaces that dotted the Metaverse, there was a sprawling city of obsidian black buildings, each of them highlighted by aqua-blue neon lines. Their lines were sleek and unbroken, as if they were each made by pouring molten metal into impossibly massive molds. The same neon blue lined roadways that traversed the precisely organized metropolis, lighting the otherwise dark sky in a perpetual glowing twilight. The roads divided the city into rings and wedges - from high above, the place resembled a dartboard. 

Humanoid figures in black bodysuits, also lined with neon, moved briskly along the roadways, either on foot, or in sleek, shiny-black vehicles, seemingly powered by the neon light itself..

The world was reminiscent of the movie _ Tron _, one of Kunikazu Okumura’s favorite films from a happier time in his life.

A small figure crept amongst the shadows, keeping to the side of the roadway, away from the glowing lights. Mona kept his slingshot at ready. The weapon was heavily modified from its original form; it looked almost like a compound bow now, with Ryuji’s handiwork.

_ ‘At least the ape is good at _ ** _something_ ** _ .’ _ Mona thought. He immediately sighed inwardly. _ ‘...No. He’s good at a lot. They all are. I wish they were here with me…’ _

He paused. He shook his head hard, fast.

_ ‘Focus! They aren’t here! I was alone before, so…’ _

He slipped forward, toward what looked like a security gate to get into the next section of the city, the middle ‘ring’ of the dartboard. The figures dressed in black and neon suits all paused at the security gate, having their IDs scanned as they gained admittance.

_ ‘I wonder if the different colors mean anything. Red, blue… a few green?’ _ Mona frowned. _ ‘Too many. If I had Joker here, or Panther, we could wipe them out in a second.’ _

He sighed, forcing the thought from his mind. He spotted a much more lightly-guarded door to the left of the security gate.

A quick shot with his slingshot disabled the solitary guard, the bullet piercing the neon circle on its chest. The cat bandit scampered forward, peering up at the reinforced door. He touched the metal; it hummed under his paw, and there was no switch, knob, or handle to speak of. There was, however, a small keypad to the side with a single button. He jumped up, touching it. There was a soft beep followed by a monotone, robotic voice.

“Initiating biometric scan.”

Electric blue light emitted from a sensor above the door swept over Mona.

“...Scan failed. Please present appropriate ID credentials.”

“Uh… please open?” Mona said, tensing to run.

“Access denied. Please present appropriate credentials, or security will be alerted.”

_ ‘What would Ren do…? Ah. I know. He’d say something cool, first…’ _

He affected a cocky grin. “Please open… right _ meow? _”

There was another soft beep. The light emitted above the door blinked a few times. Mona’s eyes widened. Did that _ actually _ work?!

“Access denied. Insufficient credentials. Failed biometric scan. Violation of language bylaw 8.01. Alerting security.”

The lights around the door went from electric blue to crimson; an alarm sounded.

“Crap…!” Mona turned, bolting back toward the outskirts of the city. He threw a smoke bomb onto the ground behind him as he dashed, immediately making a sharp turn and hiding. Multiple guards stomped past, each of them wearing the black uniform, but with red-orange neon highlights instead. Apparently, that color meant security, Mona noted.

But learning just that was poor progress for a day’s work.

_ ‘I need a way into the next section…’ _ Mona thought. He glanced up at the wall. _ ‘I either need to get through that door, or I need to fly…’ _

>>>

In the evening, the team gathered in Ren’s attic to meet.

“She didn’t seem very willing to talk.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Even though I pretty much saw everything. The problem might be this ‘Sugimura-san’, rather than her father. So I couldn’t clear much up.”

“I’m not surprised.” Makoto added. “She doesn’t talk about her family in class and whenever someone brings them up, or tries to use her for her wealth, she deflects and gets out of it. She’s been taught to protect the Okumura name quite well.”

“That is… unfortunate.” Yusuke said, frowning. “To think, someone could be so trapped, but not want help. Even after you and your mother showed that you were willing to risk yourselves.”

“I think that might be the problem, actually.” Ren said, sighing. “It wasn’t that she was being rude, or ungrateful. She didn’t want to get me involved more than I already was. You should have seen how relieved she looked when she found out that I used a fake surname for ka-chan. It seems that fiance of hers is pretty powerful.”

“Dude. Your Mom’s pretty cool. Like, that’s spy novel shit she pulled. And she’s really pretty—” Ryuji immediately stopped talking about getting glared at by _ both _ Makoto and Ren. “Er, anyway. Where does this leave us? Should we just go ahead and go into Okumura’s Palace, then?”

Morgana perked up. “You know, Ren, Ryuji might be onto something. We don’t _ have _ to take the Treasure. Maybe there’s evidence inside the Palace.”

Ren sighed, looking uncertain. “Maybe…”

Ann shook her head. “I think it’s a bad idea. I mean, we’ve done well so far. But things are different. Kunikazu Okumura is Haru’s _ father _, even if he has a Palace. Even if he turns out to be evil. If something goes wrong in the Metaverse, and Haru didn’t want our help in the first place, what does that make us? We’d be hurting her only parent.”

It was true. While they hadn’t caused any mental shutdowns or deaths _ yet _, it didn’t negate the possibility completely. The group sat in an uncomfortable silence.

Futaba perked up, on her computer. “...Oh! Hey, Ren. Did you happen to tell Haru about the Phan-Site?”

“...I did. It was a last ditch effort to see if she’d be willing to reach out for help anonymously, if she wasn’t willing to talk to me. Stupid idea, I know. We’d never know if it was her posting, and every day, there’s more people calling for Kunikazu Okumura.”

“Ehehe. So little faith.” Futaba typed away. “Tracing IP… doxxing… more doxxing… ...Haru Okumura just made an account on the Phan-Site. I’d say she took your advice.”

Ren glanced at the time. It was getting late. “Hm.”

Ann touched Ren’s shoulder, standing behind him as he sat at his card table. “What’s wrong? Isn’t that good?”

Ren put a hand on Ann’s, squeezing. “She looked scared, Songbird. Scared, but determined to keep silent. If she changed her mind this late…”

He sighed.

“I’m worried that something happened.”

>>>

September 18, 20xx 

It was just past midnight. Haru sat in her sitting room, under her mother’s terrariums; they did little to bring her a sense of calm this time, though. Her father hadn’t hit her this time. Not physically.

_ ‘Hisamoto called. His son told him that he found you alone, in the infirmary with some boy.’ _

_ ‘I was assigned there. He was injured, and—’ _

_ ‘Don’t lie to me, Haru.’ _

It was worse than a beating. He spoke _ at _ her, not _ to _ her. He didn’t even yell, or berate her. He simply spoke in matter-of-fact tones, heavily implying that his daughter was a slut for allowing herself to be in the same room as Ren, but somehow in the wrong for rejecting Sugimura’s advances. He outright stated that she was failing to serve the family (which meant Kunikazu Okumura) by not ‘being cordial’ to Sugimura (blindly obeying him).

Her only job was to be useful, and get married.

And yet her punishment for this weekend was to be locked in her suite with her books. Kunikazu made it clear that she was still to score within the top ten percent of her year. Apparently, he intended for her to be an _ intelligent _ bird in a gilded cage. Good for party tricks and entertaining friends.

The contradictions and mixed messages were dizzying. There was only consistent thing.

Obey. Obey, obey, obey.

She bit her lip. She deleted the ‘red eye’ app again, instead opening the web browser on her phone. She went to the Phan-Site, typing in a name. A heart she wanted changed.

**Hisahito Sugimura.**

While he wasn’t the root of her problems, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do anything to the father she once, and possibly still, loved.

Her fiance, on the other hand. Well, if the worst happened...

_ ‘Acceptable collateral damage.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haru was a challenge, initially. In the game, probably due to limitations created by how late she came in, I felt that her personality didn't really reflect what she had been through. Her father was using her as a bargaining chip. And right when she thought he would change, and maybe give her a chance to mend the relationship, he died. But still, she's somehow happy plant girl. I'm obviously going a different route. Things will still work out. Just differently.
> 
> Also, as those of you on the ShuAnn discord know, I struggled a bit with making Mona not leave in a random jerkhole huff. I think I managed to write this in a way that makes more sense to how I've characterized Mona - less bluster and Napoleon complex, and more existential crisis/anxiety.
> 
> Almost forgot to list references. For gunfight sequences watch the movie Equilibrium. Great fun. For swords vs gun any fight scene with Spike vs. Vicious. Also great fun, but bittersweet.
> 
> And for funsies, 'Eat the fucking rice' was inspired by the earlier scene a few chapters back, which in turn was inspired by this gem from A Better Tomorrow II, a movie referenced by Ryuji/Makoto once or twice in GtD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NdfKnoIwJQ
> 
> The scene is about 5 minutes long. Context is that someone is trying to pull a protection racket on Chow Yun Fat, and he isn't having it.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	29. Tai Sabaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Tai sabaki is a term from Japanese martial arts that can be loosely translated as ‘body-management’. It is usually used to avoid an attack, such that the fighter ends up in an advantageous position. This group of techniques is by no means limited to Eastern combative sport. In fact, slipping, bobbing, and weaving are all variants of this._
> 
> _No matter the descriptor used, the purpose of these movements is the same. Throw the opponent off balance with smoothly flowing movement - and then strike hard._

September 18, 20xx 

“I’m tellin’ you, bro, we can totally up our explosion game.” Ryuji said, swinging his warhammer. It cracked against the skull of the Auspicious Pachyderm they were facing down in Mementos, sending the elephant-like Shadow stumbling back. He and Ren fought side by side in a narrow tunnel; the others were behind them, facing the other direction to fend off a pincer attack.

Ren dashed forward into the opening Ryuji created, his left hand lancing out with repeated jabs, the cruel black blade extending from his wrist and stabbing mercilessly. His right came forward, not in a chopping right, but point blank gunshots. He flipped it around, catching it by the barrel as he whirled, pistol-whipping an approaching Dancing Witch. He sent it stumbling back into the Pachyderm.

“What do you mean?” Ren asked. He winced at the reflected physical damage; a minor amount, thankfully. A pistol-whipping didn’t amount to much damage.

“Well, cool guys don’t look at explosions.” Ryuji replied, levelling his shotgun at the Pachyderm. He fired a few times, sending it a few more steps back into another Shadow, one that still hadn’t taken on its true form.

“Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, we need to gauge how far back we are to see if we have to run.”

“Yeah, but cool guys just _ know _. Case in point.” Ryuji drop-kicked an incendiary grenade into the three reeling Shadows.

Ren blinked. He started to backstep.

Ryuji caught his shoulder. “No. Here.”

The blonde boy turned his friend around, facing the girls, Mona, and Yusuke. “See? Now walk away slowly, and don’t look back.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “If we get killed, I’ll kill you.”

They walked away slowly - the boom and roar of the grenade overtook all other sounds. The boys were perfectly backlit by the orange flame; the rush of air pushed by the detonation whipped through the tails of Joker’s coat and Skull’s ascot dramatically.

The flames rushed toward them. Joker felt the heat on his back.

“...Uh, Skull?”

“Trust me—!!”

A black leather and metal clad blur barreled into Ryuji, knocking him to the floor.

A red whip lashed out, wrapping around Ren, yanking him forward.

The flames washed over where the two had been standing, reducing the lamp hanging from above into molten slag.

Makoto straddled Ryuji, gripping him by the tails of his ascot tie, shaking him violently. “What the _ hell _ were you two doing?! You could have been killed! How much explosive did you pack into one grenade? What in the world is _ wrong with you?! WHO JUST _ ** _WALKS _ ** _ AWAY FROM AN EXPLOSION?!” _

“Urk! Choking! Makoto!” Ryuji managed to get out.

Makoto rolled her eyes. She let go; Ryuji thumped back to the ground. “Honestly. The two of you together is just a nightmare. Panther, tell Joker he’s— Oh, _ for the love of… _”

Panther still had her whip wrapped around Joker; he was up against the wall of the subway tunnel, pinned there. Pinned by one of Ann’s long legs between his. She had a little smirk on her face, having trapped Joker’s chin between her thumb and index finger. She may have been giggling.

Futaba was staring. “Ooh. So that’s how people date.”

Yusuke nodded, sketching. “It seems so.”

“It’s _ not!” _ Makoto stomped over, catching them both by their ears. “You two need to put a lid on it! Seriously! Panther, I understand. Celestine’s crazy. Joker, what’s _ your _ excuse?”

Joker gestured at Panther. The catsuit. The zippers. The window. The heels. “You have to _ ask _?”

Despite the painful grip on her ear, Ann just grinned proudly.

Makoto sighed. She let them both go. “Anyway. Oracle, is he nearby?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Hisahito Sugimura, right around the corner.” She frowned. “Hey, Queen? Can I ask a question?”

Makoto gestured vaguely with a hand, starting to walk. “Go ahead.”

“If it’s bad for Panther to do that with Joker, then why was it fine for you to ride Skull like you just were?”

Makoto froze. She made a noise that was somewhere between squeak and gasp, turning crimson under her mask. She spun, her scarf whipping around her as she looked at Futaba.

Futaba looked back, a cheeky grin visible under the red lenses and black metal frame of her goggles.

Makoto spun back around, throwing her hands up. “Augh! Children! _ All _ of you!”

She rounded the corner and stepped into the swirling portal.

Sugimura’s Shadow stood there, white suit and all. He leered at Makoto as she came into view. “Oh, look. One of my lovely fiancee’s classmates. Nice ass. Why don’t you play with me for a little while? Haru doesn’t need to kno—”

He was interrupted by the twin tonfa striking his face, knocking the majority of his teeth into the back of his throat.

The rest of the gang watched as Makoto singlehandedly laid the beatdown on Sugimura, her dual tonfa a maelstrom of blunt force trauma. The Shadow _ might _ have changed forms during the assault, but it was uncertain.

Sugimura was left on the ground, apologizing for his transgressions and begging for mercy, crying messily.

Makoto, still grumbling, stalked past the group and back out the portal.

Ryuji watched her go, nervously getting out of her way. He looked at Ren. “H-hey, Joker, do you have any adv—”

“Oh, no. Not going near _ that _ one. Good luck, buddy.”

“Come _ on _.”

As Ryuji chattered, Ren glanced at Mona. The cat-bandit was almost sleeping on his feet, barely stifling a yawn.

“...Let’s table it, Skull. We’ve got one more target.” Ren said. He sighed. “Can’t say I’ve been looking forward to this.”

>>>

Ren stepped into the next portal alone. Out of respect for the target’s privacy. Rather, out of respect for his friend.

Joker faced down the Shadow of Yuuki Mishima.

“So. You came, after all.” Mishima said, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness of the pocket realm. “Of course you did. You’re the hero of this story, aren’t you?”

Ren wasn’t sure what he could say to that. It wasn’t a time for witty rejoinders or sarcastic remarks. It wasn’t even a time for violence, of the threat of. Yesterday, after Sports Day, Mishima approached Ren with an unusual request.

_ ‘H-hey. Ren. Did you guys do that request? For that celebrity?’ _

_ ‘No. Not yet. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that—’ _

_ ‘Cancel it. Please. That guy… he didn’t do anything. I have another request, though. Please. Please change _ ** _my_ ** _ heart.’ _

Mishima turned, taking off at a brisk walk before Ren could question him further. So now, it was time to listen.

“Before you and your friends came along… I knew what my role was.” Mishima said, shaking his head. “Even before Kamoshida, I was always that guy. The guy who faded into the background until someone had a use for him. Even my family… even my family treated me like that. And it was fine. I was probably going to work for some company that my father picked out. I was probably going to marry who they told me to. I was probably going to anesthetize myself on a combination of games, TV, and whatever else I could find.”

He started pacing, continuing to rant.

“But then _ you _ showed up. I was _ so close _ to a hero. Someone who could change the world. I… I wanted that to be _ me _ . And it was. Through the Phan-Site. Through _ you _ . I was somebody. And I was right… The other day, you _ made _ me a hero. The one who won the game on Sports Day.”

“But you didn’t fool _ anyone _ . They all talked about you _ . _ How your strategy was so clever, how you won. How you were _ so kind to include me _. I realized then, I’m not fooling anyone with anything. I’m just a shill. I’m a zero.”

“I used to not care about any of this… but you. You _ made _ me want more! You need to fix it. You need to fix _ me _. Change my heart, so I won’t care anymore! I’m done caring.”

He started sobbing. “...I’m done. Even when I’m the winner, everyone looks past me. I… I don’t want to care. That’s… that’s why I asked you to come here. Why I asked you to come change my heart. So take those guns, or those blades, and finish it.”

Ren watched Mishima - or rather, his Shadow - for a time.

“I can’t do that, Yuuki.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Changing hearts gets rid of twisted desires and behaviors. It doesn’t get rid of growing up.”

“You’re saying this is _ normal?! _” Mishima hissed, looking like he was going to attack.

“Obviously not. We’re standing in another reality, and I’m talking to a version of you that the ‘you’ outside is completely unaware of. How is _ any _ of this normal? But making you not care? Even if I could do that, I wouldn’t.”

“Why?! Do you hate me that much?! Were you faking your friendship?”

“Because if you care about these things - wanting a place to belong, wanting to be more than a spectator in your own life, then that means you haven’t given up. It means you’re still fighting.”

Mishima stood there, frozen to the spot.

“And if you’re still fighting, Yuuki… Then I’ll be in your corner.”

>>>

September 19, 20xx 

Most Monday mornings at the Sugimura estate were quiet. At the hour that Hisamoto woke up, his son was always asleep. The severe-looking man with grey-flecked black hair glanced dismissively at his son’s bedroom door. Probably asleep until mid-morning, actually. The boy had some made-up executive position at one of the companies that the Sugimura family owned, and his presence hardly mattered to the actual day-to-day operations. To Hisamoto’s understanding, he rarely showed up, preferring instead to show off his - as in, Hisamoto’s - affluence and influence.

Hisamoto Sugimura was a calculating man. He knew what kind of person Hisahito had grown into and was under no illusions as to what he could expect out of him. His son wasn’t particularly intelligent or hard-working; he was needlessly cruel and driven almost entirely by his base desires. It was fine, though. Hisahito would serve his purpose simply by giving the Sugimura family control over Okumura Foods through marriage. And his deviant, lazy son seemed happy enough with the arrangement.

Hisamoto didn’t care for a legacy through his children, anyhow - his legacy would be the mark that the UFP would make on Japan - rather, the world. He glanced at a mirror in the hallway, adjusting the Windsor knot of his silk tie. The UFP would resurrect the nationalistic pride that Japan had lost in the Second World War and push their country above the decadent West. And Hisamoto had been promised a position near the top, so long as he saw to it that the vast resources of Okumura Foods would remain under the thumb of the UFP even after Kunikazu Okumura had been dealt with.

_ ‘At least Hisahito will be useful for _ ** _something_ ** _ .’ _ Hisamoto smiled grimly. _ ‘I told you, Okumura-kun. You shouldn’t have been so greedy…’ _

The sound of sobbing disrupted Hisamoto’s plotting. He stared in surprise at the sight of his son, wearing his pyjamas in the dining room. The young man looked like a mess. He was on his phone, seemingly sending a text.

“Hisahito? What in the world…”

“Father! Father, I’m… I’m sorry. I see the truth, now. I’m… I’m a worthless human being.” He sobbed. “I’m canceling the engagement. I sent Haru Okumura a message calling the whole thing off. I was just about to call Kunikazu Okumura as well, and then I’ll call the police, about those times you had to cover up—”

Hisahito’s phone struck the plush carpet covering the floor. Hisamoto had his son by the collar, lifting him out of his seat. He slammed him against a nearby china cabinet, knocking over and breaking several fragile plates.

“It’s ‘off’? What the _ fuck _ did you say?!”

“Father! I… I said I cancelled the engagement! I’m not a worthy man, so how could I be a worthy husband?!”

Hisamoto shook with rage. “...You stupid, worthless, piece of _ shit _ . I’ve known for _ years _ that you aren’t a worthy _ anything _ . This was supposed to be the one way you would have been of any use to me. Why do you think I covered up those ‘indiscretions’ of yours?! Did you think it was for _ you _, you moron?!”

“F...father.. I was just—”

Hisamoto punched his son in the cheek, making the younger man’s vision blur, his ears ring.

“It’s because I didn’t want the headlines to say, ‘Son of prominent politician convicted of raping two teenaged girls’. Like I actually give a _ shit _ about you… Tch.”

He let go of his son, letting the younger man slide to the floor, dazed. The older Sugimura stooped, picking up his son’s phone and checking the messaging app. The only message he managed to send was indeed to Haru Okumura.

**HS: Haru… I’m calling off the engagement. I’m sorry.**

_ ‘...I can salvage this.’ _

>>>

Ren ate lunch by himself, for once. Morgana stayed home to sleep (lately, the not-a-cat was seeming pretty tired); Ann was one of the representatives for Class 2-D’s culture festival and at a meeting; Ryuji and Makoto were eating lunch together away from prying eyes, beside the school’s pool. Ren glanced down through the roof’s brand-new fence, spotting the two. Makoto was laughing at something Ryuji had said, and judging by the boy’s body language, it was completely unintentional humour. Most likely, he had tried to say something ‘cool’, but got dorky instead. The blonde boy eventually relaxed, laughing as well, his hand coming to rest on top of the student council president’s hand…

Ren smiled. He averted his eyes respectfully, drinking his water. The door to the roof swung open, revealing Shiho.

“...Oh. Hey, champ.”

“Hey, Shiho.” Ren replied. “Looking for a place to eat?”

“Already ate.” Shiho said, shrugging. She leaned against the doorway. “What’s so interesting?”

“Ryuji and Her Excellency.” Ren replied, glancing down at the pool again. “It’s almost enough to make your teeth rot. You should have a look, I’m sure the pictures would make great dirt, or at least something to troll with…”

Ren trailed off. He looked over at Shiho, who was still leaning against the doorway. Her arms were crossed. He looked in particular at her right hand, which clutched her left elbow hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

_ ‘...Right. The roof.’ _

“Want to go down and sit with them? I bet Ryuji’s going to start floundering any second.”

Shiho shook her head, sighing. “No. Don’t do that, champ. I get enough of the kid glove treatment from Blondie.”

“Sorry.” Ren said. He gestured at the roof. “...It’s not that I forgot. It just wasn’t in my mind. I mean, for me, I have to pass underneath the wooden beam where I almost… you know. Every day. It was full on exposure therapy from the start. How far have you gotten?”

“About halfway.” Shiho said. She walked out onto the roof, halfway to where the new fence was. “Ann doesn’t know I’ve been trying. I think she’d have a coronary if she knew I was up here, at all.”

Ren smiled slightly. “Yeah. Probably. I can tell that she doesn’t like it that I still sleep in the same place. I don’t know if she’s aware of it, but she always puts herself between me and the rafter in question.”

“Sounds like her.” Shiho said. She kicked at the ground, tapping it with her toes. “...You know, both her and Takemi-sensei think I’m avoiding living my life.”

“Are you?”

Shiho gave him a briefly annoyed glare, before softening to a rare resigned smile. “Don’t pull that psychology stuff again. Though, I guess it worked on me the first time…”

Ren stood. “Do you want me to leave?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Shiho said. “I just want to get to the edge and be done with it.”

“Then do it.”

Shiho raised her foot to take a step… She put it back down, uncertainly.

“_ Move it, _ Suzui!” Ren snapped. “It’s just a fucking roof! You’re _ Shiho Suzui. _You aren’t going to lose to this piece of shit school! You’re tougher than this!”

Shiho was shocked at first, but felt compelled to move - it wasn’t that Ren was ordering her. He was cheering her on, from athlete to athlete.

“It’s just concrete and _ space _ , Suzui! _ Fucking _ ** _move_ ** _ !” _

Shiho blinked. She flashed a challenging grin at Ren, and boldly stepped forward.

“That’s it!”

Within moments, Shiho was at Ren’s side, looking down at the courtyard. She clutched the metal fence, breathing hard. The new fence was much taller, with slippery metal links that were advertised as ‘impossible to climb’. Her eyes were wide as she looked over the same edge that she stood on months prior.

“You okay?” Ren asked, back to his normal tone. He smiled gently at Shiho.

She nodded. “...It’s crazy, you know? I had this all built up in my head. Like if I got up here, then maybe things would change. I’d have some big moment, where I’d get all girly, cry, and then time would start again for me.”

“Did it?”

Shiho shook her head. “No. If anything, being up here just makes me realize that time never stopped, champ. Whoever was up here before… a scared, desperate girl who didn’t want to die, but had a part of her screaming at her to jump… the world moved on without her. And I think I did, too.”

“Good.” Ren said. “It’s not just Ann that needs you, you know. We all do.”

“Mm.” She eyed Ren, smirking. “You know. Ann’s lucky she got you locked down first.”

Ren laughed. “Yeah, right. It wouldn’t have worked between us, and you know exactly why.”

“Too much troll in one couple. We’d either kill each other with a prank gone wrong, or all our friends would conspire to do the deed.” Shiho said, laughing. She sighed, looking around the roof. “Well. They cleaned this place up. There’s even a garden. Who takes care of it, though?”

“Haru Okumura.” Ren said.

“...Ah. So you weren’t just casually eating lunch on the roof.”

“Hard to be a criminal mastermind. Even my spare time isn’t spare time.”

“Right, right.” Shiho waved, heading for the exit. She nearly ran headlong into Haru. “Ah. Sorry, Okumura-senpai.”

“No trouble…” Haru said, surprised. “I don’t think we’ve met…”

“I’m no one of consequence.” Shiho said, smiling impishly. “But I’m a second year. Shiho Suzui. A friend of that guy over there. I think he wants to talk to you.”

“...Ah! Amamiya-kun…” Haru said, recognizing him. She stepped onto the roof, starting to water the plants. She eyed Ren sidelong, a slight quirk at the corner of her lips. “Or should I say, _ Akira _-kun?”

“Either or.” Ren said, shrugging. He helpfully filled a second watering can from the tap on the roof.

“You shouldn’t be so casual with names.” Haru said. “Oh, you don’t need to water that one. It’s used to arid climates.”

“Casual?”

“Names are powerful, Amamiya-kun.” Haru continued. “They can force people into silence for fear of them. They can make people throw away the things they love because they covet them. And as I learned, they can change hearts. You have dangerous friends.”

“I never said the Phantom Thieves were my friends.” Ren replied, as he aerated a flower bed under Haru’s supervision.

“I never mentioned the Phantom Thieves.” Haru replied, shrugging. “It’s interesting, though. For people who aren’t your friends, they’ve certainly provided you with yours.”

To Ren’s credit, he didn’t show any outward signs of concern. “How do you mean?”

“My father taught me to never trust anyone who offers their help without asking for anything in return, Amamiya-kun.”

“So, then why…”

“Because he also taught me to never turn away an advantage.”

Ren paused, looking at Haru carefully. The girl just gave him a polite smile, continuing to tend the garden placidly. _ ‘...Who the hell _ ** _are_ ** _ you?’ _

“So I looked into you, a little. Nothing serious. Just enough to learn that your ‘inner circle’ happened to expand each time the Phantom Thieves accomplished something.” Haru said, mildly.

“And that’s all you learned?”

“Essentially. I learned that we both owe the Thieves a lot.” Haru said. She showed Ren her phone, with Sugimura’s message. “I also learned that the Phantom Thieves could stand to be a little more circumspect. I mean, if a high school girl could figure out… _ how much they’ve helped you _, then…”

“...Point taken. So where do we go from here?”

“That depends. I need to see how my father—”

The PA system chimed.

“Haru Okumura: Please report to the office immediately.”

>>>

_ ‘I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy…’ _ Haru thought, once again a prisoner in her own sitting room. She looked up at the terrariums again. She had been brought straight to her suite by one of her father’s men. When she opened the door to the hallway, another one of her father’s employees was there. He had inclined his head politely.

_ ‘Is there something I can get for you, miss?’ _

The implication of course, was that she wasn’t allowed to get whatever she needed herself. Not until her father arrived.

The door slammed open. Her father was silhouetted in the door. His tie was loose, his hair slightly unkempt. His eyes flashed.

Haru, strangely, didn’t feel fear. She instead felt numb. She knew what was coming. Another round of verbal abuse, possibly physical. It was stupid of her to have hoped for anything different.

“What did you _ do?!” _ Kunikazu snapped, slamming the door closed behind him. He stormed over to Haru, standing over her. “What did you do to make that Hisahito not want you anymore?! His father called me. He said the engagement was _ off _ , because of _ you _. Are you insane? Is this how you repay me for everything I’ve done for you?!”

Haru bit her tongue. Literally and figuratively.

“Tch. The concessions I had to make… The things I had to give up, just to salvage this. To think, my useless daughter could even make that deviant Hisahito waver...” Kunikazu muttered.

Haru’s eyes widened, the realization breaking through her shell. “...Father. Father, you _ knew _? You knew what kind of man he is?!”

Kunikazu waved a hand dismissively. “Of course I did. It made it even easier to get the pervert to agree to the marriage.”

Haru shook - not with grief, or fear. With _ rage _ . “You… ...you _ bastard _.”

“What…?! What did you say to me?!”

Haru stood up. “You _ bastard! _ You were going to give me to that _ monster _ and you _ knew! _ This isn’t just one of your sci-fi movies! You can’t just do whatever you want! You aren’t ‘Lord Kunikazu Okumura’, commander of some space station! Mother… I’m glad Mother’s gone. If she heard this. If she saw you the way you are now… She would have killed herself before the cancer could have!”

A full-force slap sent her stumbling into the wall, a hand knocking against the lowest hanging terrarium. She didn’t notice her phone fall to the floor. It beeped twice; the red-eye appeared.

“You’re a disgrace. Don’t you dare throw her in my face. Your mother also did what she had to to ensure the success of Okumura Foods.” Kunikazu said, coldly. Haru’s phone beeped a third time, softly. His eyes turned to the intricate glass terrariums. “If that’s how you’ll use the memory of her… Then you don’t deserve to have _ any _ memory of her.”

>>>

“So… Akechi really visited your parents, huh?” Ann asked, concerned. It was after school; she and Ren were indulging in the time-honored tradition of the ‘uniform date’ in Shinjuku, immediately after school.

“Yeah.” Ren said, frowning. They were standing in line at a crepe food truck; Ann casually held onto his elbow. “It seems innocent enough. His school trip took him to Kamakura, and the Amamiya Ryokan is actually a pretty popular sightseeing venue, even if we aren’t licensed to take any guests right now. It’s close to both the beach and the Inamuragasaki onsen. Still, though, it’s a bit creepy.”

“Hasn’t he backed off, though? I mean, he doesn’t try to teach you how to ‘deduce’ anymore, and he doesn’t break out ten dollar words in casual conversation.” Ann said. “Hm. I’ll have a strawberry crepe, please.”

“Just coffee for me. Black.” Ren said. “I guess he has… I suppose I’ll put it out of my mind, for now. He doesn’t seem to suspect. ...Why are you frowning? Didn’t you want me to stop worrying about it?”

“It’s not that.” Ann said, her frown turning into a pout.

In a few minutes, the crepe was made and delivered into Ann’s waiting hands.

“What is it, then?” Ren smirked slightly, knowing full well what the answer was.

“You never order one.” Ann said, grumbling. She took a bite, despite her next words. “It makes me feel guilty.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll have a taste, then.”

“I’m not giving you a bite.” Ann said, scoffing. “This is all mine—!!”

Ren kissed her, catching her off-guard in full view of the public. She _ might _ have felt a quick flick of his tongue.

“Hm. Pretty good. The place in Harajuku was better, though.” Ren said, shrugging.

Ann stared at Ren, her jaw slack. “...I… ...You know, I thought the whole going public thing would bother you a lot more than me. Didn’t you have the whole traditional upbringing thing that makes you not want to do that in public?”

Ren just smiled at her. “I did. But with you, Songbird, all bets are off.”

Ann shook her head. She took hold of Ren’s arm again as they walked. She <strike>scarfed</strike> nibbled on her crepe, perking up when she saw a familiar face hanging around Crossroads.

“Isn’t that Mishima?”

“...Oh. Hey, it is. Yuuki!”

>>>

A few moments later, Ren and Mishima sat side by side at the bar in Crossroads. It was a little early for any of the regulars to be there, and Ren’s set wasn’t due to start for awhile. They each had a scotch tumbler in front of them, filled with Coke Zero. Straight Coke Zero, because ‘real men like you strapping lads don’t need ice’, Lala had said, with a wink.

The aforementioned Lala was with Ann in the back, gleefully picking out Ren’s outfit for the evening’s performance.

“...So that’s it, huh.” Yuuki breathed, quietly. He pushed his drink around. “The other me told you everything.”

“Pretty much.” Ren said. “I hope you aren’t disappointed.”

“I am, a little.” Yuuki said. “But I see your point. Going backwards isn’t ever really an option, is it? I mean… going on, just getting by on video games and stuff. Well. That’s not really living.”

“So. What are you going to do?” Ren asked.

“I couldn’t get something that Kitagawa-kun said out of my head.” Yuuki said, glancing at his camera case, sitting on the bar. “He said I have talent. A real artist, like that. So I sent a few pictures in to this contest for new photographers…”

“...Oh! Really? How’d you do?” Ren asked.

“I don’t know yet.” Yuuki said. “It scares the hell out of me. I mean, I’ve never really put myself out there before. With _ anything _ . The thought of some stranger looking at the photos I took, judging them… It’s like someone’s looking at _ you _, you know? Everything that you’ve experienced, everything you’ve learned.”

“I think I get that.” Ren said. “It’s like every time I throw a punch. People who’ve been around can see who I’ve trained with, learned from. Whether or not I measure up to those people. It can be stressful…”

“...Yeah.” Mishima said, sighing.

“...But it’s pretty awesome to be recognized.” Ren said, smiling. “And it’s pretty gutsy to put yourself out there, Yuuki.”

“Th-thanks, Ren.” Mishima said. “...Hey. You know. After the contest results come out, I was going to try telling my parents that this is what I want to do. Do… do you think..”

“Yeah, man. I’ll come with you.” Ren said. “For moral support, for what it’s worth.”

Mishima smiled. For once, a genuine, relaxed one. “It’s worth a lot. Oh. Are _ these _ the regulars? There’s a few Shujin students coming in…”

Ren laughed. “A byproduct of going public, I guess. And people are more curious, after all the Sports Day stuff. It was a matter of time. If Ann sings, she’s going to break hearts.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Never. Fun to get jealous, though.” Ren said, with a crooked smile. He got up to get changed. “Stick around. Take some pictures. Life is mostly good, Yuuki.”

>>>

In the darkness of the night, the stone and silence of the Okumura household was oppressive. It covered everything like a blanket of snow. Muffling; freezing. Making the body and senses numb. Just like the sense of cold, the silence permeated; it spread. It weighed down the auburn-haired girl who knelt in her sitting room, tears long since spent.

Haru knelt limply on the floor in front of the shattered remains of her mother’s terrariums. Plant matter, gravel, and dirt were on the floor. Glass littered the carpet as well. Shards of the last memento from her mother, sticking out of the carpet like broken teeth.

Numbly, she considered what had transpired. After destroying the one thing she truly treasured, her father paused in the doorway, his back to her. He turned his head.

_ ‘No thanks to you, I managed to fix this. In October, you’re going to move to the Sugimura household. You will officially register as a member of their family, and be married. You’ll serve your purpose, one way or another.’ _

She should have known. She should have known that Hisahito Sugimura, as cruel and deviant as he was, was ultimately a tool. A puppet being used by his father. Just like her. Only he had been raised to be stupid enough to be fine with it. Even with his heart changed, he was still human. He could still be coerced. If not with the carrot, then the stick.

_ ‘Should I have expected anything different?’ _ Haru thought, recalling her father’s lessons. _ ‘If a partner can’t be convinced, then they must be coerced. Negotiations are like fights between martial artists. Only a fool believes that a purely hard style or soft style will win. The hard strike will be countered by tai sabaki… Misdirect, put off balance… and strike.’ _

She hated herself in that moment for recalling that. Even in her quiet despair, her father - rather, _ that man _ \- she told herself, influenced her.

Haru looked down again, at the shards of glass. One had a particularly cruel edge. Pointed. Sharp. It beckoned.

There was _ one _ guaranteed way to be free of him.

She reached for the glass.

>>>

Mona stood on one of the tall, obelisk-like buildings in the outer hub of Okumura’s Palace. He stared down over the city, casting his sharp gaze at the middle hub, the one he had been denied access to. He reached into his utility belt, taking out something that looked like a large blanket. Carefully, he tied it on with two of the corners, somewhat like a cape.

He then tied the other corners to his utility belt, one corner to each hip.

_ ‘Sure hope this works…’ _

“Zorro!”

Mona scampered forward and took a flying leap off the building.

Zorro, with a roguish laugh, summoned a favorable updraft for the cat-bandit. The wind caught the fabric, sending the small cat-bandit soaring like Caped Mario.

Mona let out a yowl of exhilaration. _ ‘This is working! This is totally, completely working!’ _

The exhilaration was muted, however, on the realization that no one was there to see it. Not one of the people he considered his friends.

His thoughts were interrupted by something he hadn’t seen on his previous scouting of the outer hub of Okumura’s Palace. It was a speeding bullet train, shooting along a neon pathway toward the inner hubs of the city.

_ ‘...! If I get on that, I might be able to get even further in!’ _

With Zorro’s help, Mona changed direction, swooping down toward the train.

>>>

Inside the train, Haru Okumura sat in a seat. Unrestrained, but under guard. Several black-suited men - or at least, she thought they were men - with orange-red neon highlights and black face shields and helmets reminiscent of motorcycle gear.

_ ‘I must be going insane. I must have slashed my wrist. I’m bleeding out and hallucinating.’ _ Haru thought. _ ‘...No. I was about to do it, but my phone turned on. That red-eye was there. And then I was in my house… but it wasn’t my house. And then these men found me, knew who I was, and told me I was to report to that man?’ _

She looked up at the nearest guard. “If you’re taking me to Kunikazu Okumura, then why aren’t we just staying in the house?”

“Lord Okumura doesn’t live there, Lady Haru.” The guard replied. Even though his voice was muffled, it seemed to lack a certain richness; it sounded like a voice over the phone, rather than the voice of a human being.

“That’s absurd.”

“As you say, Lady Haru. But Lord Okumura spends most of his time at headquarters.”

Haru blinked. He wasn’t wrong…

“Then, why are you taking me to him?”

“Standing orders, Lady Haru. He doesn’t want you in the house.”

He definitely wasn’t wrong about that.

_ ‘...This is strange. I need more information before I can make a move, though. It’s like this is another world. A place that vaguely reflects where we were… These men. This place. It looks like Tron, one of that man’s favorite movies. I wonder—’ _

A window shattered; something small barreled into the back of the guard at the opposite end of the train.

Within seconds, the thing jumped up, wielding a curved shamshir almost as tall as it was, stabbing it into the back of the felled guard. The guard shrieked an otherworldly sound, very different from the muffled, hollow voices she heard earlier before it vanished into shadowy wisps. The cat-like creature then attacked the next guard down the train.

The guard nearest to her, the third and final one, pulled a glowing neon-red disc from the holster on his back. Haru had no idea what kind of weapon it was, or even who this new assailant was. In an instant, her mind brought forth what she did know.

The guards worked for Kunikazu Okumura, or some version of him. He seemed likely as controlling as he was in the real world, if not more. And it seemed they wanted her alive.

_ ‘That means I can take a risk.’ _She calculated. She threw her body into the legs of the final guard, sending him tumbling. The disk clattered away.

As she stood, her clothes _ shifted. _ She glanced at her reflection. She wore an outfit that she imagined would fit somewhat into an Alexandre Dumas classic, either the Count of Monte Cristo or The Three Musketeers. It was a dark purple cavalier hat, a feather tucked into it. A pink blouse, black corset. Bloomers. A mask and gloves.

Mona finished off the second guard, looking up. “Don’t worry! That just means this world sees you as a threat! You should have…”

-_ Crunch- _

Haru buried the edge of her bardiche into the spine of the guard, who still lay prone on the ground. She looked at Mona curiously as the guard’s limbs jerked and flopped in response to the invasion of its spinal canal by a giant poleaxe blade.

“...a weapon.” Mona mumbled, wide eyed.

Mona didn’t have time to gawk, though. The door at the back of the car burst open. Guards started to stream in. He dashed forward, leaping onto one of the seats, using the backrest as cover. He pulled out a special bullet for his slingshot; one that Ryuji helped him make.

He fired - the bullet exploded in the doorway, unloading a sticky mess of adhesive goop that webbed and stuck, preventing any of the guards from filing through.

“That won’t hold for long! We need to move up. There weren’t any guards in the cars ahead.” Mona said, motioning with a paw.

Haru nodded. She stared at her gloved hands, at the bardiche that she then slung across her back. This felt… different. Liberating.

She paused, at the exit to the next car. She looked at her new ally, the curiously small, cute looking cat thing. Some part of her mind recalled lessons about the ‘silver ratio’ that the marketing department would use to create likable mascots.

“You said there’s no guards ahead of us? Just behind?”

“That’s right! So all we need to do is stay ahead of them, and— h-hey! What are you doing?!”

Haru turned, taking out the other weapon she had been given. She aimed the Milkor revolver-type grenade launcher toward the guards bound up in the adhesive. She fired - the grenade slammed into the chest of the first guard, knocking it free and onto its back, in the link between the cars.

She turned, slamming the door shut. She slowly walked away, not looking back as the grenade exploded, taking the back half of the car they were in with it, and severing them from any remaining guards. She ignored the flaming wreckage.

_ ‘Yes. Liberating…’ _

Liberating and _ natural _.

>>>

A short time later, Haru sat across from Morgana in a secluded alleyway, near the train station in the middle hub of Okumura’s Palace. The butt end of her bardiche rested on the ground, the haft on her shoulder; it rested there like it belonged there. And belong there it did. During their escape from the train and the station, Haru moved with the unwieldy, heavy-looking blade as if it were an extension of herself. Despite being unable to summon her Persona completely, she expertly used the broad axe-like instrument as both a shield and a weapon along with her grenade launcher.

Haru breathed a thoughtful ‘hrm’. “So, that’s it, then? This is the ‘Metaverse’, and a manifestation of Kunikazu Okumura’s twisted desires? And the guards and people we’ve been seeing, in the black and neon suits. Those are how he sees people?”

“Yes. Though, it’s strange. They just seem like normal people, except for the weird fashion sense.”

“They’re not.” Haru said, shaking her head. “This resembles _ Tron _, one of Kunikazu Okumura’s favorite movies from his younger days. The ‘people’ in that film weren’t people, but computer programs. That man sees people as expendable ‘programs’, things he can just have his employees create more of at-will.”

“...’that man’. Don’t you mean your—”

“He’s _ not _my father.” Haru said, icily. Mona’s hair bristled slightly at the change in her controlled, polite tone. The next moment, though, Haru was back to her controlled, civil self. “Anyways. Where’s Amamiya-kun? Is he infiltrating another area? Shouldn’t we contact him?”

“!! H-h-how did you know he’s a Phantom Thief?!” Mona gasped, jumping to his feet.

Haru smiled. “I didn’t. At least, I wasn’t sure. Not until _ now _.”

“...crap.” Mona mumbled, his ears drooping.

Haru chuckled faintly. She reached over, patting Mona’s head. “Don’t worry, Mona-chan. When we meet them properly, you don’t have to tell anyone that I tricked you. But, they don’t know you’re here, do they?”

“...Are you psychic?”

Haru shook her head, a little sadly. “I wish I was. Then maybe I would have predicted that man’s actions a long time ago. I was raised as the heir of Okumura Foods. I was trained to be observant, to ignore nothing. But I don’t know _ why _ you’re here alone. Has there been a split in the team?”

Mona, caught out, found himself divulging everything. His insecurities about his place in the team. How he wanted to prove he was valuable. His worries about the very nature of his existence. How he _ needed _ to see if another Treasure would give him more answers, make him feel more alive…

Haru found herself feeling profound sympathy for him. “You’re not that different from me, Mona-chan. Sometimes, I’m not sure if I’ve really been alive, either. I’ve just been doing everything that Kunikazu wanted. I… I want to know why. Why he’s so eager to throw me away, like this. He used to be different. So, why don’t we help each other? We keep scouting. We look for evidence. When we have something that will push the others to action, then…”

“But aren’t you on a deadline?” Mona said, uncertainly. “If we don’t change his heart before then, we…”

“We have some time, Mona-chan.” Haru said, smiling politely. She stood, as the alarms in the surrounding areas stopped. “We should get moving.”

Mona nodded. He stood, moving alongside his new ally. There was something unsettling about the smile…

Haru held her bardiche in her hands. Her hands tensed slightly on the haft.

_ ‘If it’s just me and Mona, then there’s only one person who could get between me and doing what’s necessary.’ _

>>>

September 24, 20xx 

After school, the team gathered in Ren’s attic, minus Mona. Ren frowned, glancing at the windowsill where the cat normally liked to sun himself prior to their meetings. He had gone from showing up tired to simply not showing up at all. And lately, the boxer noticed that certain items were going missing. Lockpicks, some of their first aid equipment…

_ ‘He couldn’t be going after Okumura himself. Could he…?’ _

Makoto sighed. “Let’s just start. We can fill him in later. Ren, any progress?”

Ren shook his head. “None. After our conversation on the roof, she suddenly stopped talking to me. It’s not like she runs away or ignores me, but she has this way of deflecting, of politely grinding the conversation to a halt. You can talk to her for half an hour and get nothing out of her of substance.”

“I must admit, Ren. It doesn’t make sense. From what you said, she has all but figured out that we are the Phantom Thieves.” Yusuke said. “I cannot see why she would say this to you, and then cut off contact.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “Dude! Unless she decided to report us?!”

Ann poked Ryuji’s ribs. “Don’t be an idiot, Ryuji. If she did that, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking.”

“Ah. I guess. Still. It’s weird.” Ryuji mumbled.

Ren looked at Futaba. “Did you manage to pull anything else from Sae Niijima’s files?”

“Bits and pieces.” Futaba said. “Makoto’s sister already found the connections between Kamoshida, Kobayakawa, Kaneshiro, and Madarame. She was trying to find some link between that group and Okumura, as well. Nothing but theories, though.”

Ryuji groaned. “I hate to admit it, but maybe Mona was right. Should we just scout in there? Maybe just have a look? We’re running out of options, and that ‘black mask’ is still running around.”

Ren crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. “Haru Okumura was our last lead. If anyone figures out the keywords to the Palace, text the group. For now, we’ll just go for Mementos, even if it means a lot of walking. Whenever Mona gets back from whatever he’s doing, we’ll make plans to go in to Okumura’s Palace.”

>>>

“Let’s go in.” Mona hissed, quietly. “That building looks important!”

Haru looked up at the building. It was black, like all the others. But larger, and more heavily guarded. Another train led directly from the city outskirts and into the building itself. Nothing was labelled, here. No street signs, nothing indicating the purpose of it. But Mona was right - it did look important. Programs wearing blue, red, yellow, and a few green neon outfits walked in and out.

She frowned. “It’s quite heavily guarded, Mona-chan… And didn’t you say that I haven’t fully ‘manifested’?”

Mona glanced at Haru. She still hadn’t managed to bring out her Persona in full, despite a few days of practice. There was something missing.

_ ‘Catalyst…’ _ He thought, immediately, naturally. He shook his head quickly. It was that instinctive part of his mind. The one that bothered him, that had hidden knowledge about his ultimate fate. “You haven’t. But we’ve been working well together, haven’t we? Mona and _ Beauty Thief! _”

“I told you, I’m not sold on that name.” Haru said, shaking her head. “But, fine. There isn’t really any other option. Nothing else in the middle hub seems to lead anywhere important…”

They circled around carefully, keeping to the shadows as they found a less-guarded entrance to the building. An intentionally missed slingshot bullet drew the lone guard into an alleyway; Haru swung her axe from a blind corner like an executioner, cleaving the head from the shoulders of the guard.

They moved quickly inside, unseen by any of the guards or denizens of the Palace realm.

However, they weren’t alone.

The man in the black mask stood far above them on another building. He watched with interest as the unusual pair made their way inside the seemingly important building.

_ ‘Hm.’ _ Akechi thought. _ ‘Not the entire team… And the girl seems to be new. The short one, I saw before. On the cameras in Madarame’s Palace…’ _

His trigger finger itched. His orders were clear. He was to observe the Phantom Thieves, particularly for any evidence of their identities. He was actually supposed to _ support _ them, help them get to Okumura. And then he would finish Okumura off, once the Phantom Thieves had left the area.

_ ‘Though, no one said there couldn’t be casualties.’ _ Akechi thought, with a cruel smile. He didn’t have a personal vendetta against the Phantom Thieves. But the Metaverse was _ his _ hunting ground. _ His _ place of power. These… dabblers, wielding their superficial, weak-willed justice… Leaving criminals alive.

How naive.

He drew his pistol, looking for a clear pathway to the building.

Akechi paused - he watched, amused, as a number of programs with red-orange highlights on their suits stealthily head into the building behind the two Phantom Thieves. Apparently, casualties were going to happen _ without _ his intercedence. With a little chuckle, he turned to go and scout ahead.

>>>

It was something like a bank building. Or auction house.

Haru and Mona slipped into a small office that adjoined a large warehouse, filled with various treasures and items. Each of them was tagged with a starting bid. Of more interest to Haru though was what looked like a computer in the office. She sat down in front of it, wondering if she would be able to determine the passwords for access. The screen was oddly small, as well. And blank.

“...Hm. There isn’t even a keyboard.” Haru said, gesturing at the desk.

The computer chimed.

“Biometric scan passed. Welcome, Lady Haru Okumura.”

A holographic keyboard was slowly limned into existence by the same neon light prevalent in the rest of this world. The small screen was simply a projector - multiple holographic screens appeared in the air in front of Haru.

“Oh. _ Nice _.” Mona murmured. “Is there anything that indicates what Kunikazu Okumura is up to?”

Haru frowned. “...Yes. There are multiple payments to what look like shell corporations. The money takes a circuitous route back to Okumura Foods.”

“Ah. Money laundering.” Mona said, confidently.

Haru raised an eyebrow.

“..er, Joker taught me that one.” Mona explained. “He seems to know a lot about that sort of thing.”

“Hrm. Does he, now.” Haru murmured, filing that information away for later. “There’s also multiple donations to Shujin Academy and the escalator university associated with Shujin. That in itself isn’t unusual. But the amounts are. Instead of large, showy donations, there are many smaller ones, at odd times.”

“Odd times?” Mona asked, curious.

Haru nodded. “Odd. As in, away from holidays, away from championships. During times when people are less likely to pay attention to Shujin… I think… I think he was paying someone at the school for something, and didn’t want anyone to know about it. ...And there’s an old file in here. A video file…?”

The main screen in front of them showed a modest looking apartment, and a much younger looking Kunikazu Okumura sitting at the table.

Haru gasped, a gloved hand covering her mouth. “That… that’s our old home.”

It was a place that carried special meaning to Haru. It was the last time she remembered having a happy home life.

But in this memory, Kunikazu looked stressed. He pored over papers and documents. Multiple burnt out cigarette butts were in the tray beside him, and stale coffee was in the pot. He ran a hand through his hair, still its youthful black color.

A voice that Haru only heard in her dreams interrupted Kunikazu’s work.

“Dear? What’s wrong?”

Kunikazu sighed. He gave Kurenai Okumura a weary smile as she walked into view. “Just… more of the same, Kurenai. We’re struggling. I’m worried that we won’t make ends meet, that we’ll lose everything my father and grandfather built.”

Kurenai shook her head. “Don’t worry. I still have my work at the university. And we still have each other. And Haru…”

“Ah. Yes. Of course…” Kunikazu said. He sighed again, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t know what we’ll tell her. We won’t be able to enroll her in dance class this year—”

“Don’t be silly, dear. Her favorite part of that class was going there with _ you _. Just spend a little more time with her.”

“Is it really that simple?”

Haru shut the screen off.

_ ‘Yes. It is. ...It _ ** _was_ ** _ .’ _Haru thought, bitterly. “Let’s go, Mona-chan. I don’t want to watch any more of this. Let’s see what’s in the warehouse.”

“...Right. Sure.” Mona said, uncertainly.

They started to search the adjoining warehouse.

Haru frowned. “...I recognize most of these items. This rocking horse, this belonged to my father when he was growing up. And that clock belonged to grandfather…”

Mona looked around. “Are these _ all _ from his personal life?”

“They are.” Haru said. “I think… I think it means he’s selling parts of himself away… I… I can’t believe this. It’s not just me he’s getting rid of. He’s throwing everything away just for his ambition and greed.”

“I prefer to think of it as getting full value from my efficiency consultant.” Intoned a deep voice, muffled by the sound of a respirator. A tall, armored figure stepped into the warehouse as the lights went from dim to full blast, nearly blinding the two thieves. They were surrounded.

“..._ you _.” Haru growled, clutching her bardiche.

“Yes. _ I _ am your father.” Kunikazu said. His mouth was covered by a respirator, black in color. Only the upper half of his face, pale and scarred, was visible, with golden yellow eyes. The rest of his armor was black, polished. A few deep red neon highlights.

“No.” Haru said. “I haven’t thought of you in that way for quite some time, I’ve realized. Though, I am happy to see you.”

“Oh? And why might that be?”

“Because I can give you what you deserve!” Haru snarled. “Mona-chan! Run!”

She flung her bardiche at Kunikazu. The man drew a lightsaber; a crimson flash slashed the bardiche aside. But Haru already had brought her grenade launcher to bear. She smiled grimly.

Mona, eyes wide, scrambled back. _ ‘She won’t fire. Not in an enclosed space like this. Not like this—’ _

Elsewhere in the city, Akechi paused. A distant -_ boom- _ roared. An explosion. In fact, multiple explosions.

_ ‘Hm. Casualties indeed…’ _

>>>

“Hey, kid. Can you close up? I want to go and try to convince Futaba to start school again next year.” Sojiro said, a weary smile on his face.

“Heh. Good luck with that, Boss.” Ren said. “Though, now that her uncle won’t be coming around anymore, she seems to have gotten over a little more of her agoraphobia.”

“Right.” Sojiro said. “Amazing how that happened, all of a sudden.”

Ren shrugged, non-committal. Although they hadn’t been able to go after Okumura, they did end up making _ some _ progress in Mementos. It felt good, to do that for Futaba. “Wonders will never cease, Boss.”

Sojiro laughed. “I suppose I should just be grateful for my good fortune. Anyway, thanks for closing up.”

“No problem. If I misbehave, I’d get thrown out, right?” Ren said, smirking.

Sojiro paused, at the door. He looked back over his shoulder. “...No. Not even if you misbehave, Ren.”

“...Thanks, Boss.”

“Thanks, kid.”

Ren flipped the sign ‘closed’ after Sojiro, locking the door. He smiled a bit to himself. Phantom Thief investigation issues aside, his life was going far better than he thought it would be. Beautiful girl that loved him. A surrogate father-figure. Friends that believed in him. And even Mamoru Yamanaka seemed to think that if he just kept boxing, he’d find the answer to who he really was. Violent vigilante… face-puncher with a heart of gold? Puckish rogue? 

True, some of the potential answers were frightening. But at least he had time to figure it out.

Frantic scratching at the door turned him from the stairs leading up to the attic. Mona was at the door, in a panic. Ren quickly opened it.

“Ren! Ren, hurry! There’s no time!”

>>>

When Haru came to, she was somewhat sooty. And singed. A lucky result, really, from firing indiscriminately in an enclosed space with a grenade launcher. She looked around. She was in a glass cage suspended over some kind of arena. The spotlights shining directly into the box blinded her to the details, but numerous ‘people’ wearing black suits with neon-green highlights appeared to be sitting in the stands.

Her ‘father’ appeared on a massive holograph screen, with the ever-present respirator.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. ...Well. Just _ gentlemen, _it seems.”

There was laughter in the audience.

“Welcome. Welcome to the Okumura Spaceport Auction. As you can see, today is a very special day, with a very special item. My very own treacherous daughter, Lady Haru Okumura.”

Haru stood up. “What?! You piece of—”

“Do not mind her mouth. I am certain that with a firm hand, gentlemen of _ your _ caliber can tame her quite readily. Please key in your opening bids… ...Oh. I’m told we have a few more special guests.”

The spotlights decreased in intensity, several of them aiming down at the arena floor instead.

One of the walls to the arena crumbled in a matter of seconds, cursed fire weakening it, and a gust of wind finishing the job. Two figures in black dashed in - one tall, broad-shouldered in a Victorian-era gentleman thief’s outfit. The other, Mona.

Haru recognized Mona’s partner from the cat-bandit’s description. It was Ren Amamiya, or Joker.

Despite her precarious situation, she found herself compelled. Not by his handsome looks, or the reckless little smile he had on his face as he fought. Rather, it was the fluidity of motion. The way he wielded blade and gun and multiple Personas with little effort or hesitation.

The way he killed with the compunction of a wolf slaughtering a deer. That is to say - _ none _.

“Mona! Is that her?!”

“It is! Can you get her down?”

Ren drew a bead on the glass cage, aiming his twin pistols. He swore. “I can’t guarantee I won’t hit her, at this range!” He dropped into a kneeling position as two guards threw their discs at him - the razor sharp neon rings cut into each other, leaving four smoking halves on the ground. Ren raised both arms, firing in opposite directions and killing them both.

Mona summoned Zorro. The two shared a moment of unspoken communication, before Zorro skewered another guard on his rapier, while Mona cut his legs off at the knees. “I can’t reach either! Zorro can’t do it!”

Laughter, and a choking wheeze interrupted the fight.

Ren looked up at the holoscreen with Shadow Kunikazu.

“Ah. The famous Phantom Thieves.”

Haru was on her knees in the glass cage, turning blue.

“Now that I have your attention…” He tapped a button off-screen. Air rushed back into the glass cage that Haru was held in, high above the arena floor. “This is rather uncivilized, is it not? Would you gentlemen like to join the auction? The starting bid is one-hundred million yen.”

Ren and Mona exchanged glances.

“Ah. I’ll take your silence as an admission of _ poverty _. Then, let’s make this interesting. You will fight… The winning bidder. Sugimura-san, if you will.”

The cognitive form of Hisahito Sugimura leapt to the arena floor, wielding two neon-green light discs. He didn’t wear the same face-shield as the other programs, allowing the two thieves to see his cruel smile and lifeless eyes.

“Do you agree? If you win, I’ll allow all three of you to go. I’ll even allow a two on one battle, provided you follow my other rules.”

“What other rules?” Mona asked, warily.

“Nothing onerous. You will simply fight only in the arena space. All weapons and Personas are allowed.” Kunikazu said, nonchalant.

Haru tried to pound on the glass. But apparently, it could be made soundproof at the touch of a button as well. Kunikazu wasn’t lying. But he wasn’t telling them everything, either.

Mona, feeling responsible for the current situation, pointed a paw at the screen. “We agree to your terms!.. ...Joker? What’s bothering you?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m just trying to figure this out.” Joker said, frowning.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is all mixed up. Is it a _ Tron _ reference, or _ Star Wars _? I mean, the respirator, the suit. The neon. This place is a complete mess of sci-fi references.”

“Is that really important right now?!”

“Well, if we don’t discuss it now, we’ll never know. Hey! Lord Okumura! Is there a reason why your Palace doesn’t reference the _ real _ movies? You know, the remake and the prequels? _ Tron Legacy _, and episodes one through three? You seem like a JarJar kinda guy.”

“...._ Insolence!” _

“...Yeah, fair enough. That might have been going a bit far. Oops!”

Ren backstepped, narrowly dodging a green disc. He dodged the other one, starting to dash at Hisahito. His blades snapped out. As he started his assault, his ear registered an unusual sound.

The rebounding discs cut into Ren’s flank and his left arm, sending him from a dash into a tumbling fall.

“! Joker!” Mona shouted, casting a healing spell. He flinched as their opponent ran at him. A disc was thrown both at him, and away from the cat-bandit.

Mona dodged the first one. He immediately threw himself onto his stomach to avoid the rebound from behind.

The other disc seemingly flew into the air above Mona harmlessly - until it struck a floating platform, clear, and nigh-invisible. The disc rebounded, nearly splitting Mona’s head in half.

“Tch. Missed.” Hisahito sneered.

A red laser target was suddenly ‘painted’ onto Hisahito’s chest. The cognitive Sugimura’s eyes widened, immediately flipping back from Mona, moving in rapid serpentine toward Ren.

The black dragon behind Joker roared.

Ren took aim, firing with both pistols. One-shot kill struck true, the shots taking the man through his chest. Joker approached, standing over the man as he slumped to his knees. He aimed both pistols, finishing him with a shot through the chest, and another through the forehead.

Ren looked up at the holoscreen. “That’s it, then. Let her go. That’s the deal, right?”

Kunikazu laughed. “...I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “I just walked _ right _ into that one.”

Green discs opened up gaping wounds on Ren’s thighs, sending blood spraying and the Phantom Thief staggering back.

Hisahito stood, seemingly none the worse for wear. He smiled coldly. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Haru could do nothing but watch as Ren and Mona were gradually cut to ribbons by Hisahito. It was so clear, from where she was standing. Hisahito was just the puppet. The real opponent was in the stands - Hisamoto. The man pulling the strings of his son. That was why Kunikazu had been so insistent on the rules. It didn’t make sense. Everything she dug up about Ren told her that he was at least calculating enough to suspect a trap. And yet, he walked in so casually. So recklessly.

It dawned on her.

It was because he _ knew _.

As if on cue, Ren glared at Kunikazu. His words, though, were for Haru. “The game’s rigged, Okumura! How are we supposed to win?!”

Kunikazu just laughed.

Haru smiled. The answer was clear. Her eyes flashed golden yellow.

_ ‘Cheat.’ _

_ ‘...Ah. It’s finally time, is it? The Trickster is near. _

_ Let us be done with it, my dear _

_ You are more than ready for my power _

_ I am thou _

_ Thou art I _

_ Remember that treachery is only called as such by the defeated _

_ For the victors, it is merely cunning _

_ Call my name!’ _

“I hear you… Milady!”

Ren smiled slowly. _ ‘ _ ** _There_ ** _ she is. Heh. Ann’s not even here to be mad at the gamble.’ _

Mona’s eyes weren’t on Haru. Not even as the front of Milady’s petticoat opened, revealing a collection of cannons, gatling guns, and mortars. Not even as Haru _ shattered _the glass box with her power, landing adroitly on the arena floor. He was instead, looking at Joker.

_ ‘It’s him. It’s always been him. ...Even Zorro was dormant, until I met him.’ _Mona remembered, with sudden clarity.

Mona’s vision was suddenly obscured by a wall of cursed fire - a large piece of debris crumbled into dust in front of him. The fire vanished, as Ren charged over, kneeling beside the cat-bandit. Arsene curled his wings around the two as Haru laid waste to the arena with the power of her Awakening.

Milady fired indiscriminately into the crowd of watching programs. One of the explosions finally caught Okumura’s cognition of Hisamoto, causing the game to be over. But Haru wasn’t done.

“I’m going to eradicate every last _ brick _ of this place!” Haru shouted, firing her Milkor grenade launcher alongside Milady’s barrage. “I will _ not _ be sold! I will _ not _ obey!”

Eventually, she stopped. The arena around them had been levelled, showing only a long highway that seemed to be heading toward the next hub of the Palace.

“...Holy.” Ren muttered, shaking his head. “...Welcome to the team… …”

Ren glanced at Mona, raising an eyebrow. He jerked his head at Haru.

“Ah. She’s Beauty Thief.”

“...are you serious? Like, _ actually _? What does she do? Steal cosmetics? Or were you trying to do a word play off ‘Booty Thief’? She’s not even a pirate, and her pants aren’t tight—”

“Noir.” Haru said, kneeling out of tiredness. “Call me Noir.”

Ren glanced at her outfit. The Dumas-esque outfit. “...It suits you.”

He stepped over, offering a hand. “Let’s get out of here. The Awakening will tire you out.”

Ren looked over at Mona as Haru accepted the help, putting her hand on Ren’s shoulder for support. The boxer’s grey eyes, normally so warm with his friends, seemed cold and flat as he regarded the cat-bandit.

“Besides. We have a _ lot _ to talk about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot going on. Have patience - some things are happening for a reason. Well, most things.
> 
> Haru's relationship with her father is... complicated. Very complicated. Growing up with mixed messages is a confused mess, something a lot of us experience. With Haru, she's spent her entire life being groomed to inherit. And yet, as soon she she reached marrying age, she was told to basically hand the keys over to a deviant.
> 
> And on top of that, Sugimura the younger isn't even the real problem. He's basically the same as Haru - just that he's okay with being used, because his desires are (were) simple. I'm not apologizing for him. He's still a horrible, cruel, ugly person. Just that his father is probably worse. That's why I wrote him as having his heart stolen in Mementos. It bothered me that during the November event aftermath, he was seen in the car with Haru. 
> 
> More notes if I think of them. It's getting late. Got some good stuff planned/outlined for chapter 30. More shameless references and fun :P
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	30. Reach Advantage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _In striking martial arts, a fighter’s reach can play a large role in how a fight plays out. In ‘Predictors of Victory and Injury in Mixed Martial Arts Combat’ (Estelami 2014), the researchers demonstrated that fighters with a larger reach are more likely to win. This finding was statistically significant and based on data collected from 1,178 fights between 2003-2010._
> 
> _However, reach isn’t everything - while a fighter with long reach can plan to enjoy a distance advantage and hope to keep a shorter fighter at bay, Mike Tyson, a relatively short heavyweight champion, said it best:_
> 
> _“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another 'Tale of the Tape' profile at the end. Bear in mind, these are written OOC just for kicks. They don't actually exist within the GtD world as published articles.

September 24, 20xx 

Ann sat on the mostly empty train to Yongen-Jaya, glancing repeatedly at her phone. Both at the time, and the last texts she received on the Phantom Thieves group message. It felt like every single stop on the way was taking an eternity; she nearly threw her bag at a girl who held the door open, delaying the train so that her friend could get on as well.

With a shiver, she recalled the last time she felt this way while going to see Ren - May 5th, Children’s Day.

She looked at her phone, reading the exchange of texts that had set her stress level to 11.

**RA: Going to Okumura’s Palace. No time to meet up. Haru Okumura captured in the Metaverse. Mona was exploring the Palace without us and took Haru with him. Need to go NOW, according to Mona. Will text if we make it out.**

**RS: what?! Bro! what are the keywords?! we’ll come with you!**

**MN: Ren? What are you talking about? You need to wait for us!**

**YK: Ren, Makoto is correct. Please, wait.**

**FS: I’m literally down the street— oh shit, Sojiro caught me trying to sneak out**

**RA: I’ve got this. No time. Just wait for word.**

Ann didn’t text. She called.

_ ‘We’re sorry. The number you have called is not in service. Please check the number, and try again.’ _

It was the message they received any time they tried to call someone who was in the Metaverse. He was already in. Time had crawled by as she waited in her apartment. Ann tried everything to keep her mind off of it. Television. Gaming on her 3DS. She even tried studying, all to no avail. She tried telling herself that of all of the Phantom Thieves, he was the most well-equipped to handle things with minimal backup. But she only felt like she could breathe again when her phone chimed.

**RA: We’re out. Meeting at my place for anyone who can make it.**

And so Ann was on the late train to Yongen. The train pulled to a stop at the station. Ann sprang up from her seat. She was anxious to get there for a few reasons.

First, she wanted to tear a strip out of Mona, figuratively. Second, she wanted to make sure Ren didn’t tear a strip out of Mona, literally. And third…

She glanced at her phone again. In her eyes, only one message really stood out.

**...Will text ** ** _if_ ** ** we make it out.**

_ ‘I’m going to kill him. I’m going to hug him, kiss him, and then kill him.’ _ Ann thought balefully. Her sneakers tapped lightly on the pavement as she ran the short distance to Leblanc, ready to separate Ren from Mona. Ready for anything.

Anything except for a politely smiling Ren, standing behind the bar of the coffee shop. The lights were on; the sign was flipped to ‘Closed’. Spotting her outside the window, Ren waved her in. Blinking, the blonde girl pushed the door open, walking in. Seated at the bar was Haru Okumura; the girl was sipping a cup of coffee. In the chair beside her, Mona, looked nervously at Ann. If cats could sweat, he’d be drenched.

“Hey, Songbird. We’ll start when everyone arrives.” Ren said. He looked at Haru. “So? What do you think?”

“You know, you’re right. Decaf does have a bit more of an acidic flavor.” Haru said, frowning thoughtfully. “Isn’t it because Robusta beans are used, rather than Arabica?”

“That’s right.” Ren said with an approving nod. “You know, Sojiro would probably like to meet you…”

As the two chatted, Ann took a seat beside Mona. She scrutinized Ren carefully. He looked… _ wrong. _Like he was wearing a mask. The smile he wore wasn’t the one she loved; it wasn’t the one that always made her heart skip a beat when it was directed at her. It seemed like it was lacking something. Like the decaf coffee he pushed toward her.

Ren excused himself to use the restroom.

Ann spoke lowly to Mona. “What did you _ do _?!”

“I… I went into Okumura’s Palace behind everyone’s back. I ran into Haru there, and—”

“No!” Ann hissed. “What did you do to _ him!?” _

“I don’t know!” Mona moaned. “I told him everything, why I went behind the team’s back, why I dragged Haru into danger. I thought he was going to yell at me, or lecture me. I was relieved at first when he just started making coffee. But this is worse. It’s _ way _ worse. It’s like sitting on top of a bomb that may or may not be a dud! Maybe this is his way of punishing me…”

Ann shook her head. “It isn’t. This is something else.”

She didn’t have time to consider what else it could be; the others arrived and everyone headed upstairs.

Ren leaned against the wall beside his bed. As everyone found a seat, he gestured at Mona.

“Go on, Mona. Tell them what you told me.”

Mona closed his eyes, his tail twitching. He sighed. “Well…”

Haru gave him an encouraging scratch on the back of his neck. “Go on, Mona-chan. I told you. They’ll understand, if you tell the truth.”

“The truth is… Well. I’m not sure I’m human.” Mona began. “I’m not even sure if I’m really _ alive _.”

“...What?!” Ryuji said, his level of concern surprising. “Are you sick?! Shouldn’t we call a doctor, or a vet?”

Mona blinked. “...No. No, it’s not that kind of alive I’m talking about, Ryuji.”

“...Oh. Okay. Good.” Ryuji said, awkwardly. He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt that the way he and Mona sniped at each other was almost _ brotherly _. He would have missed the little guy.

Mona’s tail twitched. “It’s hard to explain. But I’ll try. As you all know, I’m no closer to really becoming human, or discovering where I’m from. I haven’t regained any real _ memories _. But I get these feelings.”

“Isn’t that a good thing, Mona?” Ann asked, frowning. “I mean, it’s not the same as knowing for sure, but…”

Mona shook his head. “They’re… ...they’re weird feelings. The best way I can sum it up is that every time we get a new member, or every time someone gets their Second Awakening… or most of all, when Ren shows more control over his abilities, it feels like we’re getting closer to finishing something. It feels like _ I’m _ closer to finishing something. And it’s like I have this premonition that whatever it is, that’s it. There’s nothing else. ...It’s… it’s like I’m just a ghost with unfinished business. And once it’s finished, I’ll…”

Silence hung in the air. While Mona didn’t finish the sentence, the implication was clear.

Futaba bit her lip for a moment, before reaching out and impulsively cuddling the not-a-cat.

He was upset enough that he didn’t protest, instead just allowing the girl to hold him. “So… I didn’t want that. I don’t want to disappear. And the closest I ever get to feeling human, I think, is when we get close to a Treasure. I wanted to see if I could hold onto that feeling longer, if that made a difference. So I went against all of you. I went into Okumura’s Palace to see if I could find answers. I don’t want to accept that the only reason I’m here is to watch all of you grow together, only for me to disappear.”

He gently separated himself from Futaba, standing on the card table again. Mona raised his head, seeming to strike a determined pose. “So… I’ve decided that we should split up. I can’t let myself be restricted by the rules we’ve set. I have to go on, on my own.”

Makoto shook her head. “Just how far do you think you’ll get on your own, Mona? You endangered both yourself and Okumura-san, and ended up getting Ren for help, anyway.”

“That’s why I have to be on my own!” Mona said. “If my only reason to go in is that selfish, then—”

Yusuke smiled slightly. “Morgana, all of us have our own reasons for being Phantom Thieves. We all risk our lives for each other, and those reasons. Why should you be any different? I’m here to broaden my perspective and to help those who were as blind as I was.”

Haru smiled gently at Mona. “That also isn’t the full truth behind your ‘selfish reason’, Mona-chan. Why don’t you tell them?”

Mona hesitated. He looked around the table. The cat-bandit didn’t see any of the judgement he was worried about; only concerned looks. While he wasn’t sure if he was human or not - or even truly alive - when he looked at the assembled friends… Rather, _ his _ assembled friends, there was something else, other than the feeling of completing a task.

There was warmth.

“I… ....I don’t want to disappear, because I want to be with all of you! You’re… you’re like a family, and I want to be part of it!”

Ann laughed softly. She reached over, lightly bopping the top of Mona’s head with her knuckle. “You already are, silly.”

Ryuji grinned. “Yeah. So… can we say we’re back on the same page, then?”

Makoto glanced at Ren, who still stood in silence, a little apart from the group. “Ren?”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves had been fairly quiet through the meeting. The rest turned to him, curious. Normally, he would have been among the first to offer support to a member of the team. He spoke up, nodding.

“It seems to me that we now have two reasons to infiltrate Okumura’s Palace. Answers for Mona, and… Well, Okumura-senpai? Will you tell everyone your part in this?”

Haru nodded. Surprisingly composed, she explained. Her confrontation with her father upon returning from Hawaii, and then again after sports day. How changing Hisahito’s heart in Mementos only served to escalate the situation. How she was now still under contract to not only marry Hisahito, but to forcibly join the Sugimura household.

Futaba frowned. “I don’t get it. If that Hisahito guy doesn’t want to get married anymore and his heart’s changed, then why is this still an issue?”

“It’s his father, Hisamoto. And also Kunikazu Okumura.” Haru said, shaking her head. “To both of them, the people around them are just tools to be used. Before, Hisahito was a _ willing _ participant. Now, his own father is likely coercing him through threats and violence, much like Kunikazu does with me.”

“...So they’ll force you two to marry, just for a business and political alliance?” Ryuji breathed. “That’s _ fucked _. It’s like some medieval drama…”

“Essentially.” Haru said. “It seems like that man and Hisamoto care for nothing other than their own ambitions. I won’t have it. Fully Awakening to Milady showed me. I will_ not _ accept the life that Kunikazu Okumura has laid out for me. He throws ‘family duty’ in my face. He’s not my family. Not anymore. My mother wanted something different for me.”

Haru paused. She sighed, her eyes drifting to the floor in shame. While she no longer felt like Kunikazu was much of a father, she still considered herself an Okumura.

“And honestly, while this was the breaking point for me, I would be lying if I said this was a sudden thing. Kunikazu Okumura is getting worse, and so is Okumura Foods. He doesn’t include me in discussion of the family business anymore, but I can tell you that the rumors regarding the company’s treatment of employees is true. And I think my father is at the root of it.”

Ren nodded. “Then, let’s take a vote. All for going after Kunikazu Okumura?”

Everyone, save Haru and Mona, raised their hands. Neither of them were sure if they were included.

Ren looked at them both. He smirked slightly. “Are you two abstaining, hesitating, or just declaring that you really don’t want in?”

Haru blinked. She then smiled slightly, raising her hand. Mona raised his paw.

“It’s unanimous, then.” Ren said, nodding. “It’s also been a long day. We’ve all been to the Metaverse in one shape or form. Let’s rest up tonight, meet again tomorrow. We’ll try to lay out everything we know about the Palace and figure out what preparations we need to make before we go in. We have until October 9th - there’s time.”

They all stood. Yusuke and Futaba made their way downstairs, with Futaba peppering Yusuke with questions about his pet lobsters, and Ryuji bothering Haru about her weapons.

“Seriously!? A grenade launcher?!” Ryuji asked, eyes wide. “Can I see?!”

Haru nodded. She reached into her bag, taking out the replica weapon while they were still in Leblanc.

Ryuji was almost in tears, holding the Milkor MGL in his hands. “...And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer…”

Ren blinked. “Wow. You’ve really been studying.”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “He has. But that isn’t from a book. That’s a quote from _ Die Hard _. Come on, Ryuji. Let’s go.”

“Hold on, Makoto. I know I was going to walk you home, but this is a _ Milkor MGL _ . A grenade launcher! Do you know how _ awesome _ I can make this?! Haru, you and I should—”

Ren casually elbowed Ryuji.

Ryuji looked at Ren curiously, who subsequently nodded his head at Makoto.

The student council president had her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed. Futaba filled in for Shiho, furtively taking a picture of the student council president’s jealous pout.

“...Er, I mean, you and I should talk about this. Tomorrow.” Ryuji said, regretfully handing the grenade launcher back. He gave Ren a grateful look.

Ren chuckled as his friends left Leblanc. He looked at Ann. “The struggles of almost-dating an otaku, right?”

Ann scoffed. “You’re one to talk. The last time you spoke with Yamanaka-san, I thought I was going to have to spray you down with a fire hose. Walk me home?”

“I was just about to ask if I could, Songbird.” Ren said, smiling. He headed for the door but paused as Mona spoke up.

“H-hey. Ren. You didn’t say much during the meeting. We’re… we’re good, right?”

“Your vote counted, didn’t it?” Ren replied. He patted Mona’s head. “Don’t wait up.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Presumptuous much, Wildcard?”

Ren just chuckled, holding open the door. “We should just be able to catch the last train, if we hurry. I was thinking, tomorrow…”

Ann nodded along. She listened and participated in the small talk, but as she observed prior to the meeting upstairs, something was wrong. He was still wearing the mask.

>>>

“So, ‘My Lady’ is a weird name.” Ann said, referring to Haru’s Persona. She unlocked the door to her apartment as both she and Ren entered. She kicked off her sneakers, plopping down on the plush sofa.

“I think it’s one word. Milady, probably referring to Milady de Winter from _ The Three Musketeers _ .” Ren said, taking his shoes and jacket off before joining her. “Another _ femme fatale _, though a bit different from Carmen.”

“How so?”

“Carmen was a fiery, passionate woman. Capricious, but she still loved. Milady de Winter was treacherous and unrepentant. I don’t think she ever truly cared for _ anyone. _ The way Dumas wrote her, she could light a man’s heart on fire, seduce him, and then put a knife in his back during the afterglow. She’d betray anyone if it meant fulfilling her personal goals.” Ren said. He shrugged. “She was a more interesting villain than Cardinal Richelieu, I think. Carried the entire second half of the novel.”

Ann stared at Ren for a long moment. Ren shrugged, smiling.

“...What? You know I study and read a lot.”

“It’s not that, Ren.” Ann said. She shook her head, looking up at him. Their trip to Hiroo had mostly been small talk; she hadn’t wanted to get into this until they were in private. “When are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“What makes you think something’s bothering me?” Ren asked, his face carefully composed.

“It’s your smile, your eyes, and your body language.”

Ren gave her a little smirk, meeting her gaze directly with those intoxicating silver-grey eyes. He leaned a little closer to her. “It’s nice to know how closely you watch me, Songbird.”

Ann wasn’t in the mood for games. Even if she was worried about her boyfriend, she was still annoyed at him for the way he had thrown himself into the Metaverse without her. 

“It’s almost exactly the same as it was in the days leading up to Children’s Day.”

Ren tensed up. His mask broke; he turned to face forward again, sinking back into the sofa. “Jesus. Right for the knockout punch, Ann...”

Ann turned towards him; she took his hand, squeezing gently to let him know it was a hard blow out of concern, not out of spite. She wanted to get past his smirking facade, beneath the mask. “It’s strange, though. I thought you’d be angry at Mona. Like how you were at Mishima and Yusuke.”

Ren frowned. “They weren’t my friends at the time, Ann. This is different. Mona’s a friend, a close one. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel betrayed. But at the end of the day, no harm was done. He apologized, and I really do want to help him.”

“Then, what’s wrong…?” Ann asked. She sidled closer to him, sensing his hesitation. She rested her head on his shoulder, still holding his hand. “You barely looked at him on the way out of Leblanc.”

“It just made me think back to how things went down after my conviction.” Ren said. “The way that the people I depended on disappeared on me. You know, it wasn’t sudden, for most of them. After I got out of juvie and the terms of my probation were set, people just started to fade away. Daily texting turned into weekly, weekly turned into nothing.”

“That’s awful.” Ann murmured. She turned into him, letting go of his hand to instead hug him.

“I survived by getting angry.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I thought, ‘if they think I’ll just wither and vanish, I’ll show them’. It was simple. They abandoned me, so I convinced myself they were awful people. I didn’t need people who’d break faith. It was only when Reiko ghosted, that I started to feel numb. Or that I _ wanted _ to feel numb…”

“Morgana… Morgana did what he did because he had to. We can criticize him and say that he should have told us, but I have firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to face mortality. Both on that roof with Shiho, and then in the attic. It’s not an easy thing. I can understand why he went behind my back. So… I think what’s bothering me right now is that I’m questioning _ everything _ . Yamanaka-san said I’m too focused - what if I just blindly chose to make everyone an opponent? Did my friends in Kamakura really heartlessly abandon me? Were they pressured, just like Reiko? Am I an awful person for just assuming the worst? What if _ I’m _ the one that decided to drop them? I’m the common denominator, between them and Mona. What if I’m the one pushing people--”

“Ssh…” Ann murmured. She kissed his cheek softly. “Just listen, for a second: Yes. No. Maybe.”

Ren raised an eyebrow, a little cynical smile quirking his lips. “Yeah, Songbird. Those are the options.”

“I said just listen.” Ann said, frowning. “You’re lucky your mouth is as pretty as it is smart--”

“Kaa-chan said the same thing.”

“Don’t compare the things that your girlfriend and mother say. Even if they get along. It either gets creepy or weird. And stop trying to change the subject.” Ann said, shaking her head. “Look. I don’t know any of your friends in your hometown. But I know _ you _ . Right down to your bones, Ren Amamiya. I know the kind of people you’d call friends. I mean… even _ I _ couldn’t hate Rei-chan, even though I was desperately jealous. Hell… We even still text each other.”

“...Really? What do you talk about--” Ren started to ask, suspicious.

“The point is, Wildcard. I can bet that most of your friends in Kamakura didn’t just heartlessly abandon you.”

“...Yeah.” Ren said. “Which means I’m…”

She lightly tapped his cheek with her open palm, in a pantomime of a slap. “Don’t start with that, either. They didn’t just abandon you, but it’s a two-way street. Just like Reiko, even though there was pressure, they had to decide. Fine. Maybe part of it was you becoming harder, angrier, less likely to reach out. But that doesn’t make you a bad person. And even if you believe you pushed Mona away, who did he come running to for help? Who did he _ believe _ in?”

Ren just nodded, slowly.

Ann smiled. “We all believe in you, like that.”

“...That’s a lot of faith to put in a convict, Songbird.”

Ann shook her head. She shifted again, basically sitting in his lap, her arms draped over his shoulders.

“You can call yourself whatever you want. Convict. Kamakura Killer.” She raised an eyebrow, affecting that terrible Kansai accent from the school co-op. “But ya got no hope of foolin’ me, ya dimwit.”

Ren scowled. “O’yeah? Whyssat?”

Ann smiled softly, the expression breaking through her over-exaggerated _ yankii _ sneer like a beam of sunlight on a rainy day. “Because no matter what you call yourself, Wildcard… I’ll always see _ you _. Just you.”

Instead of poking his nose with her finger, she leaned in, delicately kissing the tip of his nose.

Ren blinked. For once, he blushed.

Ann smiled, stroking his cheek. “You’re so funny. You’re such a flirt with me, but when it comes to actual romance and tender moments… You blush like the protagonist in those manga that you like to read.”

“That _ Kana-chan _ likes to read.” Ren said.

Ann rolled her eyes. She then leaned away, frowning as Ren moved in for a proper kiss. “Not so fast.”

“..What?”

The blonde pulled her phone out, scrolling to his text from earlier.

“‘Will text if we make it out.’” Ann read aloud, glaring at Ren.

“...Well, I wasn’t sure what we were walking into.”

_ “If _ we make it out.” Ann repeated.

“...Statistically speaking, death could be around the corner every time we cross the street…?”

_ “If.” _

“Sorry…?”

Ann shook her head. “I’m _ really _ bad at being ‘the girl back home’ who sits there and worries about her boy, Wildcard. I’m not meant to be waiting here for news. I’m meant to be by your side, kicking ass and lighting you on fire.”

“You mean lighting our enemies on fire.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said!”

“No, you distinctly said--”

“_ Anyway _ .” Ann said, lightly jabbing her index finger against Ren’s sternum. “Do _ not _ do that again.”

“...Right. Sorry, Songbird.” He sighed, before smirking slightly. “Can I make it up to you?”

Ann raised an eyebrow. She knew that look. “How are you going to do that-- Actually, better question. Don’t you think your hand on my ass is more rewarding _ yourself _than making anything up to me?”

“Give it time.” Ren said. His smirk widened into a grin as he pulled her body flush against his. 

Ann shifted from a sit to a straddle, taking off Ren’s glasses as a little smile started to spread across her face. 

“Mm… Fine.”

>>>

September 25, 20xx 

“Come on, you little gremlin.” Ren said, laughing. “You’re the one who said you wanted to come along to Akihabara.”

Futaba peered around a mailbox suspiciously at the large crowds ahead of them. Her eyes were wide, flitting back and forth; she took out her phone to reference something. “There’s _ way _ more people than the walkthrough hinted at! Even if they’re just NPCs!”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “...Walkthrough?”

Ann caught up to Futaba, standing at her side. She glanced down at the phone and tried not to laugh. “She’s literally just reading Yelp. And TripAdvisor.”

“Didn’t you say you’d be fine with ‘three key items’?” Ren asked, indicating himself, Haru, and Ann. The four of them had gone to Akihabara following the Phantom Thieves meeting to pick up some necessary equipment for the infiltration. The others had gone to Shibuya to do the same.

“I thought so. But it backfired.” Futaba said, grumbling. The sight of both Ann and Ren together tended to draw more than casual glances, especially when someone recognized the blonde girl from her work.

“Hm. What if I let you hang onto me?” Ann asked, smiling.

Futaba made an uncertain noise.

“...What if I let you hang onto me while you use the wheels in your shoes?”

“! Awesome!”

Ren rolled his eyes as Futaba rolled on her Heely shoes, clinging to Ann’s right elbow as the blonde girl walked along. “You know, you’re spoiling her.”

“You’re just jealous.” Futaba said, grinning.

“Am not.” Ren replied.

Ann just held out her other hand to him, smirking.

Ren hesitated defiantly. For a second. He wordlessly took it, walking along with her.

Haru chuckled. “You three look like a family.”

Ann blinked. “Ah! Sorry, Okumura-senpai. We just…”

Futaba snickered. “Wait until you see them in the Metaverse.”

Ren gained a self-satisfied smirk, and Ann turned a shade of red.

“Anyway, please. No need for formality; I don’t want to be treated any differently from the rest of the team.” Haru said, smiling.

“Oh. Haru-chan, then!” Ann said, nodding. She looked up as they came to a stop in front of an electronics store. “Is this the place, Futaba-chan?”

The orange-haired girl nodded. “We should be able to find what we need here. We’re looking for a GoPro Camera, a wireless video transmitter, some upgrades to our radios, and a few other things.”

Haru leaned over, looking at Futaba’s phone. “...Hm. If we buy all of these at once, people might wonder why highschool students would need surveillance and communication equipment of this nature. We should divide the list.”

The heiress took out her phone, 

They did so, and split up. Ren and Futaba were left alone by Ann and Haru.

Futaba watched Haru go. “...Hm. She’s pretty high-level, isn’t she?”

Ren nodded. “She knows how to deconstruct a threat, certainly.”

The boxer wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. Haru Okumura was highly educated, polite, and well-spoken. She also appeared to be quite kind, getting along well with the team. But there was an undercurrent there. The girl was highly observant, first of all. During the meeting, she had efficiently and concisely listed off everything she and Mona discovered during their own infiltration - the way the Palace was organized, the nature of the defenses, and the seeming direction of where the Treasure was. Nothing seemed to really escape her, despite the chaos of her capture and subsequent rescue. Because of her observations, they had been able to create a ‘shopping list’ of equipment that included a camera-rig for Mona’s makeshift flight apparatus, more secure radios to prevent the technologically sophisticated enemy from listening in, and gear to protect against the attacks she had seen.

Moreover, as Ren had seen in their conversation on the roof, Haru seemed to be quite patient, even calculating - she listed off the known attributes of Okumura’s Palace, and then simply _ waited _. It seemed like she wanted to evaluate how the group would handle the intel, see who volunteered which suggestions, where people stood in the group dynamic.

Ren paused, glancing over at the cameras. “Hey, Futaba. Isn’t this what we need? ...Futaba?”

Ren turned. She was nowhere to be found. His phone rang.

“Futaba? Where did you get to?”

“I got distracted by Steelbook editions!” She hissed. “Help me! I’m surrounded by _ otaku _!”

“But _ you’re _ an otaku.”

“I know! That’s how I know how dangerous this is!”

“...Come on. Really? You sound fine--”

“I’m a short, cute, orange-haired gamer girl in the video game section without an obvious male escort!”

“...I’ll be right there. Scream if you have to.” Ren said. He gave his phone a cursory glance as it buzzed with a text message to the Phantom Thieves’ group text.

**MN: We’re just about done in Shibuya. Are we still on to meet at the place?**

>>>

**HO: I think so, Mako-chan. I’m not sure where Ren-kun and Futaba-chan have gone to...**

**MN: ‘Mako-chan’?**

**HO: Ah, sorry! I thoughtlessly texted that, Niijima-san…**

**MN: No, it’s fine. Please.**

**HO: Then you should all call me Haru!**

Makoto looked up from her phone as Ryuji negotiated with Iwai in _ Untouchable. _She, Mona, Yusuke, and Ryuji had been assigned to pick things up from Shibuya. She stood near the door, while Yusuke packed some of their purchased gear into bags, Mona on his shoulder.

“Come on, boss. I’m not being unreasonable, here. I just need the reflex sight and the extended barrel mod for the MGL. It’s not like it’s an in-demand weapon. No one uses one at ASOBIBA, and I know for a _ fact _ that these have been collecting dust for _ years! _And look at all the other stuff I’m buying!”

Iwai scoffed. “Please. If I sell these to you at your employee discount, then I’d be _ losing _ money on these, Ryuji.”

“You’re not making _ any _ money if they just sit there, boss. And, like you said. I have an employee discount, and I should be able to use it.” Ryuji replied, grinning.

“I’m your _ boss _. I get to decide when and if the discount applies. Give me one good reason why I should just hand these over.”

Ryuji glanced back at Makoto. He then whispered conspiratorially to Iwai. “It’s… it’s a gift. For _ her _, you know?”

Iwai raised an eyebrow. “...A gift. You’re buying modifications to multiple airsoft weapons for a _ girl _ . As a _ gift _.”

“She likes guns.” Ryuji said, shrugging.

Iwai looked skeptical. “I don’t know what to be more suspicious of. The fact that you’re dating a girl who likes guns enough to accept that as a suitable gift, or the fact that you’re dating a girl, period.”

Ryuji looked over at Makoto. They could afford to buy everything without the discount, but it would zero their ‘war chest’. And the memory of spending 100,000 yen on the Holy Stone was still fresh on the blonde boy’s mind, even if the money had long since been refunded by Chihaya. He decided to gamble. They were basically dating anyway, right? Even if they hadn’t had the talk. Or _ really _ confessed.

“M..Mako-chan. Come over here for a sec, will ya?”

Makoto blinked, looking at Ryuji. Her eyes were wide with confusion and surprise. Her reaction was luckily hidden from Iwai due to her body position.

Ryuji’s message was plain for Makoto to see: ‘_ Help me out, here!’ _

Makoto ignored the heat on her face, and the interested looks of both Mona and Yusuke. The student council president approached, taking hold of Ryuji’s arm. “Yes, _ honey _…?”

“Aheh…” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. “Is this the one you wanted?”

Makoto peered down at the components. “Yes. The reflex sight for the Milkor MGL and the extended barrel. That’s right… ...dear.”

Iwai stared at the two, dumbfounded. “...Huh. Well. I’ll be damned. I’ll uh, ring you up.”

They left _ Untouchable. _Once outside, Makoto quickly let go of Ryuji’s arm, her face still burning.

“Heh. ...Uh, sorry, Makoto.” Ryuji said, sheepishly. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s fine.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “I mean, it’s not like we haven’t--”

“Ah. Mako-chan, you left your phone on the counter.” Yusuke said, following the two out with Mona still perched on his shoulder.

There was a shocked silence as the group stared at Yusuke.

“...Is this not your phone?” Yusuke asked, his face placid.

“What did you just call me…?” Makoto asked, eyes wide.

“Oh. My apologies. It’s what Shiho calls you, and Okumura-san also, in the text. And apparently, Ren and Futaba.” Yusuke said, frowning. “I assumed I had missed something.”

Makoto snatched her phone from Yusuke, reading the texts that followed.

**HO: Then you should all call me Haru!**

**RA: Found Futaba. Sounds good. Haru and ** ** _Mako-chan_ **

**FS: Yep! We’ll all be besties forever, ** ** _MakoMako-chan_ **

**RA: Bestest friendsest foreverest, ** ** _Mako-chan_ **

**FS: ** ** _Mako-chan_ ** ** 4 life**

Makoto’s eye twitched as the text devolved into a series of memes. The worst one was from Futaba. Somehow, within minutes, the girl had found a picture of an actual mako shark and converted it into a _ tsundere _ shark, complete with blushing cheeks, brown hair, and speech bubble that said ‘notice me, Ryuji!’

Makoto shoved her phone in her pocket. She stabbed her finger in the direction of the subway. “Let’s go.”

Yusuke shrugged. “I take it I should stick with Makoto…?”

“Move it!” Makoto snapped.

Ryuji walked alongside a grumbling Makoto. “...Heh. I guess that blew up. I’ll stick to ‘Makoto’, too.”

Makoto mumbled something.

“...Sorry?”

She rounded on him, her cheeks red. “I said it’s _ fine! _”

“...What’s fine?” Ryuji asked, blinking.

“Nevermind!” Makoto hissed.

>>>

A short time later, the Phantom Thieves gathered on a rooftop in the Metaverse, high above Kunikazu Okumura’s citadel-like Palace. They weren’t looking down at the spaceport, however. Instead, the teenagers looked at a screen that Futaba projected for them. Joker let out a low whistle.

“Hell of a view, Mona.”

The cat-bandit’s voice came loud and clear over their upgraded radios.

“So you guys can see everything clearly? Do you have all the information you need?”

Makoto nodded. “I think so. I can reproduce this in the real world if we need it, and Futaba’s got it saved, here.”

“Great. I’m coming back, then!”

“Wait!” Futaba said. “...Do a barrel roll!”

“For the last time, I can’t! This set up won’t let me--”

“Use bombs wisely!” Ryuji added, grinning.

“What bombs?! Seriously…”

Mona landed safely on the rooftop amidst good-natured arguing with Futaba and Ryuji.

Makoto studied the images from the surveillance flight carefully. “It seems as though we’ve confirmed that the only way forward is that highway you three saw after defeating Sugimura and destroying the auction house.”

“That means we’ll need to figure out how to get access. As far as we can tell, that means finding light vehicles of our own.” Ren said, gesturing at the blurring neon lines below of the various cognitions of Okumura employees traversing the roads not only on foot, but in black cars and motorcycles with neon highlights. Both Mona and Makoto had tried earlier to get onto the highway using their respective abilities, but the ‘rules’ of the Palace didn’t allow unrecognized vehicles on the road. “We’ll need to split into two teams. One to secure vehicles, and another to shut down the security gate at the end of the freeway.”

“In that case, I think Mona should come with me to secure the vehicles.” Makoto tapped the image on Futaba’s screen. “This looks like a garage facility. Even if I can’t ride Johanna on the highway, and Mona can’t transform, we’re still the most familiar with driving…” 

Makoto glanced at the remaining team. “And I think based on the abilities of everyone remaining, Panther and Fox should come with us as well. If Noir’s biometric signature gets her more access, then she should go with Joker for the infiltration, as well as Skull and Oracle, if it comes to shorting out traps or hacking doors.”

Ren nodded. “Works for me. Let’s move.”

>>>

“You serious?” Ryuji asked, his mask pushed up, shotgun on his shoulder

Futaba nodded. “Totes. Don’t you think it’s unfair that I’m the only one that doesn’t get to have an awesome gun of some kind?”

“I _ guess _. But you don’t actually do any fightin’. Not to say that you’re not useful!” Ryuji added quickly, not wanting to repeat the Mona situation. “What would you want to carry, anyway?”

Futaba looked thoughtful. “Hm… Desert Eagle.”

“What?! A shrimp like you?!”

“Who’re you calling a shrimp?!”

Haru watched as Ryuji and Futaba bickered, the shorter girl poking the boy in the ribs before dodging a swipe of his gloved hand. The four of them had successfully infiltrated the security building that controlled the highway gate into the inner hub. The brunette third year girl shook her head in mild disbelief, catching Ren’s eye.

“Something wrong, Noir?” Ren asked.

“I’m a little surprised, R-- er, Joker.” Haru replied. “I had the impression from how organized you and Queen are that this was going to be a little more formal.”

Ren quirked a little smile. “If it helps, I can yell at them a little bit. Make them do some pushups. Or if you really want to see a reaction out of Skull, just mention the name ‘Kaname’ or ‘Coach Takeda’...”

Ryuji turned back, looking nervous. “...Eh? Joker? You just say somethin’?”

“Nothing, Skull.” Ren said. He caught Haru’s eye, tapping the side of his nose. She stifled a laugh. As Skull turned back to Futaba, Ren looked at Haru earnestly. “Let me know if you want them to scale it back, though. This can’t be easy for you, being here. Fox had trouble in Madarame’s Palace as well.”

Haru shook her head. “It’s nice. Refreshing, even.”

“We try to have fun when we can.” Ren said, shrugging. He thought of his own concerns, his trips to the Velvet Room. “Otherwise, things can get too heavy.”

“I can see that.” Haru replied, quietly. They all could see it. Through their infiltration, they had seen more and more signs of Kunikazu’s corruption. The ‘employee’ programs in neon blue were treated as expendable; even their bodies were fed into the machinery that seemed to be making vast quantities of mechanical parts. The orange-red security programs were treated only marginally better. And even the neon green ‘executives’, who seemingly lived in luxury in this spaceport, only did so if they remained useful to Kunikazu.

They came to a stop in front of a security door. 

Futaba frowned, running her hand over the door and lock. “Another one.”

“Another door that can’t be hacked or shorted?” Ren asked.

Futaba nodded, standing aside for Haru. “It’s a good thing we have Noir with us. This isn’t like Mementos, or the other Palaces you described to me, Joker. The doors are incredibly secure. Most of them will open only for an Okumura or one of Kunikazu Okumura’s cognitions.”

Ryuji sighed. “She’s right, Joker. This Palace is weird. And there’s hardly any Shadows… We’ve mostly been fighting these ‘program’ cognitions. And why is the security building so lightly guarded--”

“That’s a flag, Skull.” Ren said, automatically.

“You keep sayin’ that, Joker. But seriously, it’s not like an anime or something.”

“We’re a team of teenaged vigilantes led by a protagonist with a checkered past who’s being guided by a mysterious cat-thingy.”

“That’s over-simplifying.”

“Fine. Led by a _ devastatingly handsome _ protagonist with a checkered past.” Ren added, grinning.

Ryuji scoffed.

Haru approached the door - it beeped softly, opening to reveal a large control room. Precisely what the team was looking for. The room was dark; there were a monitors and consoles throughout.

“See? No flag.” Ryuji said, grinning.

Multiple figures stepped forward out of the shadows, their red-orange neon-highlights coming to life. Multiple light-discs were drawn.

Ren stared at Ryuji.

“...Uh. Shit.” Ryuji mumbled. “You know, sometimes I hate it when you’re right, Joker.”

Ren sighed. “You know, honestly… Me too.”

They hit the deck, narrowly dodging the razor-sharp discs.

>>>

The other team had a less eventful approach towards the garage. The building was moderately well-defended, with guards posted to the perimeter. Two were on either side of the main doors of the hangar-like building, each holding two light-discs.

A red whip lashed out from the shadows, slashing the throat of one. He gurgled with pain and alarm as he sank to his knees before collapsing. The other turned, cocking his arm back to throw his disc in the direction of the whip.

From behind, blow of a tonfa shattered his elbow before its twin crashed into the base of his skull.

Makoto and Ann strode out of the shadows and into the building; a small figure dropped down from a vent above them, landing between the two. Mona grinned fiercely.

“The ones on the roof didn’t stand a chance. They weren’t expecting an attack from above.”

Ann smiled, amused. “You’re really taking to this flight thing pretty well, Mona.”

Two distant roars from a high-caliber sniper rifle and a dull thud reported Yusuke’s success at taking down the guards in the towers on the building’s perimeter wall.

“Fox, status?” Makoto asked, tapping her radio.

“The guards are dealt with, Queen. As discussed, I shall relocate to a rooftop close to the route to the highway and keep an eye on things out here.”

“We’ll collect you on the way out.” Makoto said. She headed for a computer workstation in the middle of the building, looking back at Ann and Mona. “I’ll see if the computer will give us any clues. Why don’t you two have a look around and see if there’s anything useful?”

Ann nodded; she and Mona started searching the wide-open room, rifling through lockers and boxes. The blonde girl felt eyes on her; she caught Mona looking at her. Not with the borderline-creepy look he used to give her, back when he was still infatuated. He seemed worried about something.

“Mona? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Mona replied, automatically.

Ann rolled her eyes, just waiting.

Mona glanced back at her. “...Did Joker tell you anything? He said we’re fine, but…”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves had told Mona they were ‘cool’, but wasn’t acting _ quite _ like his usual self around the cat-bandit. First of all, he had sent Mona along with Makoto’s group to obtain supplies. And in the Metaverse, he seemed to be interacting with him less; speaking to him a little less.

“Give him time, Mona.” Ann replied, gently patting his shoulder. “He knows you had your reasons, and he really does want to help you. But you have to understand. With what he went through in his hometown, he’s a bit sensitive to friends going behind his back for anything.”

“...Oh.” Mona mumbled, his ears drooping. “Do you think there’s anything I could say? It’s not that I wanted to hurt him.”

“He knows.” Ann said, shaking her head. “Like I said. Just give him time.”

“Got it!” Makoto shouted.

Ann and Mona turned, walking back toward where Makoto stood. She typed in a few keystrokes; two keycard-like objects materialized, along with two light cycles a few feet away from them.

“Just two?” Mona asked, curiously. He jumped, fumbling with surprise as Makoto tossed him a keycard. She pocketed the other.

“If we hold these, we should be able to get on the highway as if we were riding a light cycle. We’ll each be able to have our own wheels.”

Mona frowned, but nodded. He transformed into his cat-bus form, rolling forward experimentally. Sure enough, he left a short trail of neon light. “Hey! Nice.”

“You know, I think I’ve seen the movie that influenced this cognition. Mona, move forward again? Further, this time.” Ann asked. As the cat-bus moved, Ann reached out with a hand, touching the ribbon-like trail of neon light. She then tapped it with a knuckle, giving a solid, dull sound. It was a wall of solid light. “...Yeah. This… this could be trouble.”

Makoto, now astride Johanna, moved as well, finding the same effect. “I see… If we run into any opposition, they’ll try to cut us off with this effect at high speed. We should wait for Joker, and discuss strategy--”

Yusuke’s voice cut in over the radio.

“Queen, Panther, Mona! Get out of there, fast! We have enemies incoming!”

>>>

Ren vaulted over a desk, reaching the main console. He shoved the guard that was slumped over the controls onto the floor. He quickly deactivated the alarm that the guard managed to switch on during the frantic fight to take over the control room. 

The klaxon stopped ringing; silence settled down over the facility once again.

Ryuji nodded confidently. “The alarm wasn’t on for more than a second, I’m sure we’re fine.”

Futaba was already beside Ren, typing away at the main console. “Just a few seconds more… _ there _. I’m hooked into the security system. Just need to… wait. Wait, there’s something else here.”

“What is, Futaba-chan?” Haru asked, stepping forward.

“...I can’t access the files. They seem important, though. Just a second more…”

The console chimed as Haru stepped closer.

“Biometric signature accepted. Limited administrative access granted. Welcome, Lady Haru Okumura.”

The monitors in the room came to life, showing more schematics and a map of the facility.

“This is great!” Futaba exclaimed. “We’ve got everything. Maps of the spaceport, the location of the Treasure, and security schematics--...oh. Oh, no.”

Ren looked over, alarmed at Futaba’s uncharacteristically serious tone. “Oracle? What’s the problem?”

“Kunikazu Okumura knows about the Metaverse.”

“...What?! For real?!” Ryuji asked. “So he’s the ‘black mask’ after all!?”

Futaba shook her head. “I can’t say for sure. The files don’t talk about that. But they basically explain why this Palace has been so weird. He doesn’t rely on as many Shadows for defense and the doors are more secure because Kunikazu Okumura’s had some kind of cognitive _ training _. Being aware of the Metaverse means that you can consciously change your Palace.”

“What does that mean?” Ryuji asked, somewhat anxiously. He no longer felt like they were a band of thieves on a heist; rather, it felt more like they had walked into a trap.

“It’s hard to say without studying this more closely.” Futaba said, shaking her head. “But I think it’s why his cognitions are more aggressive and stronger than we’ve seen before. And also, I think we can’t trust any obvious routes to the next section. Everything could be a trap.”

“...! Joker! The highway!” Haru said, suddenly. “I should have seen it. It’s just like him. It was too convenient. All we had to do was shut down the gate and find vehicles…”

Futaba’s fingers flew over the console. “...Shit! She’s right! There’s security forces converging on the other team!”

Ren tapped his radio. “It’s a trap! Don’t get on the highway--”

A javelin composed of pure violet light crashed into the console, blowing it apart in an explosion of sparks and smoke. The concussive blast tossed the team aside. Joker leaned against the wall as he staggered to his feet, his ears ringing. The remainder of his team was knocked unconscious.

A statuesque woman strode into the room, holding another javelin in her right hand; her left had a larger light disc strapped to her forearm like a shield. She had long, dark blue hair tied into a ponytail; she was as intimidating as she was beautiful. Her form-fitting black suit was highlighted with violet neon lines. She regarded Ren with a slight smile as she spoke.

“It was a boring conversation, anyways.”

>>>

The highway to the inner hub, once lit only by neon and silent except for the gentle hum of steadily moving light vehicles was now a chaotic din of explosions, shrieking metal, and gunfire. Muzzle flashes lit the artificial twilight created by the electric light of the city, punctuated occasionally by a blast of nuclear energy, fire, or ice from the Personas of the team engaged in the high speed battle.

Makoto, astride Johanna, aimed forward with her Detective Special, firing just in time to destroy a wall of ‘solid light’ that had been left behind by the guard riding a light-cycle in front of her. She accelerated forward to the left of the guard; he veered to the right in response at the obvious ploy, staying well clear of Makoto’s trailing blue light ribbon.

A sudden wall of flame appeared to his right and ahead of him.

With a cry of surprise, he lost control of his bike - crashing it directly into Makoto’s trail.

Makoto flashed Ann a quick smile; the blonde girl had figured out how to ride the vehicle quickly and worked well in tandem with the brunette. Makoto looked behind her as she shut off her light ribbon. Mona was driving erratically, casting a wide ribbon of hard green light across the roadway in front of the security programs coming after them. The booming sound of Yusuke’s .50 caliber ‘Hecate II’ _ anti-materiel _ rifle rang out repeatedly as he shot from his position, lying prone on the rooftop of Mona’s cat-bus form. The artist had cleverly frozen himself into a stable position on top of the van. He used his steady hand and keen eye to deadly precision, keeping the pursuing red-orange light cycles at bay.

Ann lashed out with her whip, catching the handlebar of another pursuer. She wrenched back, forcing a swerve into Mona’s light ribbon. His surprised scream was cut off in another explosive wreck. Her little grin faded upon hearing Ren’s frantic voice over the radio.

“It’s a trap! Don’t get on the highway--”

His voice was cut off by an explosion on the other end. Her eyes widened. She looked over her shoulder to see if she had space to turn around.

“Panther, don’t!” Makoto shouted. 

“We have to go back! They’re in trouble!”

“There’s nowhere to go, Panther! There's too many behind us!” Queen said, aiming and firing backwards with her pistol. “We can’t do anything but head for the gate and deal with whatever’s waiting for us!”

“_ Damnit _!” Ann cursed, knowing she was right.

“Just stay focused!” Mona said, swerving to take down two more guards. "Joker and the others are trusting us, we have to trust them, too!"

Yusuke frowned, ceasing his sniper fire for a moment to observe through the scope. “...They’re falling back. All of them.”

An unsettling silence replaced the cacophony.

A sudden crash directed the team to look forwards as one of the walls around the highway was blown apart; a huge, armored vehicle, impossibly fast, shot onto the highway ahead of the group. To call it a ‘tank’ was an understatement - it was more like a hovering land-battleship, bristling with turrets and powered in the same way as the light cycles that were up until now, pursuing them.

The main turret slowly turned around, aiming at the Phantom Thieves. The aperture glowed crimson.

“Evade! Evade--”

The size of the explosion briefly turned the perpetual twilight into stunning daylight.

>>>

Ryuji groaned, slowly coming to. He awoke to the sounds of combat; gunfire intermixed with the clash of blade against metal, blade against blade. Occasional bitten-back sounds of pain. From the sound of the footwork and the way the gunfire was interwoven with the bladework, he knew Ren was fighting.

_ ‘...Leave it to RenRen to take care of us while we’re down…’ _Ryuji thought. He saw that Haru and Futaba were still out of it, half-buried in rubble. He looked around groggily, sighting Ren. Ryuji noted the now familiar presence of the Black Wing Armguards, covering him from fist to shoulders. That usually meant things would be over in short order. Ryuji’s eyes widened; the startling sight woke him up completely.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves was in trouble.

He favored his left leg; blood soaked through a stab wound in his thigh. He held Faith in his right, had both wrist blades extended. He breathed heavily. He seemed to have cuts all over his body, in fact. The usually pristine armguards, seemingly one of Arsene’s unique powers, looked chipped, beaten up. His eyes were alive and determined, though, as he faced down his opponent.

She held up her left forearm, the violet light disc there held forward like a shield. She held her glowing javelin in an overhand position, advancing on Ren slowly.

To Ryuji’s surprise, Ren didn’t move forward to take advantage of his opponent’s deliberate, slow movement. Nor did the leader of the Phantom Thieves try to heal himself. The blonde boy slowly and quietly brought his USAS-12 shotgun to bear.

There was a flash of light and a hard impact to his right shoulder, followed by searing pain. Ryuji let out a strangled scream, looking at the glowing javelin that now pinned him to the wall. He stared at Ren’s opponent in pain and shock. She already had a new light javelin and was once again advancing on Ren.

She had moved so quickly that Ryuji hadn’t seen the throw. Ryuji now understood why Ren didn't dare to do anything other than concentrate on facing her down.

“Skull… heal up, but stay down.” Ren said, not taking his eyes off the woman. “...sorry, what was your name again?”

“Tachibana.” She replied, calmly.

“Tachibana-san wants a one on one fight.” Ren said. “Aside from her introduction, she’s actually been a pretty honorable, fair opponent--”

Ren darted forward mid-sentence, exploding into action. Multiple shots from Faith forced Tachibana to raise her shield. Ren immediately slipped right into the blind spot created by the raised disc. His left hand came up in jab toward the woman’s body, his wrist blade stabbing at her.

Tachibana stepped forward into Ren with her shield as she turned her body to the right, letting his blade slide by. She jabbed twice with her javelin, striking home into Ren’s left shoulder and abdomen.

Ren hissed in pain, but bore it - the point of the javelin was embedded in his body; the shield was against him as well. It was an opening, paid for in blood and pain.

His left hand turned - his stab turned into a slash as he flicked his wrist.

The blade clanged against the shaft of the javelin, slanted to block the slash. Tachibana quirked a slight, almost approving smile.

Ren’s eyes widened.

With a loud _ kiai _, Tachibana reared back with her shield, slamming it hard into Ren’s face and body. The boxer skidded back, his ears once again ringing. That had been the story of the entire duel thus far - Tachibana was sublimely talented with her chosen weapons, expertly controlling range and angles with the spear and shield. Even when Ren got ‘inside’, she could read him.

“...Fuck.” Ren muttered.

“I’m afraid our duel will end here. Rest assured. It will be a clean ending, for both yourself and your allies.”

“...Joker!” Ryuji called. He struggled, trying to prize the javelin free from his shoulder. “Shit!”

Tachibana advanced. “Trickery will not save you, Joker. I can see through it. I admit, when you showed me that armor, your speed and power were… intriguing. But you _ are _ holding back. It isn’t enough. Not enough to defeat me, and not enough to protect your friends.”

Ren knew she was right. As she steadily advanced, he saw his coming defeat at the end of the javelin. Okumura’s Palace would be the end of Joker, and probably the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Dead at the hands of this mysterious cognition.

He would never see Panther again.

_ ‘...I’ll never see _ ** _Ann_ ** _ again.’ _

His carefully compartmentalized alter-egos intermingled in the stress. Joker, the rogue capable of ruthless violence. Ren Amamiya, the young man with a boxing glove for a brain and a tendency to collect strays.

The end of one meant the end of both.

_ ‘I’ll never see her again. In either place.’ _

No more tender mornings in a warm bed, her body between him and the ceiling. No more stolen moments in dangerous places, body clad in red catsuit pressed up against him, a purring chuckle as she teased him.

No more.

Tachibana paused. “A shame. You’re still incomplete.”

The javelin lanced forward.

Ren’s armguards shattered before there was any impact - the physical metal was gone, replaced by what looked like blurred black flame. Ryuji, still watching helplessly, rubbed at his eyes - it was as if he just couldn’t get them to focus. Ren launched himself forward - the javelin stabbed into his side.

With a strangled yelp, Ren’s body jerked. Blood dripped to the ground.

Tachibana looked on dispassionately. No mocking, no elation of victory. Just grim respect. Her impassive blue eyes widened as Ren looked up.

Instead of quicksilver grey, there was instead, glowing yellow.

An otherworldly sound of a creaking chain link was heard as Ren’s body tensed - he pushed forward on the javelin, trapping the weapon within his own body, once again paying the price. His right arm came forward, firing multiple times at point blank range.

Tachibana reacted instantly, bringing her shield to bear to block first the gunfire, and then the body blow she knew was coming from her opponent's left hand. She angled her shield slightly forward to catch the blade as she released her javelin, starting to generate a new one.

Instead, the butt end of Vengeance entered the top of her vision - Ren was, inexplicably, holding the gun by the barrel with his left hand as the trigger guard crashed into the top of her shield. Tachibana winced - he had a spiked magazine loaded into the weapon, the tip just grazing her forearm. Not enough to cause any damage, and the sharp tip wasn’t poisoned, or cursed.

But, that wasn’t his aim.

He jerked his left hand down, using the grip and magazine spike of his pistol as a crude hook on the top edge of Tachibana’s shield. He simultaneously back-stepped, the combination of his body movement and his left arm motion pulling her forward, off-balance. And most importantly, pulling her shield down and out of the way.

With a snarl, his right arm flashed, slashing off the shaft of the javelin protruding from his side so as not to impede his movement.

He dashed forward, faster than before - faster than he was when he was uninjured earlier in the fight. He got inside her range, preventing her from bringing the shield up. His blades lashed out, stabbing, slashing violently at Tachibana. The woman aborted generating a javelin, creating instead a short sword in the shape of a roman _ gladius. _She parried most of the attacks, but cried out as a right straight struck home, the blade penetrating her left axilla - rendering her shield arm useless.

She stumbled back, bleeding from several wounds.

Ren stood in his usual stance, but without any of his ‘Joker’ persona: cocky with a smile that was at least fifty percent mockery. Instead, he looked like he did when he was moving in to finish off Keith; utterly serious. The hunter. His eyes still glowed golden.

The image of Arsene floated behind Ren; like his armguards, the Persona blurred in and out of focus.

Ryuji, from his vantage point, squinted. He wasn’t sure if Arsene’s appearance was changing at all. But something felt _ different _ . There was a presence in the room - like the sensation he would get sometimes, when ascending a stairwell in the dark. A feeling of something behind him, around him. A feeling of something _ everywhere _ around him. He shivered.

“...T...Tachibana-san…?” Haru mumbled, shoving rubble off herself.

Tachibana glanced over at Haru, clutching her shoulder. An odd look flashed across the cognition’s face. “...Ojou-sama. You are well?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good.” She winced again, her arm throbbing. She looked at Joker. “...I concede, Joker. You have this round.”

Joker blinked - his eyes faded from yellow, back to their usual grey. The blurred images of his armguards and Arsene both vanished. “I… ...what? Don’t you work for Okumura?! You’re just going to walk away?”

“I work for _ Okumura _ , this is true.” Tachibana said, turning to Haru. “But not Kunikazu. Make sure you ask your small friend about _ everything _ she downloaded, ojou-sama.”

She walked away, out of the room.

Ren started after her - but his legs had no strength. He collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily, clutching his chest. “...Jesus..! This…”

The javelin vanished from Ryuji’s shoulder. The blonde boy hurriedly stood up, applying some of Takemi’s medication to both himself and Ren. “Dude. Your eyes… was that your Second Awakening?”

Ren shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. Arsene… Arsene’s still there. But I feel like I’m having a heart attack. The wounds are closed, but... “

He tried to stand, swearing as his legs gave out again. Whatever he had done seemed to have eaten away at his energy in a way that none of the medication they had from Takemi or Leblanc coffee could restore.

Ryuji supported him; Haru stood as well, helping Futaba up.

Haru’s eyes went to the room’s exit. “That… that was Rui Tachibana. I don’t know why Kunikazu would have a cognition of her. She worked primarily for my mother.”

Ren winced. Although the wounds were closed up, he could still feel all of them - similar to how he felt after being shot repeatedly by Loveless. “Wasn’t your mother a botanist? What did Tachibana do?”

“Tachibana-san always said her job was ‘public relations’... But in Okumura Foods, that tends to be code for the private security assigned to the executives and our family.” Haru said.

Ren laughed dryly. “Public relations… Makes sense. Clear speaker. Concise. Really drives the _ point _ home…”

Futaba shook her head to clear the cobwebs from being knocked out. She brought up multiple holographic screens visible to the entire party. “Thankfully, I managed to download everything before she Han Solo’d the console. We need to move. The other team is going to need us. Or, what’s left of us. And there’s more, here… This must be what that lady meant by everything, Haru.”

Another video loaded, on the central screen. Another memory. It was a doctor’s office; Haru, Kunikazu, and Kurenai sat across from a man in a white coat.

Haru shook her head. “I… I don’t need to see this. This was when my father found out about my mother’s illness. He didn’t care. He sent me away…”

Ren coughed. “Tachibana spent the last ten minutes treating me like a pincushion, and then after I returned the favor, she still thought it was more important that you asked about this than it was for her to make sure I didn’t try to finish the job, Noir. I think you should watch it.”

Haru hesitated, and then nodded once, gesturing to Futaba.

Futaba started the video.

>>>

“...so I’m afraid that you’ll only have months, Kurenai-san. Perhaps a year, if you respond well to the treatment.” The doctor said, gently.

Kunikazu took a deep breath, his face stoic. “...I see.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Tachibana. Please take Haru outside.”

“Yes sir.” The tall woman replied. She led Haru out.

The door closed.

Kunikazu looked at the doctor. “You must be mistaken.” He said, his voice controlled, his face unchanged.

“Dear…” Kurenai said, looking at her husband.

“There’s no mistake, sir. I’m afraid--”

“You _ must _ be mistaken!” Kunikazu shouted, suddenly. He stood, bracing his hands on the edge of the desk. “You have to be. You have to… Not like this. Not when things are just starting to get better. The company is doing well again. We were going to be a _ family _ again. We were… we…”

His voice started to break.

A hand on his elbow pulled him back to his chair. He slumped, his elbows on his knees. “Suzuki-sensei. I know this is your office, but could you…?”

“...Of course. Please. Take as much time as you need.”

The man left the room.

Kurenai left her chair, kneeling down in front of her husband to enter his field of vision. She smiled gently at him. “Dear…”

“I… I can’t do this without you, Kurenai. I can’t. I’m not strong enough…”

“You are. You must be.” She said, firmly. She took his hands gently. “...I’ll hang on as long as I can, Kunikazu. But soon, Haru will only be able to depend on you. You need to protect her. You need to ensure her future. So… please. Please be strong for her.”

“...I will. I will.”

>>>

Haru bit her lip as the video drew to a close.

“...This changes _ nothing _.” Haru said, quietly. “He’s still trying to marry me into a family against my will, and this company is still committing crimes against its employees.”

“Y-yeah.” Ryuji said, clearly shaken. “But Noir, don’t--”

Ren shook his head slightly at Ryuji as Haru turned toward the exit. He spoke quietly. “She needs to process this, Ryuji. And she isn’t wrong. Whatever his reasons, Kunikazu Okumura still needs to be stopped. Come on. Ann, Makoto, Yusuke, and Mona are in trouble. We need to move.”

>>>

Ann rode shotgun in Mona’s cat-bus form, her light cycle long since destroyed by the tank's initial salvo. She had barely ditched in time, making the leap to Mona. She fired her submachine gun at the landship hovering in front of them. Her UMP rounds seemed to barely make a dent in the massive vehicle, and Celestine’s flames couldn’t do anything to the thick armor of the machine.

Yusuke was facing forward now, on the roof. He fared slightly better, his higher caliber bullets blowing holes in the armor and causing the surrounding metal to freeze and become brittle. However, nothing vital was close to the surface armor.

Makoto was still astride Johanna; Mafreidyne suppressed the multitudes of guard programs deployed on the surface of the tank, but like the others, she simply wasn’t doing enough damage.

The Phantom Thieves’ logistics and tactics expert glanced quickly over her shoulder - two floating, automated drones were behind the group, deploying a moving light ribbon ‘wall’ to ensure no escape by going backward. And from what she remembered, they were running out of highway ahead of them, too. 

_ ‘Either the tank is going to wipe us out, or the light wall behind us is just going to crush us against it… I can’t go fast enough to get around it or over it. Even if I could, I can’t abandon the rest. Is… is this it? Is this how it ends?’ _

The radio crackled to life with Futaba’s voice.

“--racle to assault team! Oracle to assault team!”

“We’re here, Oracle!”

“I know! I’m hooked into their security, I can see you. Look. We can’t open the gate from our side! We’ve disabled the automated defenses, but it won’t open unless that tank is gone! You’ve got one chance! There’s a vulnerable point, a thermal exhaust port on the back of the main turret! It leads directly to the tank’s power generator!”

“We can’t get to that!” Makoto said, firing with her Detective Special. “We can’t get in front of it!”

“You have to! You’re running out of time! We can’t get to you in time to help. Joker’s hurt. So is Skull--”

“Skull…”

“Queen! I’m fine!” Skull said, his voice coming on. “Just… just survive this! You have to! I haven’t… I haven’t told you everything I want to tell you!”

Makoto grit her teeth.

_ ‘Faster. I need to go faster… There’s… there’s things I want to tell him, too….’ _

“..._ Agnes _ ! _ ” _Makoto shouted, her eyes flashing yellow.

Makoto’s bike blurred; shifted. In a nova of blue flame, Johanna morphed into Agnes, the true name of the Pope Joan. The golden, v-shaped cattle-catcher on the front of the black vehicle flared with nuclear energy.

“Gun it, Agnes!”

She shot forward, impossibly fast - in a sound of tearing metal, Makoto tore a hole _ through _ the landship that was occupying the entire width of the highway, ending up in front of it. Her eyes widened; they had minutes before they slammed into the gate blocking them from the inner hub. She had to get the main turret to turn around. She started weaving walls of light ribbons in the way of the tank - the vehicle blew through them, but caused actual damage to the armored vehicle.

The turret turned to face the new threat.

“Fox!”

The turret aimed at Makoto, the aperture glowing red. The back of it, and the exhaust port, were exposed to the remainder of the team.

Yusuke spotted the vent from behind. But from his angle, behind and below…

“I… I don’t have direct line of sight! I don’t have a shot!”

“Not yet you don’t! Fox, get ready! This is all or nothing!”

Mona transformed, launching himself and his two passengers into the air behind the landship.

Celestine manifested, Maragidyne reducing the guards on the surface of the tank to ash, stopping them from trying to pick off Yusuke.

As he flew through the air, Fox brought his rifle to bear, aiming down the vent. It was an impossible shot. He was in mid-air, unstable with a high-caliber rifle. His heart pounded wildly, his hands shook. The wind resistance was unpredictable due to the wash of heat from Ann’s suppressing fire attack.

He fired in desperation, feeling immediate despair as he _ knew _ \- his shot was off.

The tank stuttered, starting to shake violently.

It came to a halt; Yusuke, Ann, and Mona landed hard, behind it. They rolled to a stop.

Yusuke managed to summon Gorokichi, raising his katana along with the Persona to shield them with a dome of ice as the landship exploded, raining fiery debris all around them.

Elated cheers filled the Phantom Thieves’ radio channel; Makoto looked back at her team tiredly, smiling as she dismissed Agnes. In front of them, the gate went from red to green, opening, revealing the other team. Joker was leaning heavily on Haru and Ryuji; Futaba brought up the rear.

Yusuke smiled in relief as the teams reunited. _ ‘...I suppose it wasn’t an impossible shot, after all. It’s strange, though. I could have sworn I was going to miss…’ _

>>>

On the top of the highway’s wall, high above the team, Akechi sat astride his own light cycle. He had spent the majority of the battle riding on the two metre wide wall, observing until the final gamble had forced him to intervene. He sneered, holstering his pistol. From _ Yusuke’s _angle and situation, it had been an impossible shot.

It wasn’t impossible for Akechi, though, safely away from the action. It irked him, that he had to lift a finger to help a team inept enough to get caught in one of Kunikazu Okumura’s cognitive traps.

_ ‘If they think this is difficult, I wonder how they’d fare in Shido’s Palace…’ _

“Tch. They should have died here. But, orders are orders.”

He watched them, hidden by a combination of his outfit’s coloring and Loki’s powers, the Norse Trickster God allowing him to blend into his surroundings somewhat. Their leader, the one they identified as ‘Joker’ was injured, leaning on two of his comrades. A third one, a woman dressed in an impractical red outfit, stepped forward. Though he couldn’t see their faces clearly from this distance, her irritation was clear. But so was her obvious concern - the two of them were clearly ‘involved’. Akechi rolled his eyes, turning to scout ahead.

As he turned, though, his keen hearing caught a voice drifting up from the now silent highway. Akechi froze - not only at how familiar Joker's voice was, but at what he called the woman in the red catsuit.

“...sorry to worry you, Songbird.”

>>>

**Bonus Content**

**Tale of the Tape**

**Ann Takamaki - Ms. Takamaki states that she doesn’t have a ring name, but would probably go by ‘Panther’. She won’t say why.**

**Fights: None (Trains alongside Amamiya, but no official fights to record).** ****  
**Wins: She did say that all of her ‘spars’ (she used finger quotes) against the aforementioned boxer have been overwhelming wins for her.** ****  
**Draws: None** ****  
**Losses: None** ****  
**KO%: Apparently 100% against Amamiya. She started giggling…?** ****  
**Height: 5’6” (168 cm)** ****  
**Reach: 68” (172 cm)** **  
** **Fighting Weight: Ms. Takamaki isn’t a boxer. She tells me that her modeling agency would prefer that we not publish her weight as part of this ‘Tale of the Tape’ feature.**

**Mari’s Scouting Report:**

Ann Takamaki is a rising star in the world of modeling - and, surprisingly, she owes some of her success to boxing! This part-American star has told this reporter that she trains alongside Ren Amamiya, a previously featured boxer in our ‘Tale of the Tape’ series.

Ms. Takamaki tells us that in her training, she favors fighting from an orthodox stance, and is learning to take advantage of her main attributes - blazing speed, and her longer than average reach.

In my own assessment on watching her train, Ms. Takamaki is surprisingly adept, despite using boxing primarily as a means of fitness. She clearly has paid attention to the basics, and is indeed a fairly nimble boxer. Likely due to the time spent at the side of Amamiya, her fighting style is shockingly similar to the young boxer, complete with flicker jabs. To my eye, she does a better job at protecting her chin than Amamiya.

It would be interesting to see what an actual sparring match between the two would look like, albeit after much more training for the model.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of action and tribute to some of my favorite films.
> 
> GtD Haru is complicated. I didn't like how they glossed over her relationship with her father in canon... Will try to deal with it differently in coming chapters.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	31. Adrian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Adrian Balboa (née Pennino) was the fictional wife of Rocky Balboa, the titular character in the Rocky movie series. Adrian served as something of an emotional anchor for the rugged boxer; in each of the films, it could be argued that without her steadfast support, Rocky would never have succeeded._
> 
> _In fact, the premise of the 2006 movie relies on the emotional chasm left by Adrian’s death due to ovarian cancer. Without her, an aging Rocky lives out his days in bittersweet reminiscence, allowing the world to pass him by and the relationship with his son to deteriorate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-writing Okumura's Palace has been a lot of fun for me. It's turned into a love letter to various sci-fi fandoms that I've enjoyed over the years; you'll find references and lines sprinkled throughout. Thanks for reading!

September 26, 20xx

It was just past midnight in Tokyo. The lights were off in Akechi’s apartment over Shibuya, but the ever-present glow of the busy district below created an artificial twilight that partially illuminated the luxurious suite as well as the young man looking down on the city. It reminded him of the Palace he had just left; Okumura’s spaceport of perpetual night and neon light.

_ ‘...sorry to worry you, Songbird.’ _

The phrase rang in the mind of the Left Hand of the United Future Party. At the time, Akechi barely heard it. Joker’s voice had just drifted up, faintly echoing off the highway walls to his ears. Now, as his mind replayed it over, and over, and over… it was deafening. He was barely able to concentrate because of it, frustrating the Director of the Special Investigations Division, Arai, with his bare minimum, distracted answers during their phone call a few moments earlier.

Akechi’s lips quirked in a little smile. This was completely unlike how his cases usually broke open - usually, it was his work in the Metaverse that did it. A heart changed there, a mental shutdown here. Or a psychotic break to create a criminal that he would then catch. This time, it was just like the mystery novels he read sometimes to better develop his Detective Prince mask. A small, innocuous detail that blew the case wide open.

His rational mind knew, of course, that he needed more proof than this before he could get permission to act definitively. He needed more than a pet name that he had  _ thought _ he heard Ren Amamiya call Ann Takamaki, once. That was the rational reason why he hadn’t told Arai anything.

But… another part of him didn’t say anything to Arai, because right now, Akechi knew. Akechi  _ knew _ who Joker was, who Ren Amamiya was, and everything was perfect. Goro Akechi simply didn’t want to  _ share _ .

It was his little secret that he knew who Amamiya was, and no one knew that he knew.

His little smile became a grin. His grin became a quiet chuckle.

He hated Amamiya for his happiness. He hated him for not making  _ sense _ . And now… now he knew. Amamiya was Joker. Joker was Amamiya. The man he hated had access to the Metaverse, the ability to wreak the same havoc and vengeance Akechi could, and yet… he chose differently. It was absurd. All the power of the Metaverse in his hands, trusted allies at his side, and what did Amamiya do with it? He spared lives. He ignored personal gain and vengeance. He played at being a big, damned hero.

The wind picked up outside his apartment. The muffled gales reminded Akechi of the screams of his sacrifices. The ones he directly assassinated. The indirect murders through train crashes and traffic accidents. All things he had done, had rationalized as necessary for his justice. After all - what choice did he have? He was merely playing the hand he had been dealt. It wasn’t  _ his _ fault. It was Shido.

He imagined the vengeful howls of his victims on the wind. For a moment, anyway, as his quiet chuckle picked up in intensity. He drowned out the screams with laughter. Mirthless laughter that forced tears from his eyes, made him bare his teeth in a rictus of anger and madness.

Amamiya wanted to play hero. It was insanity. Absurdity. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t fair. 

Akechi’s laughter quieted. He smiled serenely. Not because he was calm. Far from it. Before Amamiya, Akechi’s life was a balanced equation. A mother who felt so abandoned that she committed suicide, in turn abandoning her son. A life devoid of family, friends, and resources. A single target for his vengeance. Nothing else mattered. There was only one path in front of him.

But Amamiya dared to be happy. Dared to be a hero. Dared to make Akechi  _ doubt _ .

Akechi smiled, because the answer was simple. All he had to do was balance the equation again. Make everything make  _ sense _ . He chuckled again.

“It’s going to be a busy day…”

>>>

“Oink-oink! Oink-oink! Oink-oink!”

Ren mumbled into his pillow, his hand vaguely fumbling and feeling for his pig-shaped alarm clock, P-chan. He missed, repeatedly. His arms felt heavy and clumsy; his legs and body were too sore for him to bother getting up to actually see where the alarm clock was. It was similar to how he felt after facing Loveless in Kaneshiro’s Palace, with the addition of having zero energy.

Gradually, he gave up. He’d just fall asleep to the sound of insistent oinking, he decided.

“Oink-oink! Oink-oink! Oink-oink!”

Ren’s eye twitched. Sleeping to the sound of insistent oinking was impossible. He recalled Kaname’s words when she first introduced him to P-chan.

_ ‘Here, Renpai. This is P-chan. He’s going to remind you to NEVER be late for training because you slept in again. And to not fuck up your weigh-ins by eating too god damned much. He’s super loud, so don’t even try to sleep through it. Oh. And you’re going to wear him around your neck for a week.’ _

And then she had gleefully held him in a particularly painful arm bar while putting the alarm clock around his neck.

He sighed as he felt the familiar weight of Mona walking up the mattress, likely to remind him that it was time for him to get up. To Ren’s surprise, the cat walked past Ren’s head, lightly tapping the alarm clock before settling down to sleep beside Ren’s head. Apparently, the not-a-cat was too tired for school, too.

Ren started to drift off again. He did recall Mona getting an odd expression on his face after he described what had happened to the Black Wing armor during the fight against Tachibana. Maybe it was significant. Maybe another one of those feelings. He’d ask… when he wasn’t so sleepy…

>>>

Ann sighed, glancing at her phone worriedly as she walked to school with Shiho. She jumped slightly as her friend poked her in the ribs.

“Relax, Blondie. He’s fine. Futaba’s looking after him, right? And the doc wasn’t worried.”

“I know. I know. I’ve just never seen him sleep like that before.” Ann said. After they left the Metaverse, Ren had seemed drained, far beyond the usual fatigue they felt after leaving the other world. So, this morning, she and Shiho dropped by Leblanc to check on him and pick him up for school. The young boxer seemed to be in something just shy of a coma. He would rouse, briefly, but then just snuggle back in under the covers, falling asleep again. Strangely enough, Mona was nearly the same, opening an eye to just glance tiredly at the two girls before drifting back to sleep, a paw draped lazily over his nose.

Shiho gave Ann a little amused look. “If you haven’t seen him that drained before, then maybe you need to try harder.”

“What do you mean, ‘try harder’? Try harder at what--...”

“Heh heh.” Shiho said, with an exaggerated, sleazy grin.

“You’re literally the worst.” Ann huffed, her cheeks red.

Shiho laughed, and then gave Ann an affectionate side-hug. “He’ll be fine. Futaba’s going to text us with updates, remember? She can stay in his room with him all day. She has her laptop, and she seemed confident she could work on your guys’ ‘project’ from there.”

“...Right.” Ann said, nodding.

Futaba was still working on the files stolen from Sae Niijima’s computer, and additionally was analyzing the intelligence they had gathered on their infiltration into Okumura’s Palace - from the security office, the destroyed landship, and Mona’s surveillance flights over the spaceport. With any luck, the next time the team met they would have enough to at least identify where the Treasure Room was and start planning the actual heist.

“Ah! Ann-chan!”

Ann turned - Haru was waiting by Shujin’s gate. She approached, looking concerned.

“Is Ren-kun not coming to school today?” Haru asked.

Ann shook her head. “He’s really tired. I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept all day.”

“Ah. Alright… I was worried. It feels like he got hurt for my benefit.” Haru said, frowning.

Ann smiled, shaking her head. “I’m sure he doesn’t see it that way. You should come visit him after school! I’m going to drop by after the cultural festival committee meeting, even if Futaba doesn’t have enough ready for us to have a meeting yet.”

Haru nodded. “If he’s not too tired… Who’s watching him, now? Mona-chan?”

Ann shook her head. “He’s just as tired. Futaba’s going to stay there for the day to keep an eye on both of them. She has her laptop, anyway.”

Ann’s phone chimed with a text message. Ann blinked. “Oh. Already…?”

Haru and Shiho curiously looked over Ann’s shoulders.

It was a picture of Ren, passed out, with Mona sleeping beside him. The leader of the Phantom Thieves had a cat-ear headband on him. A ‘SAMPLE’ watermark was overlying the image.

**FS: 2000 yen for the hi-res image set.**

Ann yelped, hiding her phone from the other girls. Haru gasped slightly at the glimpse of the adorable image; Shiho outright laughed with glee.

“...Hey, Blondie, if you buy it, we can go halfsies--”

“NO.”

“You’re no fun.” Shiho said, laughing. She walked through the school’s gate alongside Haru. Ann hung back, furtively glancing back down at her phone.

**AT: What email do you use for your PayPal?**

>>>

“Oh, man, this  _ sucks _ .” Ryuji groaned.

Mishima rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time in the past hour. They were hanging out in  _ Untouchable _ ; Ryuji was working on the Phantom Thieves’ weapons, with the occasional help from Mishima or Yusuke. Otherwise, Mishima was looking through the hundreds of photographs he had taken on his SLR, and Yusuke was, as usual, sketching away in his sketchbook. And the entire time, Ryuji was bemoaning his lack of progress with one Makoto Niijima.

“I mean, when I was worried about her and stuff, I swore I was going to just… get it all out after we escaped, y’know? But once things settled down, the moment passed, and I…”

Mishima willed himself to stop listening, lest his eyeballs become trapped in the back of his head. These were, of course, first world relationship problems. The student council president clearly had eyes only for Ryuji, but both of them were sufficiently awkward enough that neither of them could actually make the first move.

“...supposed to be like, romantic, right? Don’t girls like that? I mean, I can’t just go up to her and…”

Mishima continued tuning Ryuji out. He leaned over to look at what Yusuke was drawing. He blinked.

“Kita-- er, Yusuke? What’s that?” The two of them had been hanging out more, lately, finding some commonalities between their chosen careers - photography and painting.

Yusuke looked up. He wasn’t doing sketches for a painting, or even to practice technique. Instead, it was a vector diagram, of all things. A single point, with multiple arrows drawn towards it from a point higher in the air.

“Ah. Just something from the last time we…” Yusuke trailed off.

“...From your part time job.” Mishima said, helpfully.

“Yes. Of course.” Yusuke said. “Without going into details, Yuuki… I should not have made the shot. And yet, I did.”

“Bro. That’s still bothering you?” Ryuji asked, shaking his head. “We got lucky. That’s okay too, y’know? You saved our butts in there! It was a great shot, one in a million.”

Yusuke frowned. “I would prefer that my role not involve so much luck, Ryuji. All of you were depending on me - and will continue to depend on me. I was certain that I missed the shot, and I need to know why I was wrong.”

Ryuji put down Makoto’s Detective Special and walked over to Yusuke. “Can I have a look?”

Yusuke nodded. He handed the sketchbook over to Ryuji, who started flipping through Yusuke’s various sketches of the fight against the landship.

“Ah. Yusuke, can I get your opinion on a few of these pictures? I tried a few different things. More shots from around the city, not just picturesque parks and trails…” Mishima said, handing his camera over.

Yusuke nodded. “Of course.”

He started going through the pictures, nodding approvingly. “Ah. I see. Urban cityscapes, as well? I must say, you’re becoming quite adept with the long lens…”

Ryuji and Yusuke’s phones buzzed a moment later.

**FS: Got the intel ready. Meet up at Ren’s place this evening. He’s still asleep right now.**

>>>

Ren woke up, finally. He glanced at P-chan; it was late in the afternoon, well past the end of the school day. He sat up, working his jaw, grimacing at the dry, stale taste in his mouth. His sheets fell to his waist. He yawned, running his hand through his hair. He felt an impressive cowlick as he blinked blearily to clear his vision. Mona wasn’t beside him anymore. But he wasn’t alone, judging by the startled gasp.

Haru stood just inside the attic, her hands over her mouth, a slightly scandalized look on her face. Complete with a faint blush.

“Haru…? What are you doing here?” Ren asked, yawning again.

The auburn haired girl looked off to the side, speaking quickly. “Ann-chan mentioned that you weren’t feeling well, and suggested I drop by to see how you were doing.”

“Oh. That’s nice of you. Here, why don’t you grab a seat on the couch, I’ll get up and get something to drink--”

“Nonono! That’s fine!” Haru said. “Er… maybe you could put on a shirt, first…?”

“...Oh.” Ren recalled now that he had gone to sleep just wearing sweatpants. He quickly found and pulled a t-shirt on, before getting up and fishing two Coke Zeros out of the mini-fridge. He handed one to Haru, waving at the couch. He sat down across from her, at the folding card table.

“Thank you.” Haru said, her face still a little hot. The girl knew that Ren was a boxer, but hadn’t realized how… well-conditioned… he was, as a result of all the training.

_ ‘Ann’s a lucky girl…’ _ Haru thought, coughing lightly. She composed herself quickly, looking at Ren. “Did you sleep all day?”

“I did.” Ren said, shaking his head. “That fight took a lot out of me.”

“Does this happen often? I thought that Ryuji used one of Takemi-sensei’s medications on you.”

“It seems to be whenever we take critical or repeated injuries in the Metaverse.” Ren said, sighing. He stretched his arms above his head with a slight groan. “The next day, it feels like a bad cramp or contusion. But I’ve never slept an entire day before. Tachibana must have hit me harder than I thought.”

“I must admit, it was a little jarring to see Tachibana-san there.” Haru said, sipping at her cola. “I wouldn’t have thought that my father would have a cognition of her.”

“You mentioned that she worked primarily for your mother, as her bodyguard.” Ren said. “Is she that tough in real life?”

“She doesn’t use a sword and spear in real life, if that’s what you’re asking.” Haru said, wryly. “I never saw her fight. But she always had this air about her. Everyone with any sense gave her a wide berth, or else treated her with utmost respect. I remember her as being quite professional, also. And apparently, she used to be a member of the JSDF. After my mother’s death, she returned to them.”

“That might explain the Roman-inspired weapons. The Romans had the first army in history to utilize professional soldiers…” Ren mused.

Haru smirked slightly. “The rumors about you are true, Ren-kun. A surprisingly well-read pugilist.”

“When you’re in jail, you don’t have much time for anything else other than studying and staying in shape.” Ren shrugged. “And you’re not exactly what I expected from an heiress. Aren’t you supposed to be more flighty, and attracted to shiny things?”

“I think you’re confusing ‘heiress’ with ‘magpie’, Ren-kun.” Haru said, chuckling. She sighed. “Though, the comparison may be suitable, for what my father wishes to do with me. A pretty bird to be locked into a gilded cage, used as barter...”

Ren thought back to the memory he witnessed. “...He wasn’t always like that, was he?”

Haru frowned. She shook her head. “He wasn’t. Though, the memory you saw… That wasn’t quite how I recalled it. By then, he was already distant from us. He wasn’t a man looking forward to enjoying his success and spending time with his family.”

Ren just nodded slowly, pushing his drink back and forth on the table. After a moment, he looked up at Haru, speaking carefully. “Haru… I’m only mentioning this because I recently had to confront some of my own memories about people who were close to me. Did Mona tell you much about me? My circumstances?”

Haru nodded. “The false charges, and the assassination of your reputation in your hometown?”

“That’s right.” Ren said. “The whole situation with Mona running off made me question how I remembered it. I mean, Mona had his reasons. So I started to wonder…”

“...If your recollection of your own friends was biased by your grief.” Haru finished. “I see what you’re saying, Ren-kun. I wondered the same about my father, after seeing that memory. But like I said in the Metaverse, it changes nothing. I’ll do what’s necessary.”

Ren paused at the subtle change in Haru’s tone. Something that reminded him of his own thoughts about a certain Suguru Kamoshida. How he had started to wonder if killing the man would have really been that bad...

“Haru…”

She smiled at him. “Yes, Ren-kun?”

Just like that, it was gone. Like a dark cloud briefly passing by on an otherwise sunny day. Ren, however, wasn’t fooled. He stared evenly at Haru.

“Haru, what exactly are you thinking is  _ necessary _ ?”

Haru’s smile slowly faded. She eyed Ren. “...I really shouldn’t underestimate you, should I?”

“I’m just a face-puncher with a record. But being a fighter means I can recognize hostile intent fairly readily.” Ren replied.

“...Even if we change my father’s heart, is there any guarantee that he’ll put things right? How far will he go?”

“What do you mean?”

“From a certain perspective, marrying me into the Sugimura family would be a good thing. It could be incredibly lucrative, and also give Okumura Foods political clout. If we leveraged the partnership a certain way, we could do a  _ lot  _ of good. For the workers, for the environment.  _ Everyone _ .” Haru replied. “So would a reformed Kunikazu Okumura call off the marriage? Or would he just try to renegotiate the terms to benefit the most people possible?”

“Wouldn’t he look out for his daughter, first?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“In a properly negotiated marriage alliance between two  _ zaibatsu _ , he would be looking out for his daughter. He would be ensuring her future.” Haru replied, coldly. “But it’s impossible to know for certain. So, the only way to guarantee my freedom…”

She trailed off, leaving the unspoken sentiment hanging in the air.

“...It’s not an easy thing to do, Haru.” Ren replied.

“I know. But I expect you’ll let me choose?”

“I didn’t stand in the way of anyone else.” Ren said. “Not Ann, Yusuke, or Makoto.”

“And did they choose correctly?”

“...Honestly? I have no idea.” Ren mused. “After seeing what happened with Kobayakawa, I’m becoming convinced that none of us have a damned clue what we’re doing, or what effect we’ll have on everything. I think the only thing we can do is something that Takemi-sensei told Shiho once.”

“What’s that?” Haru asked.

“She said that in medicine, if you’re spending a lot of time trying to convince yourself to do something, that usually means you know you should be doing something else - just that it’s inconvenient, hard to do, or otherwise painful. ...So… What are you trying to convince yourself of, Haru?”

“...I think I’m still trying to figure that out, Ren-kun.” Haru said, thoughtfully.

The sound of Ryuji’s voice downstairs made them both turn to look at the entrance to the attic.

“Ah. Looks like it’s time to start the briefing.”

>>>

Sae Niijima stepped into the conference room of the Special Investigation Division HQ, in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. She swiped irritably at the tablet in her hand when she noted that she was the first person to arrive.

_ ‘Really, Arai? An ‘urgent’ meeting, and I’m the only fucking person here?’ _

Grumbling, she sat down at the long table as she continued to work. Their team was making progress - there really did seem to be some connections between the deceased Kobayakawa and Okumura Foods. Several small donations to Shujin Academy at irregular intervals. In a way that to Sae’s eye, was meant to  _ not _ draw attention. Strange, when most companies would utilize this to generate favorable PR.

_ ‘So what’s the benefit for Okumura Foods? What’s the play…?’ _

Money laundering was a possibility, certainly. Sae made a note to dig up more of Shujin’s financials to explore the possibility. But there were less traceable ways to wash cash, like Madarame’s operation, before the Phantom Thieves had blown that open. There had to be something else.

The door opened.

She looked up, to see the smiling face of the Detective Prince. Sae rolled her eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be doing your homework, or signing autographs? Or batting your eyes at some brainless TV hostess?” Sae said, spitefully. Long hours and the difficulties caused by Kobayakawa’s death had left her with no patience for the boy’s bullshit.

“Ah… I’m afraid not, Niijima-san.” Akechi said. “How is the investigation going?”

“That’s not really any of your business.” Sae said. “I haven’t received any orders to include you on the Kobayakawa case.”

“No. Not yet.” Director Arai said, stepping into the room just behind Akechi. “Akechi-kun will be taking the lead on this now, Niijima. Effective as soon as we get the appropriate clearance for him and process the paperwork.”

There was a dead silence in the room as Sae Niijima waited for the nightmare to end. When she realized she was in fact, awake, she considered the rational, respectful responses to such a statement. She flipped through them like files in one of the banker’s boxes in the evidence room in the basement, one after another.

Eventually, she settled on the most appropriate response.

Flipping the box.

“Are you  _ fucking kidding me?! _ ”

“Niijima--”

“No. You’re insane. He’s barely gone through puberty, and you want to put him in charge of a  _ murder _ case?! Do you have any idea how much I’ve got riding on this?!”

Arai scoffed. “We need results. And if we can’t have results, we need to show the brass that we’re doing something.”

“By putting a  _ teenager _ in charge.” Sae said, incredulously.

“A teenager with a hell of an arrest record. In impossible cases, no less - which is what this is shaping up to be.”

“Now, I did get lucky a few times…” Akechi said, with that damned false modesty.

Sae opened her mouth to protest. Arai forestalled her, raising a hand.

“Niijima, you will  _ accept _ this, or I’ll suspend you without pay, pending dismissal. I trust your late father’s life insurance policy isn’t enough to put Makoto through university, is it?”

“You son of a  _ bitch. _ ”

“Call me what you want. The transition to Akechi-kun will be in November. You will fill him in and keep him informed of what you’re doing to ensure a smooth transition. If you don’t want him in charge,  _ find a perp before then _ .”

Sae bit her lip. She let out a long breath. “ _ Fine _ .” She stood, heading for the door.

Akechi raised a hand. “Ah-- Niijima-san, we’re not quite done. Should we not have a discussion about the case’s current status? I’m certain that if we put our heads together, we can deduce--”

Sae shoved the tablet into Akechi’s chest, sending him stumbling back. “I don’t have time to read you bed time stories, Akechi. Here’s the ‘current status’. Go ‘detect’. ‘Deduce’. I don’t care.”

She left, her eyes dark.  _ ‘I’m going to solve this. I’m going to win this, no matter what it takes. I should have known Arai would do something like this. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done in the past, how hard I’ve worked. If he wants a perp, I’ll give him one.’ _

Arai and Akechi watched her leave. The Director turned to Akechi, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh, yes.” Akechi said, smiling. “In the Metaverse, she very nearly has a complete Palace. Years of working for a corrupt system, I imagine. This will likely push her the rest of the way, giving us the perfect trap. I’ll simply need to lead them in and slam it shut.”

“...So you know who they are?”

“Very nearly.”

“This is a big gamble to take for ‘very nearly’, Akechi.” Arai said, shaking his head.

“I assure you, Director. I’ll not make any definitive moves until I have direct evidence.” Akechi said, smiling. “But if I’m right, what I have planned will require at least this much lead up time to accomplish.”

And, he still wanted to enjoy the secret for just a little longer. It was his alone.

Amamiya’s life was his to destroy.

>>>

The Phantom Thieves pored over the information Futaba had gleaned from the Palace, combined with Makoto’s perfect recollection of what they had seen. This was the group’s first incursion into a Palace with the combined intelligence-gathering might of Queen’s eidetic memory and Oracle’s near-omnipotence. Makoto put down the tablet she was swiping through, looking quite similar to her sister, for a moment.

She nodded confidently. “Yes. We can say this with certainty, now.”

The group looked at her hopefully.

Makoto dropped the tablet on the table, slumping. “It’s impossible. It’s absolutely impossible.”

Everyone groaned.

Ryuji rubbed his face. “We’ve been staring at this crap for  _ hours _ ! I can’t believe this! Just  _ knowing _ you have a Palace makes it this much harder?!”

Futaba sighed. “Mom speculated about this in her research. It’s kinda like that movie,  _ Inception _ . Robert Fischer, the guy whose mind they’re trying to manipulate - he trained his subconscious to repel intruders. They were badasses with submachine guns and assault rifles. Nearly killed Ken Watanabe!”

Yusuke frowned. “Only in this case, we must contend with things like a landship that required an impossible shot, a mercenary that nearly killed Ren, and now…”

“And now an impossible time limit.” Haru breathed. She couldn’t help but feel some degree of grudging respect for the man she once called ‘father’. After learning of the Metaverse, instead of cowering or ignoring it, Kunikazu had thrown himself into study of the other realm, working to compensate for what he perceived as a weakness - his unconscious mind.

The data Futaba gathered was both comprehensive and depressing. The inner and final hub of the Palace was indeed a space port - the middle and outer hubs existed purely to supply the inner hub. At the center of the Palace was a launch pad, where a massive, dagger-like spaceship was being constructed along with multiple armed escort ships. At first, that seemed like the logical location for the Treasure Room. But, further research by the orange-haired hacker showed that the real Treasure Room was hidden kilometres below the spaceship, at the heart of an exceedingly heavily guarded labyrinth with doors that all required at  _ least _ an Okumura biometric signature.

The only entrance to the labyrinth was from the surface, close to the spaceship. That at least, was a straight shot from the safe room that the Phantom Thieves had exited from last. The inner hub wasn’t winding streets and skyscrapers - instead, it looked more like an airbase, with large, hangar-like buildings. So, traversal to the center wouldn’t be difficult.

Except for the fact that the entire area was crawling with guards, light cycles, and other armored assault vehicles. Nothing as big as the landship they had taken down, but far more than a token force. But, with their current team, they could conceivably fight their way to the middle - and  _ probably  _ fight their way down to the Treasure Room.

If it weren’t for the fact that stepping onto the airfield would trigger a twenty minute timer.

“We don’t even know what the timer means…” Ann said, sighing.

Futaba made an uncertain noise. “It’s hard to say. In most science fiction movies, that sort of thing either means a launch countdown or a self-destruct timer… The data we gathered doesn’t say which. It also doesn’t describe where Okumura’s trying to get to with the spaceship, or what it has to do with the Treasure. If anything.”

Ren frowned. “It seems like there’s a lot we don’t know.”

He leaned forward from his spot around the table. He looked over the large map that Futaba and Makoto had produced and annotated, his eyes lighting on one unmarked corner. It was just outside the perimeter of the airfield; entry there wouldn’t trigger the timer. He tapped it with a finger.

“What’s this place? I didn’t see any pictures of it from Mona’s surveillance videos.”

“It wasn’t lit up when I was flying above.” Mona said, his tail flicking. “So none of the video caught anything. It isn’t clear in the pictures, but I could just make out a building of some kind. It didn’t seem important. No guards, no neon roads heading to it…”

“Hm.” Haru said. “That could mean it’s unimportant. But knowing Kunikazu Okumura, it’s more likely that it represents something he wishes to be kept hidden. In reality, he always enjoyed hiding important things in plain sight, away from obvious security measures.”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves was silent for a long moment, studying the map, defenses, and the fleet of spaceships under construction. A small smirk appeared on his face, his eyes coming alive as a plan started to come together. He picked up the tablet that Makoto had put down a moment earlier.

“Only one way to find out.” Ren said, before quickly raising his hand at Ann’s immediate, annoyed reaction. “ _ After _ I recover, of course.”

“Of course.” Ann said, glaring at Ren.

“In the meantime, here’s what I’m thinking. Ryuji, Songbird - can you two kit out our weapons, armor, and accessories for a head-on assault?”

“...For real? You want to try to fight through all of that?!” Ryuji asked, in a mix of surprise and anticipation.

“I’m thinking about it.” Ren said. He then looked over at Futaba. “Futaba, do you think it would be possible to figure out a way to run simulations on this stuff?”

“You mean like how long it would take for us to fight our way to the center, based on our current combat data?” Futaba asked, looking intrigued. “Maybe. Are you thinking of a plug in the numbers theorycrafting sort of thing, or something more interactive?”

“As interactive as possible.” Ren replied.

“Ehehe. I think I’ve got just the thing. MonaMona, I’ll need your help.”

“...?! This better not involve dressing me up again!”

“She dressed you up?” Ryuji asked, stifling a laugh.

“She did not!” Mona snapped, immediately. He started grooming himself irritably.

Ren read the tablet, looking through the intel. “Don’t get too excited, everyone. A lot of what I’m thinking hinges on whether we can get more information on the Treasure and the nature of the countdown, so this is pretty hypothetical.”

“Ren… What exactly are you planning?” Ann asked, curiously. She peered over his shoulder as he swiped through the tablet - in particular, intel on the various escort and support ships that were going to accompany the mother ship.

He stopped, his finger lighting on one particular ship.

“Songbird, I aim to misbehave.”

>>>

September 30, 20xx

The Phantom Thieves gathered outside a large building at the perimeter of the inner hub’s ‘airfield’ - the one Ren had noted on the corner of the map.

Ryuji frowned, lightly kicking at the wall of the building. “...Geez. It looks pretty run-down by comparison, doesn’t it?”

He wasn’t wrong. The other buildings were in the same motif as the other hubs - polished, smooth black walls with neon highlights. This building looked like it had been transplanted from the real world; it looked completely out of place. Haru stepped forward, running a gloved hand over an exposed part of the wall; the rest was covered in ivy.

“Brick…?” She murmured.

There was something familiar about the building. Even comforting.

“I think I know what this place is. Help me.” She said, starting to pull at the ivy covering the wall. Within minutes, the Phantom Thieves cleared it the wall. Ann gestured; a small orb of flame appeared in her palm, bathing the area in a warm, steady light. It revealed a stately building, dignified in red brick and wrought-iron. Underneath the ivy, the building was weathered, but structurally sound. And somehow, the cold brick seemed…  _ sad _ .

They were in front of the main door; Haru read the sign above it in a small, fragile voice.

“Department of Botanical Sciences…”

Without another word, Haru stepped forward quickly, pushing the door open and disappearing inside the yawning darkness.

“Noir!” Ren shouted, to no response. “Damn it… Panther, Skull. We’re going after her. The rest of you, make sure nothing comes in after us - and Mona, keep your engine running.”

Ren, Ann, and Ryuji entered the building behind Haru. The similarities to the university building ended at the exterior. In the real world, the department was a series of older style offices and classrooms branching off of straight hallways. Here, the facade of the building concealed only a single large, empty room with scattered debris, broken furniture, and non-functional equipment. A layer of dust covered everything.

The perpetual twilight of the outside filtered in a little from the windows, but the darkness in the building seemed to swallow up the light. Even the illumination from Ann’s orb of flame only extended a few metres out from the group.

Ren spotted Haru; she stood near an intact desk, running her fingers over an old microscope.

“Noir…?”

Haru glanced up at the trio.

“Sorry for running off.” She said, sighing. “This… this is the building where my mother worked when she was alive. I don’t know what I was hoping to find in here.”

“Is anything familiar?” Ann asked.

“No. Her office and lab weren’t the entire building. The layout is wrong.” Haru said, shaking her head. She smiled wistfully, looking down at the dusty microscope. “When I was here with my mother, I would always run to the microscope. Even if she was busy, she would always have a new slide in it for me to look at. It would always be colorful, pretty. Like a little world just for me… It was a microscope just like this one.”

“That’s because it’s the same one, ojou-sama.” Said a familiar voice, out of the darkness.

The voice gave Ren chills, making him remember the feel of pinpoint javelin strikes in his body. He whirled, his wrist-blades snapping out. “Get to cover!”

“Stand down, Joker.” Tachibana said, striding into the circle illuminated by Ann’s light. She wore her shield, but didn’t have a light javelin ready. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have. I would have  _ last _ time, in fact.”

“Tachibana-san…” Haru said, regarding the tall woman. “...The fact that you’re the only one here…”

Tachibana nodded at the microscope. “I think you should have a look, ojou-sama.”

_ ‘...Like a little world.’ _ Haru thought. She stooped down, looking through the lens. The microscope didn’t light up to show her the slide, but it chimed.

The far end of the building came to life. The contrast was nearly blinding as sunlight poured into the rear of the large room.

The back half of the room was a botanical laboratory, with a door to an office in the back; though, parts of it looked as lush as a greenhouse. Plant and flower specimens thrived in open beds, pots, or in glass cases. Research equipment was set up and well-organized throughout. Inexplicably, sunlight filtered in from the windows and skylight.

Ren quickly glanced behind him at the windows closest to the door they had entered from. It was still the neon-twilight, the dim artificial light of Okumura’s Palace. Somehow, the back half of the building was like a diorama or museum exhibit. Self-contained and separate from Okumura’s cognitions and twisted desires.

Haru stepped forward, her hand tentatively reaching out - and coming into contact with a glass barrier. Self-contained, separate, and  _ sealed _ .

Ren stood between Tachibana and his team, his blades still out. He eyed her, on guard.

The woman stared back. Again, a look of approval flashed across her features. “You’re cautious, Joker. I’m glad. It suits a commander in charge of the welfare of his troops.”

“Why aren’t you attacking us?” Ren asked, still suspicious.

“I told you. I work for Okumura - but not Kunikazu.” Tachibana said, softly…  _ Sadly _ . She nodded her head at the well-lit botanical lab in the back. “Just watch, and listen.”

The office door in the back of the laboratory opened.

A short woman in a white lab coat stepped out. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows; her long auburn hair was pulled back into a bun with some stray locks dangling in front of her face. She had a pencil behind her ear and wore glasses. She read through a notebook, her face furrowed in concentration. Ryuji’s eyes widened, flitting from the woman to Haru.

“...Whoa. She looks just like…”. Ryuji started to say.

“Mother!” Haru shouted, her fist thudding on the barrier.

The woman looked up. A broad smile spread over her pretty face; she dropped her notebook, running to the glass. “Haru-chan! Oh, my beautiful little girl…”

She looked as though she was moving to hug Haru - but stopped short as her graceful fingertips touched the barrier. She let her arms fall to her sides, regretfully. She bit her lip for a moment, before offering the newest Phantom Thief a small smile. “You’re not so little anymore, though…”

Haru smiled, tears brimming in her eyes, before tensing suddenly. Her smile evaporated as her expression hardened. “...You… You’re not her. You’re just another cognition. Another projection of  _ that man _ . So, what is it? Are you going to attack me? Are you going to try to protect him? What kind of self-serving fantasy has he dreamed up--”

“Haru-chan. Do you remember what I taught you? Observe everything...” She began.

“...Observe everything. Omit nothing. Make my conclusions only  _ after  _ I’ve considered all of the available information. Not  _ while _ I’m making my observations. To do so introduces bias.” Haru finished. “...How could you know that? Kunikazu never heard you say that to me.”

Kurenai Okumura shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure, myself, Haru-chan. You are right, of course. I’m not your mother. Not really. But I’m not just his cognition, either.”

“Then…?”

Kurenai turned, collecting her notebook from the floor.

“I’ll understand if you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt, Haru-chan. Were I in your position, I would do the same. But… I think the answer is  _ love _ . Kunikazu… your father. He is - was - a hopeless romantic. It’s just that his family situation and social status prevented him from acting like one.” Kurenai said, smiling in bittersweet fondness. “We had an arranged marriage. But did you know he still tried to court me? We didn’t just learn to love each other through time. He made me fall for him. For all of his business acumen, his ability to become ruthless when he had to be… He allowed me into his heart, Haru-chan. He  _ wanted  _ me in his heart.”

Kurenai gestured around her. “It seems there is some truth to those maudlin dramas, where dying lovers profess that they’ll forever live on within the other person’s heart. So, yes… I believe some part of me is his cognition of Kurenai Okumura - but the Kurenai he thought of, the Kurenai he loved best, was no different from the one he saw every day of his life: a strong, independent woman. In his heart of hearts, he sees her in no other way. Much like how his only cognition of Tachibana-san was as Kurenai’s friend and confidant, not Kunikazu’s.”

The statuesque warrior inclined her head respectfully.

Haru shook her head, clenching her fists. “If… if he can have you in his heart, then… then why is he the way he is?! Why doesn’t he… why doesn’t he  _ care _ …”

“...I’ve had to sit in this beautiful lab for years, watching this Palace expand.” Kurenai said. She turned, looking past Haru’s shoulder, out one of the windows that overlooked the spaceport. “I also wondered why this was happening. I’ve had years to think on it. I know I’m not truly Kurenai, Haru-chan. But I’m sorry… I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop him from saying and doing those terrible things. And I’m sorry, because part of this is  _ my _ fault.”

“What?! No… that’s impossible.”

Kurenai turned to Haru, shaking her head. She gestured; part of the glass glowed, turning into a screen. It started playing the scene at the oncologist’s office again.

“You are. You must be. ...I’ll hang on as long as I can, Kunikazu. But soon, Haru will only be able to depend on you. You need to protect her. You need to ensure her future. So… please. Please be strong for her.”

Kurenai paused the memory there. She looked regretfully at Kunikazu; his slumped shoulders, his broken expression.

“...I’ve had a long time to watch these memories. I think… I think this was the moment where everything changed.”

She sighed.

“I - or rather, your mother - thought that saying this would give him strength. That he would live on for  _ you _ , Haru-chan. But… Kurenai’s death hurt him deeply. It broke him in a way that neither of them could have ever anticipated. Love… love isn’t beautiful. Nor is it ugly, or jealous, or warm, or spiteful. It simply  _ is _ . It compels us, it moves us. It makes us write songs, name stars after loved ones. It also makes us imprison, kill, and hurt. Kurenai’s last wishes for him… they’ve made him obsessed with ensuring a future for you. And that was subsequently warped into ensuring a legacy for Okumura in general.”

Haru placed a hand on the glass. “...You’re… you’re saying all of this is a product of  _ love _ …?”

“I’m not sure we can simplify it like that.” Kurenai said, shaking her head. “He… he couldn’t let go of Kurenai. That’s why I’m trapped here. I am the Kurenai in his heart. On some level, he knows I’m here. He knows I’m watching. And he knows that I - and Kurenai, were she alive - would be heartbroken to see him do the things he’s doing. The guilt has twisted him completely, and he’s too far gone to go back on his own.”

Haru wiped at her eyes. “So the spaceship…?”

Kurenai, her own eyes moist, smiled. She reached out, placing her hand over Haru’s, separated by the glass. “My clever little girl… Yes. You are correct. That’s why his Palace has taken this form; that’s why the enormous resources here are all aimed at building an exodus fleet. It all stems from his desire to get away from himself. To flee from the memory of Kurenai that was once his comfort, but is now just a reminder of his own guilt.”

“...Is that even possible? To get away?”

Kurenai shook her head, sadly. “No. Of course not. Just like in the real world, no matter how much money or influence he earns, his heart still screams out in pain to a mind too cold and warped to hear. The ships will take off, and fly - but even here, he has no idea where his supposed ‘utopia’ will be.”

The botanist looked past Haru again, at Ren, Ann, and Ryuji.

“You have reliable friends now, Haru-chan. Tachibana-san told me. So I’ll tell you what I know. The Treasure is the power source for his flagship. Once you deliver the calling card, you’ll make it manifest enough for your team to steal it. But the moment you cross the threshold into the airfield, it will start a twenty minute timer until the simultaneous launch of the fleet and self-destruction of the inner hub. I can only assume that if the fleet reaches orbit, your opportunity to steal the Treasure will be lost forever.”

She paused. She raised an eyebrow, looking at Ren. “You. The one called ‘Joker’. You have a plan?”

Ren nodded once. “...What you said confirms what I suspected, Kurenai-san.”

The botanist smiled. “Good.”

She turned away, waving a hand over her shoulder. “Then… then you should all get going, shouldn’t you? You have things to do.”

“...Mother. Wait.” Haru said, her hand and forehead pressed against the glass. She looked down to the floor, speaking in that same, fragile voice from before. “...If we succeed, then, you…”

“...You really are my clever little girl, aren’t you?” Kurenai said, her voice breaking. “You never let me talk my way out of a bed time story. You always noticed when I tried something different with your favorite dishes. I… I just can’t slip anything past you.”

She turned back. Tears streamed from the woman’s eyes. She pressed her hand and brow to the glass, a mirror image to her daughter. Each of them tried to ignore the thick glass between them, but it was impossible. It was a tangible metaphor for the barrier between sweet nostalgia and bitter present; between the dearly departed and the grieving remnant of a broken family. The two were silent for a moment.

Ryuji looked respectfully away; Ann turned into Ren’s shoulder, stifling her tears against his coat as he held her.

“...Haru-chan. I’m not your mother. Not really. I’m just an after-image. Part cognition, part longing for a bygone time.” She said, slowly. “...If…  _ when _ you succeed, I’ll disappear. You… you won’t be able to speak to me again. Not like this.”

“Mother…” Haru sobbed. “I… I don’t want to…”

“You have to grow up, Haru-chan.” Kurenai said, gentle, but stern. “You must. But… I won’t make the same mistake as before. You… you don’t have to be strong. Not all the time. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to depend on those you trust and love. It’s okay to miss me. It’s going to hurt for a long time. But, just remember... Like your father, the memory of Kurenai Okumura lives on in your heart, too. And nothing would make your mother more joyful or more proud than to see her clever little girl happy and free to live, to love.”

Haru’s hand turned into a fist. It thudded quietly against the glass a few more times as Haru’s sobs quieted.

Ann stepped forward, place her hands on Haru’s shoulders comfortingly. “Haru…”

Haru just nodded, still shaking. “I… I know.”

She leaned on Ann, turning away. She looked back at the cognition of Kurenai Okumura one more time.

The older woman smiled at Haru. The air was already changing; the lights dimming. They couldn’t hear her anymore. Her mouth moved; the message was clear.

_ ‘I love you forever.’ _

The room returned to darkness.

Ryuji followed the girls out, pausing as he passed by Tachibana. The woman raised an eyebrow.

Ryuji shivered, but held fast, looking at Ren.

“...It’s fine, Skull. I think she wants to talk to me.” Ren said.

“...Alright. If you need us, just scream. Or shoot. Or stab. Just… don’t die.”

Ryuji left.

Tachibana smiled slightly. She stood across from Ren. “He’s a brave one, Joker.”

“He is. More guts than brains.” Ren replied, evenly. “...What  _ are  _ you, exactly?”

She shrugged. “Who can say…? A cognition of Kunikazu Okumura, colored by the memory of Kurenai? A bored Shadow influenced by the martial prowess of Tachibana? I’m honestly not sure, myself. But to answer your  _ actual _ question - yes. I was testing you.”

“...And?”

“And I will say that Arsene chose wisely.” Tachibana replied. She reached over to the microscope, removing the slide. “You, though… ...you will have a difficult decision to make, should you decide to continue wielding the Black Wing. You remain incomplete. Your abilities will become a double edged sword. I can’t say more, because I simply don’t know more.”

She reached out, pressing the microscope slide into Ren’s hand. “Please hold this for Haru-sama. She will most likely want to see it again. You’ll know when the time is right.”

The woman turned away. She paused, though, a few steps into the darkness.

“...Take care of them all, Joker. But especially Haru-sama. If you fail here, you’ll answer to me. If you fail in the other world… Well. Let’s just say that Okumura’s cognition of me doesn’t do me justice.”

>>>

“Thank you for having me over, Ann-chan.” Haru said, sitting on the sofa at the Takamaki residence. She wore a spare pair of pyjamas. After the Phantom Thieves left the Metaverse, she hadn’t really felt like returning to the Okumura estate.

“It’s no problem, Haru.” Ann said, smiling.She had her hair down, in her usual Choco-cat pyjamas. She placed a tray with tea and snacks on the coffee table, before taking a seat beside Haru. “The others will be here soon.”

Haru staying over had somehow turned into an impromptu sleepover; Shiho was on her way, as well as Makoto and Futaba, after the two collected some things. The auburn-haired girl sipped her tea, looking down at the steaming green liquid. “That’s good… It’ll be nice to chat, to take my mind off things.”

Ann nodded, working on her own mug. She wasn’t sure what she could say to that. After all, Haru had just spoken to a representation of her deceased mother, only to find out that their success in her father’s Palace would mean she would never speak with her again. The blonde girl found herself missing her own parents.

_ ‘I should give them a call…’ _ Ann thought.  _ ‘Daddy’s probably worried.’ _

“Ann-chan… Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Hm?” Ann looked up at Haru.

“...You and Ren-kun. You two are really in love, aren’t you?” Haru asked, still gazing at her tea.

Ann reflexively blushed faintly. “...Er… yeah. Yes.”

Haru nodded. “It’s pretty obvious. I mean, even before you two went public, the rumor mill at school was fairly certain.”

“You pay attention to that stuff…?” Ann asked, frowning.

Haru blinked, looking at Ann. “Ah! Sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you distress. Obviously, I don’t pay any attention to the mean-spirited ones. I… I was just asking, because of what the cognition of my mother said about love. About how it was my father’s love for my mother that ultimately twisted him to become the way he is now.”

“Ah…” Ann said. “I can’t imagine how much pain he was in.”

Haru nodded. “Yes. It makes me wonder how it could ever be worth it. Letting someone in so deeply.”

Ann thought of the near misses they had - the battle against Mot, in Futaba’s Palace. The moments where she thought he was dead after Cognitive Wakaba’s diving attack. And worst of all, the frantic moments on Children’s Day, when she thought she would be too late. At the time, they weren’t even dating, but Ren was already such a huge part of her world. Each time, her vision had tunneled; time had simultaneously slowed and sped up, somehow. Each time, it felt like her heart was going to shatter into a million pieces.

So, there was only one possible answer to Haru’s question.

“...It’s absolutely worth it, Haru. Without question.”

Haru blinked. She looked up at Ann to ask why, until she met the blonde girl’s bright blue eyes, the firm set of her jaw and shoulders. She was utterly determined. This wasn’t a matter of reason or debate. It was belief. A cliche one… but it suited her. Haru smiled, chuckling softly.

“ ‘To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.’, is it?” Haru asked.

“...Yeah! Exactly. Who said that?”

“JK Rowling, in a  _ Harry Potter _ novel.”

“Literally magical words, then.”

Haru snickered. She then perked, as Ann’s phone went off for the doorbell. A moment later, there was a knock on the door to Ann’s apartment. She opened it, revealing Futaba, Makoto, and Shiho.

“Hey, Blondie!” Shiho said, grinning as she walked in. She gently pushed Futaba ahead, who looked about with wide eyes. The orange-haired girl clutched a large Yoshi plush toy. “The Gremlin’s feeling a bit shy. It’s her first sleepover.”

Ann smiled, poking Futaba gently on the nose. “It’ll be fun, Futaba-chan. I have a Swi--”

Futaba left an outline as she darted for the 60” 4K TV and the Nintendo Switch hooked up to it.

Shiho laughed. “So. What’s the champ up to?”

“Hm? He said he had to go take care of something with Mishima…”

>>>

“I won’t have it! No son of mine is going to become a penniless  _ beggar _ on the streets, peddling useless photographs!” Hana Mishima snapped, tossing one of Yuuki’s prints onto the table between her and her son. She hadn’t even bothered to look at it.

Yuuki’s shoulders slumped. “...Mother, I…”

“Wait, hold on. If he’s a beggar, he wouldn’t be peddling anything.” Ren said, raising an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” Hana said, glaring at Ren.

“I’m saying that you’re mixing up your dire predictions for Yuuki’s future. Is he going to be peddling photographs, or begging for handouts?”

“...What are you even doing here? This is a family affair. Do you--”

“Know who you are? Nice.” Ren scratched off a box on a little grid he had drawn on a napkin while Yuuki was trying to show his photographs to his parents.

Yuuki blinked. “Ren? What are you doing?”

“Playing ‘Pompous Rich Person Bingo’.” Ren said, shrugging.

Hana gasped. “Why I never--”

“Bingo!” Ren said, drawing a line through a row. “Had to use the free square on that one, though.”

Hana ‘hmphed’, standing up. “I’ll be waiting in the car, Yutaro-san.” She said, addressing Yutaro Mishima, her husband.

Mishima’s father had been quiet most of the meeting, just flipping through Yuuki’s portfolio, looking through the amateur photography contest results. Yuuki had taken the second place prize for newcomers - apparently a considerable feat for a high school student. The man peered at Ren over the top of his glasses; he was a thin, shrewd-looking man with grey-streaked hair. He raised an eyebrow.

“You realize, she’ll be complaining about you for  _ days _ , now.”

“Better me than Yuuki.” Ren replied, shrugging.

Yutaro grunted, amused at the boxer’s strategy. “True. You have a good friend, Yuu-kun. And you’ve clearly worked very hard on your photography.”

“...Yes. I have.” Yuuki said, nodding. “...I… it’s important to me. I’ll still go to college. I mean, I’ll make sure that I keep up, and get a degree, and--”

“No. That won’t do at all.”

“...Father?”

Yutaro smiled, sliding the portfolio across to Yuuki. “You don’t need a business degree to pursue this, Yuu-kun. You’ll need to go to a fine arts or technical school if you’re serious about this. Have you done much research in that, yet?”

Both Ren and Yuuki blinked.

“Er… yes?”

“Good. Show me your top choices, and we’ll work out how to get you there. I think I have some friends you can work with as an intern, also. I--”

“Father, if I can interrupt…? Why are you helping?”

Yutaro raised an eyebrow. “Why shouldn’t I? You’re my son.”

“Didn’t you want me to take over the company? To come work for you?” Yuuki asked, confused. “I knew I’d never be able to convince Mother, but I didn’t think you…”

Yutaro shook his head. “I only offered that as an option until you figured out something on your own, Yuuki. My only worry was that you’d never find something you’re passionate about. Seeing this… seeing this makes me happy. As for your mother… I’ll speak with her. She’s only worried about your future, as well. She’ll come around. On the photography, anyway.”

He smirked at Ren. “You, on the other hand. If you ever come visit us, I’ll welcome you. But I suggest you check the food and drink that Yuuki’s mother offers you.”

Ren laughed. “That’s funny.”

Yutaro didn’t laugh. He just looked seriously at Ren.

Ren’s eyes widened.

Yutaro’s serious expression broke into a broad grin. “Haha. Kidding. Mostly.”

Yuuki laughed. “Thanks, Father. And you too, Ren.”

Ren nodded. “You know, these are really good, Yuuki. Yusuke mentioned I should have a look at some of the ones still on your SLR, too?”

“Ah, right. That…”

>>>

“Did you ever think of how weird video games are?” Shiho asked, as she watched Futaba hand Ann’s ass to her in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. Makoto sat between the two, watching in rapt attention.

Haru blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, think about it. Every time Gremlin-chan fireballs Blondie, she’s making Ken crouch, crouch forward, walk a little, and then punch. It’s a bit ridiculous.”

“Damnit, Futaba, you’re being cheap!”

“And you’re being SUCK.”

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“Your face doesn’t make sense.”

Haru giggled. “That’s true, it is a bit odd to think of video games in that way. Or, I wonder what people would think if we started running down the streets of Shibuya, randomly eavesdropping on conversations. Or running in place because we got stuck on the wall.”

Shiho laughed. “Or running around in circles in Shibuya station because we can’t find the entrance to the line we want…”

“...Argh! Best out of seven, then!” Ann shouted.

“Bring it.”

Haru smiled at their interaction; Ann was leaning forward on the sofa, her tongue sticking out between her lips in concentration. Futaba was relaxed, her Yoshi plush on her lap. She just grinned impishly, waiting for Ann to pick a fighter.

“You pick first.” Ann said, pouting.

“Oh, sure. Zangief, then.” Futaba said, casually.

“...Are you freaking  _ serious _ ?! Are you mocking me?!” Ann picked Cammy, grumbling.

“Yep!”

Makoto frowned. “That seems like a mismatch. Why would a tiny blonde woman agree to fight a gigantic wrestler…? And why are they both wearing swimsuits?”

As they started, Haru looked over at Shiho. “Ne, Shiho-chan… What’s your part in all of this?”

“All of what?” Shiho asked, innocently.

“...Ah. I see.” Haru said, understanding immediately.

“...Hm. Champ was right. You’re a sharp one.” Shiho said.

“...Shiho-chan, if I may ask. What happened on the roof back in April… did Ren-kun really…?”

Shiho just nodded; lately she had become more comfortable talking about her attempted suicide. “He did. I owe him my life.”

“Ah… Ren-kun really is reliable, isn’t he…?” Haru said, quietly.

Shiho raised an eyebrow, catching Haru’s subtle shift in tone.

Haru blinked, caught off-guard. “...That is, I think all of them are. The boys, I mean. Ann-chan and Mako-chan are certainly lucky.”

Makoto startled, turning around. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Aren’t you two dating?” Haru asked, confused. “You always stand so close to each other, and the way he smiles at you, and you at him…”

“I… I mean, we… …there’s exams coming up, and we’ve been really busy…” Makoto stammered, blushing.

Ann groaned, dropping the controller as Futaba reversed the match in an instant, using the hard-to-pull-off corkscrew piledriver. “Are you serious?!”

Makoto frowned. “You  _ did _ leave yourself wide open, Ann.”

“No, I mean  _ you _ ! You two still aren’t dating, yet?!” Ann said, looking at Makoto.

“Well, we go out…”

“Studying at the diner doesn’t count.” Ann said.

Makoto frowned. “Well, there’s the…”

“Studying at the library doesn’t, either.” Shiho added. “Man. It’s amazing to think you two have gone on more practice dates than actual dates.”

Haru blinked. “‘Practice’ dates?”

“Er… Nothing. Nothing at all.” Makoto said.

Shiho grinned. “Oh, no. Not nothing.” The designated troll of the Phantom Thieves’ inner circle gleefully explained the circumstances that led up to the current romantic awkwardness of Makoto and Ryuji.

“...And they even went to the aquarium together, that really romantic one.” Shiho finished.

“Oh my. So they went on practice dates, Mako-chan to help her friend, and Ryuji-kun to improve his chances with Togo-san, only to fall in love with each other? How cute.” Haru said, smiling at Makoto.

Makoto, beet red, stared at the floor. “It’s… ...you can’t just  _ summarize _ it like that.”

“And didn’t Ryuji buy you that bottlenose dolphin toy? The really dopey looking one?” Ann asked, innocently.

“B-chan isn’t dopey looking! He’s really cute, and…” She trailed off, realizing she’d been caught.

“I have a picture!” Shiho said, helpfully. She pulled up an image on her phone from Makoto’s room, the last time she had been over. It showed B-chan the dolphin plush, displayed prominently on the student council president’s bed.

Futaba looked. “Ooooh. You sleep with it? It’s like, body-pillow sized.”

“I… I  _ don’t _ !” Makoto shouted.

“You mean you  _ don’t _ hug it, and imagine it’s--” Shiho started.

Makoto smacked her in the face with a throw pillow.

Ann laughed. “It’s amazing to see the mature student council president act like this…”

“Oh, Ann. Speaking of mature. Did you want the cat-ear image set of RenRen sent to your DropBox, or do you want it on USB?” Futaba asked, innocently.

Ann’s eyes widened. “You…”

Futaba and Shiho exchanged grins.

“There are  _ way _ too many trolls in this group!” Ann said. With a laugh, she flung a pillow at Futaba, catching the girl in the chest.

As the good-natured bickering and pillow fight continued, Shiho stole a glance at Haru.

_ ‘...Hm. Wonder how that will develop.’ _

>>>

October 1, 20xx

“Come on, get your asses moving, rogues! Turn up the heat!” Ren shouted, advancing with Faith and Vengeance blazing. “Five minutes left!”

He turned, just in time to see a light-disc flying for his neck. Ann’s red whip lashed out, catching the chakram-like weapon out of the air - she snapped it back away from Ren, using it to slice the back wheel of a light cycle off. Bike and rider crashed into an armored tank, causing a fiery explosion.

The eight Phantom Thieves advanced as quickly as they could across the airfield, weapons blazing. Haru fired her grenade launcher steadily, the arcing ordnance acting as a curtain of shrapnel and fire to cover their advance; Mona and Ryuji supported her, the former using his slingshot to fire his own explosives and Zorro to push the grenades further. Ryuji threw his own grenades into the air and used his hammer like a baseball bat. William appeared at regular intervals behind Ryuji, laying waste with his rail cannon.

Yusuke and Ann covered their flanks; Gorokichi froze and cleaved enemies apart. Celestine reduced entire battalions to ash.

And in the middle, Ren and Makoto pushed ahead with blades, tonfas, pistols and powers. Futaba hovered above them, safely ensconced within Necronomicon as she guided them and kept them aware of the time remaining and incoming reinforcements.

“Three minutes!” She called.

They reached the edge of the launch platform.

The firefight intensified; Okumura’s main battleship powered up, preparing to launch.

Ren charged forwards, his guns blazing. The Black Wings appeared in a blaze of black flame, driving him forward. “Come on!”

“One minute!” A panel opened on Futaba’s Persona, allowing her to aim out with the Desert Eagle that looked comically large in her hands - she fired, doing something, anything to try to get the Phantom Thieves to their goal.

Just as Ren reached the entrance to the labyrinth, Okumura’s exodus fleet launched with a roar, the concussive blast knocking the Phantom Thieves off their feet. They were out of time.

Slowly, Ren stood. He looked up at Futaba, making a ‘cut’ gesture with his hand at his neck.

The airfield, and all the combatants, save the Phantom Thieves, blurred into static, and then faded away. The team was standing in one of the large, empty rooms amidst the tunnels of the first level of Mementos.

“That’s the fourth time, Futaba, but still impressive.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I asked for an interactive simulation, and you delivered.”

Futaba beamed at Ren, her goggles and mask pushed up. “Yep yep! Couldn’t have done it without Mona, though. He was able to pick out the best place to try this. Even if he doesn’t  _ remember _ a lot about Mementos, his intuition is pretty solid.”

Mona grinned. “It’s pretty awesome, I have to say.”

“And you think you guys can pull this off on a more limited scale in other places…?”

“Probably.”

Ren grinned, his expression almost feral.

“...Uh, bro. I don’t see why you’re so happy.” Ryuji said. “I mean, we didn’t even set foot in the labyrinth during the simulations. We don’t stand a chance of getting to the Treasure. There’s still an entire dungeon below, remember?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’ve got that covered.”

Makoto frowned. “How? You’ve been evasive about that for awhile.”

Ren looked at the assembled team.

“We’re going to let Kunikazu Okumura escape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this has really driven home the point for me that P5, once you strip away the tropes, the action, the comedy and such, is ultimately a story about kids from broken homes. Not a single member of the main cast has what you'd call a 'normal' family life. I think that's part of the reason why I loved the game so much. Some rushed writing aside (ie, for Haru), it tugs on the heartstrings to see a bunch of lovable outcasts _find_ a family.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	32. Rabbit Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Despite its innocuous, cute sounding name, the rabbit punch is actually a prohibited, highly dangerous blow. It is any punch directed towards the back of a fighter’s head or neck, potentially injuring the brain stem or cervical spine._
> 
> _Even worse, when this punch is utilized, it tends to come unexpectedly from behind or from a blind spot - being unable to brace for the strike can lead to devastating if not deadly consequences._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying new format for text messages:
> 
> **RA: This is the text ** (This is the stamp/sticker/emoji the character is using. For example, sad panda)

October 2, 20xx

Haru stepped off the train at Aoyama Itchome on Sunday morning, glancing at her phone. Obviously, there were no classes for the day - but she had her rooftop garden to tend to, of course. And also, Ren had asked her to drop by the boxing club’s room. She replayed the exchange over in her mind - it was just after he had explained his final plan for the heist, after they left the simulation that Futaba and Mona had concocted in Mementos.

_ ‘Hey, Haru - can you drop by the boxing club’s room tomorrow morning? I’m going to be doing some training, but I want to show you something after.’ _

The request was innocent. That wasn’t what bothered her. What bothered her was her own reaction to it - how she had agreed so quickly, the way her heart skipped a beat. And, strangely, the way Ann stood there, casually holding onto Ren’s elbow. It wasn’t  _ quite _ jealousy. As Haru had pointed out, she had known for weeks that the two second year students were utterly besotted with each other, and she had no intention of doing something so juvenile as trying to break them up. She already considered both of them friends, after all.

_ ‘I think it’s partially the fact that Ann-chan doesn’t even register me as a threat.’ _

Haru smirked slightly, amused at herself for feeling so prideful.

_ ‘It’s just a brief crush anyway. Now that I’ve recognized it for what it is, I’ll be able to move on.’ _

She paused outside the club room, hearing the dull thuds of boxing gloves against a punching bag. As she pushed the doors to the former multipurpose room open, the sounds became sharp, like a whip cracking.

Ren moved in a tight arc around the bag, peppering it with combinations . He had a little smile on his face; a light sheen of sweat coated his skin. His sleeveless, fitted shirt showed off lean, powerful shoulders; a broad back spoke of accumulated hours on the pull up bar, or using the sledgehammer that was in the corner of the room. His black, unruly hair and focused grey eyes gave the impression of something wild and untamed.

_ ‘...Yes. I’ll be able to move on. Right away…’  _ Haru thought, her eyes wide, her mouth dry.

Ren stopped, steadying the bag. He turned, smiling at Haru. “Hey, Haru.”

“...H-hello! Good morning.” Haru stammered.  _ ‘Get a hold of yourself. Now. You’re an Okumura.’ _

To the auburn-haired girl’s credit, she drew herself up, putting on her usual polite smile. “You seem to be working hard.”

Ren grinned. “Could say the same for you. You tend the garden on Sundays, too? Ah. Anyway, the reason I brought you here…”

Haru let out a breath as he turned away.  _ ‘Good. I’ll get through this.’ _

Ren bent over, rummaging through his gym bag.

Haru’s eyes widened at the view. He was in shorts. They weren’t  _ tight _ -tight, but…

She coughed, averting her eyes. A small red envelope entered her field of vision.

“This is the calling card.” Ren said, nodding. “You can get this to your father today?”

“Ah… Yes. And once I do, we’ll all meet in the evening…?” Haru said, hesitantly.

“That’s right.” Ren replied. “...What we talked about before. Have you decided what you want to do?”

Haru shook her head. “I… after what my mother said, I’m even less certain. There’s still good in him, possibly. I just don’t know what that  _ means _ .”

Ren pulled something else out from his bag - a small plastic case.

“I might have something that can help you. Tachibana gave me the slide that was in the microscope. After I took it out of the Metaverse, it stayed a slide - that’s why I wanted to meet you at school. If you want to look at it, we can use one of the science rooms. I’m sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner; I had to run to make it to Yuuki’s meeting with his parents.”

Haru took the slide from Ren, looking it over. “From my mother?” She said, in a small voice. “Or at least, the cognition of her…”

The two of them walked in silence to the nearest science room in Shujin. Haru turned on a microscope and placed the slide in the holder. The ocular lenses beckoned to her. She hesitated.

“...Should I even look at this?” Haru asked. “How can I trust anything from that man’s mind? One of the last untainted memories I have of my mother is of that microscope. What if he ruins this, too?”

“I can’t answer that, Haru.” Ren said, shaking his head. “You’re right. Everything in there is from his mind and heart. I can’t rule out whether or not this is some ploy to make you sympathetic to him. Or if it’s some part of his heart that still loves you, is still trying to reach you.”

“What would you do?”

“I’d look.” Ren said, holding out his arms helplessly. “But my situation is wildly different, Haru. I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve gone through. Kaa-chan and oya-ji… I don’t know what I did to deserve parents like that. But if, hypothetically, things were different… I think I’d still look. For old time’s sake. For the times where things were less complicated, less hurtful.”

Haru nodded, slowly. “I’m glad you’re here, Ren-kun.”

She looked through the microscope, bringing the slide into focus. She let out an involuntary gasp.

The image she saw was  _ herself _ . Or more accurately, herself as a little girl. Somehow, a tiny photograph had been printed to the slide. She was sitting on a chair in her mother’s sunlit lab; her legs were dangling, not even touching the floor as she kicked excitedly. She was in front of the microscope she remembered. She wasn’t looking through the eyepiece, though. Instead, she was pointing at the slide, smiling excitedly as she looked over her shoulder at her mother.

And beside her mother, a younger Kunikazu Okumura, his arm around his laughing wife. Before worry and bitterness etched lines across his face; before years of loneliness and guilt stole his smile.

He looked down on his daughter, the pride and love clear to see. It was an image of their past happiness, frozen in time. Sealed and preserved on the glass slide.

Haru carefully leaned back from the microscope. She gestured to Ren, standing aside as he had a look.

“Oh... Haru, are you--”

“I’m fine.” Haru said, carefully composed. “It’s just a memory. One of his, most likely. I had forgotten that he used to take me there. I mean, I remember  _ now _ . But how can this mean anything, after everything he’s done to me?”

She picked up the slide off the platform. She held it over the trash.

_ ‘Don’t be silly, dear. Her favorite part of that class was going there with you. Just spend a little more time with her.’ _

_ ‘Is it really that simple?’ _

Haru’s hand shook. “...Is… is this what he wishes he had? Is it something he wants to return to, or get away from? How is this from the mind of the same man who wants to pawn me off to a stranger? I don’t understand him… ...But it doesn’t matter. It’s just meaningless sentiment. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t.”

She let go, the glass slide falling. It was fragile, a delicate piece of microscopic art. It would almost certainly shatter when it struck the bottom of the bin.

Ren’s hand, still wrapped in cloth from training, gently caught the slide.

Haru’s face snapped up to look at him. “What are you doing? This is my decision. It’s not important to me.”

“It is.”

“It isn’t!”

Ren shook his head.

“Then why are you crying, Haru?”

Haru blinked. Her free hand wiped at her eyes, surprised to find bitter tears. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised; years of dealing with her father’s abuse had numbed her, somewhat. And her rational mind was used to working by sealing off her own emotion. The lessons of her mother were fresh on her mind, after all.

_ ‘Observe everything. Omit nothing. Make my conclusions only after I’ve considered all of the available information. Not while I’m making my observations. To do so introduces bias.’ _

And the available information was patently obvious. Haru Okumura loved the parents she once had. She loved the life she once shared with them. Her father, taking her to visit her mother at work. Smiling excitedly as she pointed out details on the slides to her parents, who feigned interest - her mother, because she had already seen the slides; her father, because he had no idea what he was looking at - but feigned gladly. Because it was a sweet little lie out of love.

They didn’t care what they were looking at; they cared only for the little girl doing the looking.

Cancer had taken Kurenai from Haru and Kunikazu. But it hadn’t taken her love. She hung on for months longer than the doctors had given her, just to steal more time with her beloved husband and daughter. That was the strength of her feelings.

But the same love tortured and twisted Kunikazu Okumura, turning him into a shade of the father Haru had loved.

The available information was objective. It simply  _ was _ . Like love, it wasn’t beautiful or ugly. Not good nor evil. It just  _ existed _ , until the beholder could see it, experience it.

And now, with all the information in front of her, Haru made her conclusions.

“...In what world… In what world is this  _ fair? _ ” Haru said, her voice trembling. “How is it fair that  _ love _ be the thing to break Father? What kind of horrible world would destroy the man on that slide with  _ love _ …?”

Ren turned the slide over in his hands quietly, thinking.

“...Because it isn’t fair, Haru. It just  _ is _ . I wondered the same thing for a long time; I wondered what Reiko and I did to deserve what we got. I came to the conclusion that it was my fault. That I brought the world crashing down on us. But later on, she told me: if I hadn’t made the choices I did, I wouldn’t have been the guy she fell for. It wasn’t that we did anything wrong. We were just kids. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Haru stared at the slide in Ren’s hand. “So it’s that simple? It’s not about fairness or cruelty? It’s about destiny? So I should just accept things?”

Ren shook his head. “No. Not at all. I think… I think that it just means we can’t go back, Haru. No matter how much any of us wish it.”

Gently, he reached out, taking hold of Haru’s hand. He placed the slide in her palm, closing her fingers over it.

“This man is gone. Your mother lives on only in you and in your father. You can’t go back. But maybe we can find the man that still cherishes this memory.”

Haru let out a long, quiet sigh. She looked down at her hand, still held by Ren’s. It was so warm and gentle. But as she had seen, capable of such strength. She reluctantly pulled away, placing the glass slide carefully in its case and into her pocket. “...Thank you, Ren.”

Ren smiled. “What are friends for?”

“Right. Friends.”

>>>

The bridge of the  _ Dominion _ , the dagger-shaped dreadnought-class flagship of Shadow Kunikazu’s exodus fleet, buzzed with activity. Red and blue neon-highlighted crewmen busily calibrated weapons and flight systems, preparing for the imminent launch of the fleet. None of this activity approached the central platform of the bridge where the command chair was located. Lord Kunikazu Okumura stood alone in front of it, reading a datapad held in his black-gauntleted hand. His breath rasped regularly from the respirator that covered his nose and mouth, exposing the rest of his pale, scarred face and yellow eyes.

“Lord Kunikazu Okumura, the great profiteering sinner of greed. Your success and global fame exists due to the tyranny you rain down upon your employees. Thus, we will make you confess your crimes with your own mouth…”

He let go of the tablet - it hung in the air in front of him, levitating briefly. A crimson flash from his lightsaber slashed it in half.

“Come if you dare.” He said, amused.

Alarm klaxons abruptly rang out and an automated timer for twenty minutes appeared on the main screen of the  _ Dominion _ .

On the screen, it showed eight figures, backlit by the glowing figures of their Personas. They paused for a moment, looking to the central figure. Kunikazu recognized him as Joker - the young man who broke Haru out of the auction house and survived an encounter with Tachibana.

Under his respirator, Kunikazu sneered.  _ ‘What a waste. If only Tachibana could have been brought into the fold. ...No matter. I do not need her.’ _

He watched calmly as the Phantom Thieves began their assault. They were well-coordinated and efficient. They looked as though they had drilled their approach down to the minute. But even now, Kunikazu could see it would be useless. They had to know there would be no chance of reaching the Treasure Room. At their pace, getting to the entrance alone would barely be within twenty minutes; fighting through the labyrinth as well would be an impossibility.

A passing crewmember eyed Kunikazu cautiously as his respirator made an odd sound.

The dark lord was chuckling.

“Ah… Predictable. Clever, but ultimately predictable.” Kunikazu intoned.

“My lord…?” The crewmember asked.

“Their target isn’t the Treasure Room. Double the troops around the escort ships, both the cruisers and the fighters.”

>>>

“Come on, get your asses moving, rogues! Turn up the heat!” Ren shouted. He advanced, guns blazing.

Ryuji rolled his eyes, deflecting a light disc with his shotgun before directing William to return fire with a blast of lightning. It wiped out the attacker along with the assault vehicle he rode. “I’m getting really tired of him saying that.”

“Deal with it!” Makoto replied. She performed a baseball slide under a hovering light tank, narrowly dodging laserfire from the smaller turret mounted on the main gun. She slapped an adhesive explosive on the underside of the vehicle before rolling away, clear of the ensuing explosion.

Haru’s grenade launcher fired constantly; Ryuji worked alongside her with his own explosives.

Ann and Celestine turned entire groups of guards into ash. The blonde girl looked exhausted.

Yusuke winced, standing at the center of the formation with his sword drawn. Gorokichi was above him, miming the artist’s stance as he effectively tanked for their formation. “I cannot keep this up! They’re sending all troops to the escort cruisers and fighters! How much time is left?!”

Makoto tapped her radio. “Oracle! Time?!”

“Two minutes! Keep it up!”

“Roger! Not much more left, Fox! Let’s make this look good!” Makoto shouted. She summoned Agnes; she blasted forward, sideswiping an approaching battalion before incinerating multiple assault vehicles in nuclear fire.

They reached the launch platform for the escort fleet; just beyond this, the massive shape of the  _ Dominion _ loomed.

“10 seconds!” Futaba’s voice called, over the radio.

The Phantom Thieves fought harder, trying to make one last push. Ren dashed forward, the Black Wing equipped. His hand reached for the last open hatch of a starfighter…

It slammed shut.

The concussive blast of multiple spaceships taking off knocked the Phantom Thieves off their feet; they were left standing there, watching as Kunikazu Okumura made his escape towards ‘utopia’ with his Treasure.

Ryuji stood up, groaning. “Oh… _ damn _ . That was hard.”

Makoto sighed. “Yes. But we accomplished our part.”

Yusuke sighed, as he disembarked a hijacked light armored vehicle. “...With half the manpower, that was indeed challenging.”

Ann drank some coffee from Leblanc, leaning against the vehicle that Yusuke had just parked. She nearly dropped it as the image of Mona scampered by her feet, brandishing his curved shamshir sword. The image blurred briefly as it ran  _ through _ the parked vehicle, appearing on the other side.

“Don’t I look cool!?” The illusion shouted, before slashing at a nonexistent enemy.

“Come on, get your asses moving, rogues! Turn up the heat!” Ren shouted.  _ Again _ .

Haru still fired her grenade launcher, the phantom munitions creating explosions that did nothing, now that Ann was no longer frantically casting double the amount of fire spells to make it seem as though both she and Haru were covering the assault with artillery-style attacks.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Queen, can you  _ please _ turn those off, now?”

Makoto clicked a button on a wristband that Futaba had given her. The illusions winked out of existence. “A clever trick. I’m impressed that Joker thought of it, and that Oracle and Mona were able to implement it…”

“They should have recorded more catch phrases. If I hear him say ‘Turn up the heat!’ one more time…” Ryuji groused.

The ground started to shake.

Yusuke climbed back into the armored vehicle. “That would be inner hub beginning to self-destruct. We should go.”

>>>

Lord Kunikazu stood on the bridge of the  _ Dominion _ , his arms crossed as he watched the Phantom Thieves stare up at the departing exodus fleet. Under his mask, he smirked as the blonde boy slowly got up, turning to say something to the one with spiked pauldrons. He gestured - the screen changed views, instead showing his fleet, leaving the planet behind in perfect formation.

“How foolhardy, to place all of your hopes in such a low-probability strategy.” Kunikazu said. “Helm. Set course for…”

He paused. Where  _ was _ utopia…?

“...Sir?”

“...Set course for the edge of the solar system. I shall direct you further from there.”

“...so call them, and tell them to fall back!” Kunikazu caught a harsh whisper coming from another crewman, standing at a communications console.

“Is there a problem?” Kunikazu asked, his voice deep, foreboding. He approached, stopping beside the very frightened crewman who was manning the station. His fellow officer wisely stepped away, back to his own station.

“N-n-no, sir! Nothing! It’s just one of the support ships, it isn’t staying in formation. It’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ll--”

“ _ I _ will decide what I should worry about, crewman. Call them.”

The crewman pressed a button on the console. “This is  _ Dominion _ . Transport  _ Firefly _ , come in.  _ Firefly,  _ come in.”

A young-sounding female voice answered.

“...Y-yes? This is  _ Firefly.  _ Everything’s fine, under control. Situation normal. We’re fine here, everyone’s fine. ...How are you?”

The crewman blinked. He started to answer, when more audio came through.

“--eriously, Oracle? You’re going to go with that?!”

“Well, that Tachibana chick said ‘boring conversation’, and I didn’t think it was right that we didn’t complete the reference…”

“I mean, I like a good reference more than anyone, but that’s literally a heavily armed battleship— oh, fuck, is this thing on?” asked Joker, his voice clearly coming through.

“Nice one, Joker.”

Kunikazu slammed his fist on the console. “Enough! I see, now. You used your fellows as a diversion to get aboard a transport ship, rather than the heavily guarded escorts or the  _ Dominion _ . And now the Treasure you seek is inside this ship, instead of an impregnable fortress… But the ruse is over! What do you hope to accomplish with an  _ unarmed _ transport?”

“Just hold on a second, I wrote something down for this.”

The crewman and Kunikazu exchanged glances as they heard the rustling of paper, the sound of someone searching pockets.

“...Right. Lord Kunikazu Okumura,  the great profiteering sinner of greed. Your success and global fame exists due to the tyranny you rain down upon your employees--”

“Joker, that was on the calling card.” Mona said. “He’s heard that already.”

“Right. Right. Tyranny, confession, etcetera etcetera… ....Right. We, the Phantom Thieves, will accept nothing but your unconditional surrender. You have thirty seconds--”

Kunikazu laughed. “ _ Unconditional surrender _ ? Are you insane?!”

A pause.

“Uh, excuse you. Rude. As I was saying, you have thirty seconds to either comply, or to fall victim to this lengthy distraction.”

“...What?!”

“Light ‘em up, Noir!”

>>>

Haru stood on the top of the  _ Firefly _ , magnetically clamped to the hull of the ship via her space suit’s boots.

“Milady!” Haru called.

The Persona appeared; her petticoats slid apart, revealing the vast multitude of artillery-style weaponry.

“Fire!”

The opening salvo destroyed or disabled the entirety of the escort fleet, caught off-guard and vulnerable. The transport ship, surprisingly agile, darted in toward the  _ Dominion _ . Green turbolaser bolts slashed through the blackness of space at the  _ Firefly _ .

Inside the ship, Futaba handled the controls, desperately evading laserfire and torpedos.

“I am a leaf on the wind. Watch as I soar!”

Ren shook his head, laughing fondly. “You do you, Gremlin. Get us close. Too close for them to draw a bead on us.”

He turned, heading up to join Haru. Mona remained behind, able to heal them both without being on the surface of the ship. Haru and Ren laid into the  _ Dominion _ with their Personas, targeting the dreadnought’s engines. The behemoth slowed - but didn’t stop. They simply weren’t doing enough damage.

The  _ Firefly _ shuddered as it took a hit to its left stabilizer.

“Joker, Noir! We can’t take much more of this!” Futaba called, on the radio.

“We have to!” Ren said, summoning Seth. A critical hit took down another engine. “We won’t get another shot!”

Haru cried out, taking a hit.

Ren willed Parvati to come forth, healing Haru. “Mona! Where are you? We need you on top of this!”

“...Joker. Joker, Mona’s not on the ship!”

“What?!”

>>>

The engine room of the  _ Dominion _ was usually quiet. The starship was largely automated, and actually didn’t require a large crew to run it. But it wasn’t usually  _ this _ quiet.

“Urk…”

The last crewman slumped to the ground as Mona pulled his shamshir out of his back. During the chaos, the cat-bandit had donned a suit, using one of the  _ Firefly’s _ close passes to make the move over to the  _ Dominion _ .

Mona’s radio crackled to life.

“Mona!” Joker yelled. “What are you doing?! Oracle found your signal on the  _ Dominion _ ! What are you--”

“Joker, I’m sorry. But we weren’t doing enough damage, right? We have to bring this ship down no matter what. So… I’m sorry. Sorry for what I did. And I’m sorry for this as well. Don’t blame yourself, okay? I want to do this for you. For our ‘family’. You’re… you’re a great leader. With or without me.”

“Mona, wa--”

Mona turned his radio off. He took it off, dropping it on the ground.

“Now, time to bring this thing down…”

The - _ snap/hiss- _ of an extending lightsaber made Mona’s blood run cold.

“Quite the clever plan. First, a diversion to get on a transport ship. Then another diversion, to start the assault. And then to complete the strategy, a sacrificial pawn to checkmate the  _ Dominion _ .”

Mona ducked under a slash of the red blade; sparks flew from the metal bulkhead as the laser sword cut through the metal. He leapt back, drawing his shamshir. “Joker wouldn’t just throw one of us away! He’s not like you. I’m here by my own choice! I’m doing it for my family! Zorro!”

The Persona appeared. Mona glanced at the lightsaber, how it had cut through metal like butter. Mona willed his partner to surround his shamshir with an aura of cutting wind.

Kunikazu, in his black armor and cape, stepped forward, unfazed. He cut down at Mona again.

Mona met the sword with his own. He winced involuntarily - but it held.

Kunikazu laughed. “Wise. But you would have been wiser to remain on your ship.”

Mona grunted in pain as Kunikazu moved impossibly fast, kicking the cat-bandit hard into a wall. The shamshir clattered to the ground. Kunikazu gestured, making a fist. Mona was lifted into the air; it felt like someone was throttling him.

“Your death would have been much less painful. And you could have died with your friends. Two useless criminals and my treacherous daughter. I think I’ll have you watch your friends perish first…”

A holographic screen appeared - it showed the  _ Firefly,  _ sparks fire coming from a stabilizer as it tried to fight the  _ Dominion _ . Ren and Haru weren’t firing away as enthusiastically now, knowing Mona was on board.

“See? Your presence here has hamstrung them. They cannot attack, but now will not retreat, either. You will watch them die, and then you will follow, knowing that it was your foolhardy decision that led to their deaths.”

Mona gasped. “..N...Not like this…”

_ ‘...It’s… it’s not done yet. My task isn’t done. I… Not like this!’ _

Kunikazu’s eyes widened; his telekinetic hold suddenly weakened.

Mona’s eyes locked onto Kunikazu, his vision focused - and golden.

“Diego! Come to me!”

The vision of a gentleman with a rapier, cape, and mask appeared behind Mona as the cat-bandit landed lightly on the metal floor. Don Diego de la Vega raised his rapier in salute to his opponent - and then vanished.

And so did Mona.

A black and white blur shot forward, taking up his shamshir once again.

Kunikazu slashed down at the small thief, finding only air.

Mona leapt and whirled, his shamshir glowing green as he slashed and parried.

Kunikazu stepped back, his crimson blade flashing around him defensively - his opponent moved like the wind, his shorter height and reach turning into an advantage. Mona was simply  _ everywhere _ . His attacks came from below knee level, or above head height as he leapt, springing off walls, his green-glowing weapon flashing and parrying.

Kunikazu put his back to the engine room, trying to push Mona down the hallway.

Abruptly, the cat-bandit flung his sword at Kunikazu. The dark lord sidestepped quickly, the blade knocking his respirator off his mouth. He winced, snarling at Mona with his yellow teeth and cracked lips bared.

“Foolish, to cast aside your weapon!...”

The ship shook and groaned. Kunikazu turned to see the shamshir buried in the engine core. Sparks and smoke started to pour out with increasing intensity.

“Rebel scum--”

>>>

Ren looked on in horror as a section of the  _ Dominion _ ’s hull exploded out into space. The behemoth of a ship ground to a halt, hanging in the silence of space for a moment. It then started to drift and fall back toward the planet, not quite free of the grip of gravity.

Haru gasped. “Mona-chan…!”

Ren shook his head. “He might make it! Oracle! Plot the crash zone! Send the others to it, and make sure they’re ready with heals. Take us in after it!”

>>>

The  _ Dominion’s _ emergency power kicked in during the descent back to the ground, just enough to turn what should have been an apocalyptic explosion into a rough landing. The hull breached in multiple places; metal bulkheads were torn asunder. But the ship was, for the most part, whole.

The armored vehicle that Yusuke appropriated pulled up to the wreckage, with Makoto riding Agnes as an escort.

The ship dwarfed them; it was at least twice the size of the real world’s largest aircraft carrier.

“Holy… how the hell are we supposed to try to find Mona in that…?” Ryuji mumbled.

“We aren’t going to try. We’re going to  _ do _ it.” Ann said, determined. She had heard Ren’s voice over the radio; his heart was already on the verge of breaking. “He’s alive. Oracle detected his signal.”

The four Phantom Thieves made their way carefully towards the  _ Dominion’s _ engines. As they reached the back of the ship, the roar of the  _ Firefly _ landing caught their attention. The cargo hatch of the ship opened; Ren, Haru, and Futaba quickly disembarked. The orange-haired girl pointed frantically at the rearmost hull breach. “In there! His signal is in there--”

A whirling flash of red cut her off - and it very nearly cut off her head, barely diving to the ground in time to dodge.

The lightsaber arced back to Lord Kunikazu, where the man grabbed the hilt of the weapon. His respirator was off; Haru gasped as she looked at the face of her father. His skin was grey, his lips cracked. Multiple scars marred his visage. Golden eyes stared starkly out from the corpse-like skin. He stood in front of a breach in the hull; the Treasure pulsed behind him in what was left of the engine room. A glowing orb sealed inside a metal cylinder.

“You… what have you  _ done _ to yourself…?” Haru murmured.

“I have done what is necessary, Haru.” Kunikazu said, simply. “And I will continue to do so. You may have destroyed my fleet, but I do not need to flee the planet to attain victory. I need only kill all of  _ you _ .”

“...Where is he.”

Kunikazu looked over to Ren. He smiled, cruelly. “Ah. Your little friend. He fought bravely, you know. He said he chose to sacrifice himself for his ‘family’.”

Ren dashed forward, his arms clad in armor instantly. His black blades, glowing with cursed flame, cracked and sparked as they made contact with Kunikazu’s crimson lightsaber. “Where is he?!”

The Phantom Thieves drew their weapons, but were unable to get a clear shot. Ren was too close.

“Bleeding out. Slowly.” Kunikazu laughed. He shoved Ren backward.

Ryuji raised his shotgun as Ren stumbled safely back - the weapon was yanked free from his hands, spun, and discharged into his chest.

“Ryuji!” Makoto screamed, as the boy crumpled. Frantically, she cast every healing spell at her disposal.

The blonde boy groaned; he would live, but he was effectively out of the fight.

“You son of a  _ bitch! _ ” Ren snarled.

The remaining Phantom Thieves charged forward. But, awareness of one’s Palace not only lent itself to impossible traps and greater defenses. It also meant greater abilities for one’s Shadow. Kunikazu had only been pressed by Mona due to the chaos of his ship going down and due to the unexpected Second Awakening.

One by one, the Phantom Thieves were disabled by powers inspired by Kunikazu’s favorite films. Yusuke fell, writing in pain from dark lightning. Ann was thrown brutally into a bulkhead by telekinetic force, knocked out. Ren and Haru, nearly cut to ribbons by the lightsaber. Makoto was stretched to her limit just keeping them all alive.

Futaba drew her Desert Eagle, her hands trembling, eyes wide.

Kunikazu laughed, mockingly. “Oh, little girl. Don’t think I’ll show you any mercy…”

“We’re… ...we’re still your opponents, you piece of  _ shit _ .” Ren snarled. In his desperation, he felt something in the corner of his heart. Something he had only just brushed, during his fight against Tachibana. Untold power for an unknown price. He glanced at his remaining allies - Makoto, pale, drawn out. Haru, clutching her side with one hand, her bardiche with the other. Futaba… who suddenly looked at Ren, pushing her mask up.

“...Joker. Joker, I can’t detect Mona’s signal anymore… He’s… he…”

Ren’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, the price was immaterial. He roared, charging forward. His blades flashed; his armor started to fragment. Black flame started to creep across Ren’s chest, linking the pauldrons.

Kunikazu parried, forced on the defensive. But he laughed. Even as Ren’s blades gave him glancing blows, he laughed. The cursed flame had no effect on him, a being already corrupted by dark power.

Ren’s hard right-straight blew Kunikazu’s blade back; his right arm went up involuntarily from the force of the hit. Ren immediately followed with a left hook to Kunikazu’s flank.

Kunikazu smiled. He dropped his lightsaber from his right, catching it with his left hand.

Ren’s hook missed the mark as he was slashed across the stomach. He fell forward with a strangled cry of pain and surprise, the Black Wing armor fragmenting and fading. Makoto expended the last of her power in keeping Ren from being completely eviscerated. He was unable to stand.

Laughing, Kunikazu raised his lightsaber. Crimson light cut down toward Ren’s neck. Ren stared upward defiantly, showing no fear even in the face of his impending death.

A flash of a green blade deflected the blow; a black and white blur leapt up, slashing off Kunikazu’s right hand at the wrist.

Kunikazu screamed, stumbling backward. “...You! I killed you!”

Mona stood there, bleeding from multiple wounds, but very much alive. “You  _ tried _ ! Turns out Diego lets me play dead pretty well, too!”

Futaba gasped. “...Mona!”

Mona turned to look at the others, quickly recognizing their injuries. “...Oh, no. Diego!” He started casting healing spells.

Kunikazu snarled, lunging forward, cold lightning flaring at the fingertips of his remaining hand. “No! This is MY world!”

The blunt end of Haru’s bardiche slammed into his temple, knocking him to the ground.

The newest Phantom Thief moved quickly; she reached into the wreckage of the  _ Dominion _ , yanking free the power core - the Treasure.

Kunikazu sat on his knees. His shoulders slumped. “I… ...you’ve taken it.”

“We have.” Haru said. She stood behind Kunikazu, with her axe-like weapon. In that moment, she looked less a thief, and more an executioner.

“I feel… lighter, now.” Kunikazu said. “I can see clearly. ..Haru. For what it’s worth, I never intended for things to turn out like this. I became too focused. Obsessed with keeping my promise to your mother. So obsessed that I lost sight of what she truly wanted. And by the time I realized it, I was in too deep. Too much shame, too much guilt. Too much blood on my hands. I… ...I just wanted to get away. ...Do what you must. I am no father to you.”

Haru closed her eyes; her hands tensed on the axe.

Kunikazu flinched, feeling something touching his shoulder - lining up the cut of the axe, most likely. He closed his eyes. The touch, however, turned into pressure. He opened his eyes, seeing Haru’s gloved hand on his shoulder. She now stood in front of him, looking down at him.

“You’re right. As you are, you aren’t my father. You aren’t the man that Kurenai Okumura loved; you aren’t the man who took me to dance class, or took me to visit Mother.” Haru said, quietly. “...But a completely evil man wouldn’t care to remember those moments, would he?”

“...The lab. You saw the slide…?”

“I did. Kunikazu-- ...Father. We can’t go back to those days. Not ever. But… but I hope we can try to move forward, together.”

Kunikazu trembled. “Yes… Haru, yes. Let us try, together. I will rescind the marriage contracts, the deals with Sugimura. You and I… We will be a family again. One that Kurenai will watch over proudly.”

Haru smiled, standing. She wiped at her eyes. “I hope so, Father. I’ll see you - the real you - soon.”

Mona frowned. “Wait. We need to ask you one more thing. Were you responsible for the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks?”

Kunikazu shook his head. “No. Not directly. As powerful as Okumura Foods is, I am but a cog in a much larger conspiracy. All I had to do was make a phone call, and the Left Hand would take care of it…”

Ren, leaning on Ann, shook his head. “An assassin for hire with access to the Metaverse… Who’s at the top of this? Who’s calling the shots?”

Kunikazu opened his mouth. His eyes darted to Haru. He stiffened, shaking his head. “I won’t say.”

Ryuji leveled his shotgun at the man. “Try again.”

“I won’t!” Kunikazu shouted. He sounded different - alive. Concerned. “If I say anything, you’ll get more involved! You barely defeated  _ me _ ! Haru… I  _ won’t _ let anyone endanger Haru! I’ll die, first!”

“Father…” Haru breathed.

The ground shook.

“We’re out of time! The Palace is collapsing!” Mona said. He turned into his cat-bus form. “We’ve gotta go!”

“Damn it…” Ryuji cursed. The Phantom Thieves made a hasty exit.

Kunikazu watched them go, still on his knees.

There was a faint - _ thud- _ behind him as someone jumped down from a perch on the  _ Dominion _ , landing on the ground below. Kunikazu recognized the sound of a pistol being cocked.

“Of course… The Left Hand, himself.”

“The same.”

“Well? Be done with it, then.”

Akechi smiled. “You’re not going to threaten me? Negotiate? Beg for your life?”

“I won’t give you the satisfaction, you degenerate.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure you will. And if you don’t, I’ll get it elsewhere.” Akechi leaned forward, whispering. “You see, I know who each of them are. I know where each of them live. I might even ask your sweet little girl out on a date. I’m sure  _ she _ can satisfy me. In all sorts of ways--”

Kunikazu started to leap to his feet. “NO! No--”

A single shot rang out.

Kunikazu collapsed forward, blood pouring from the hole in his skull, his golden eyes lifeless. His body vanished into shadowy wisps.

Akechi laughed. “See? I knew you could do it. Of course, that’s just the appetizer… The main course… Well. That particular steak needs a little tenderizing first.”

>>>

“You know Mona, you were basically normal this time when you got close to the Treasure.” Ann said, curiously.

Mona, sitting in Ren’s bag and perched partly on his shoulder, nodded. “That’s true, Ann-dono. I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was too worried about all of you.”

“Aw, that’s sweet, MonaMona.” Futaba said, smiling.

Ann nodded. “I’d say that’s a pretty human response, Mona. Right, Wildcard?”

Ren nodded absently. He had been fairly quiet since they exited the Metaverse. Mona, Futaba, and Ann exchanged worried glances. The three of them were on the way back to Leblanc together. From Ann’s observation of the boxer, he wasn’t angry. But he was clearly worked up. His shoulders were tense, his jaw was clenched slightly.

By the time they reached Leblanc, Sojiro had already gone home for the night. As Ren fished in his pocket for his key, Futaba tried one last hail-Mary attempt to get Ren to laugh. She hated puns, but she was desperate.

“...Ne, RenRen! I bought a great walking stick the other day. CANE you believe it!?”

Ren paused. He turned, looking at Futaba.

Ann and Mona also stared at the girl, wordlessly, with expressions that were a mix of amazement and disgust.

“...Sorry. I’ll just show myself out.” Futaba mumbled, heading to her house.

Ren finally spoke as they stepped inside.

“Songbird, do you mind heading upstairs first? I want to talk to Morgana.” Ren said.

“...Oh. Sure, Wildcard. Just let me know if you need anything.” The blonde girl turned, disappearing up the stairs.

Mona hopped out of Ren’s bag, sitting on the counter across from the boxer.

“H-hey, Ren. I know you’re probably mad. That’s totally okay. I… I just wanted to make sure we would succeed, right? I…!!”

Ren suddenly stepped forward, pulling Mona into his arms. He actually  _ hugged _ the tuxedo cat.

“Ren! What are you doing?! Not so tight!…” He quieted, realizing that the boxer’s shoulders were trembling slightly. “Ren…”

“I thought you were gone, Mona.” Ren said, quietly. “I thought you were gone, and it was horrible.”

“...Sorry, Ren.”

“It’s like what you said, Mona. We’re family. We all are. And it isn’t worth it if all of us don’t get to come back home. Even if I can be a great leader without you, I don’t  _ want _ to.”

Mona nodded. He headbutted Ren’s shoulder affectionately. “Right. I… I don’t want that, either. Now, you should probably let me go, before--”

- _ Click- _

Ann waved, from the stairwell. Her own eyes were misty too.

“- _ sniffle- _ Found my new lockscreen picture. Oh, you guys…”

“Not cool, Songbird. Not cool.”

>>>

**HO: Hey, everyone. When I went home, I talked to my father in his study…**

**RS: and?! how did it go!?**

**HO: He apologized for everything… He even called Hisamoto Sugimura in front of me and canceled the marriage deal. He then shredded the contracts.**

**AT: That’s great!**

**HO: It is… but he’s acting strangely. He’s subdued. He locked himself in his study afterward and isn’t eating much.**

**YK: Madarame acted much the same, Haru. I do not think you have anything to worry about.**

**RA: Yeah. I’m sure things will turn out fine.**

**HO: Yes. Of course - thank you. Will I see you at school tomorrow?**

**MN: Yes. We’ll all be there - exams are coming up, after all. ** (A determined, red/brown eyed black cat with ‘mew got this!’ under it)

**RS: Seriously!? ** (Sad porcupine.)

**RA: Please. I bet you’re looking forward to ‘studying’**

**MN: What’s that supposed to mean?!**

**FS: ** (Banana Donut Banana Donut Banana Donut)

**MN: ...What in the world?**

**AT: ...oh my. Futaba, that’s inappropriate.**

**MN: ....Oh my god.**

Haru giggled, putting her phone down as the text conversation turned into good-natured bickering between friends. She was glad - no one had picked up on the fact that she wasn’t asking if  _ everyone _ was going to be at school.

She shook her head.  _ ‘...I’m just grateful. That’s it. _ ’

And she was. Thanks to Ren, she now had something she never imagined possible - a chance to patch things up with her father. Her mother was never coming back… And almost certainly, Kunikazu would see jail time for his crimes. But at least there was a chance at a meaningful relationship, and a future.

For the first time in awhile, life was looking good. She had a father again; she had friends she could rely on.

Haru turned, smiling into her pillow.

Much like Ren last year, she never imagined that life had become just good enough for her to feel the fall that much more acutely.

>>>

October 4, 20xx

“This  _ sucks _ .” Ann pouted.

“Whining doesn’t make exams  _ not _ be less than two weeks away, Songbird.” Ren said, munching on his fries as he read over his notes. Ren, Ann, Mona, Makoto, and Ryuji were gathered around a table at Jonathan’s.

“Fine.” Ann read a few more sentences. Something about Admiral Perry, the black ships…

“...Hey. Aren’t Shiho and Haru supposed to be here?” Ann asked.

“Stop trying to change the subject, Songbird.” Ren replied, placidly. He ate another fry.

“I’m not--”

“You are.”

Ryuji snickered. Even Makoto looked amused at Ann’s reticence. The blonde girl really was doing better in school lately, no longer just cruising by on her English grade. But she still would rather do almost anything else.

Ann pouted. Unfortunately, Ren wisely kept his eyes focused on the papers, knowing his vulnerability to the expression. So, Ann tried a different tactic. She slid Ren’s basket of fries away from him.

“Hey!”

“What? It’s weight management.” Ann said, innocently.

“I don’t have a fight coming up! I’m not even officially boxing this year!” Ren protested.

“Oh. Well, you’re getting a little chubby.”

“!! You…!” Ren glared at Ann.

She smiled at him impishly. “Mad? Wanna take me home and  _ punish _ me?”

Ryuji gagged; Mona rolled his eyes.

Ren’s mouth opened - he then composed himself, before taking his fries back. He leaned closer to Ann, who was seated beside him. “Hey, Songbird. Tell you what. For every half hour you can stay focused, I’ll…”

His voice dropped low enough so that the other three couldn’t hear.

Ann’s eyes widened; she gasped and blushed faintly. She suddenly sat up straighter, clapping her hands. “Right! Focus! Really, Wildcard, you need to stop distracting me.”

Makoto blinked. “That’s… remarkable. Ann, what did he offer you? If it’s that effective, maybe I could do the same for Ryuji.”

Ann blinked; she and Ren exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

“...What? What’s so funny?” Makoto asked, frowning.

“Yeah. I mean, is it a good thing? Like something to eat?” Ryuji asked, curious.

“...Oh. Oh yeah, something to eat, alright--Ow!”

Ann extricated her elbow from Ren’s side.

The group studied for awhile longer. Their phones buzzed; Makoto glanced at hers. “Ah. Haru’s nearby. She’s having trouble finding the diner, though.”

Ren stood. “Yeah, the sign’s broken right now, so it’s probably hard to see in the dark. I’ll step outside and find her.”

He stepped outside, walking down the stairs to street level. The weather was already changing, thankfully - the switch back to winter uniforms would have been intolerable, otherwise. He tapped at the screen of his smartphone.

**RA: Hey, Haru. I’m outside. Where are you?**

**HO: I’m righ**

Ren frowned.  _ ‘ ‘righ’...? What does that mean--’ _

His thoughts were interrupted by the voices drifting out of the nearby alley.

“Please, I’m just going to meet up with my friends…”

“Oh, come on, baby. We can be your friends.”

“No.”

“Well, we  _ tried _ to be polite. Maybe you just like aggressive guys…”

“Hey! Let go!”

Ren rounded the corner, into the alleyway. There, Haru stood, smacking a thuggish looking man with her bag.

“Let. Me. GO!” She yelled, whacking him again.

“Ow! Damnit! You fucking bitch!” He raised his hand.

Ren caught his wrist, his voice tinged with sarcasm. “You know, I get it. After the first two smacks to your face with her school bag, I thought she might have been playing hard to get. Pretty sure the third one means ‘no’, though.”

The man’s friend started to flank Ren.

Ren shifted his grip, doing what Makoto had shown him once before. The hold on the man’s wrist turned into an exceedingly painful joint lock.

“Augh! Ah! Leggo!”

“Oh. Wow. I’ll have to thank Her Excellency. Wrists really aren’t supposed to bend that way…” Ren said, placidly. He spoke to the man’s friend, without looking. “Your enthusiasm for two on one tactics is noted. If you want your friend here to have full use of his hand, I might suggest you re-think your flanking maneuver.”

Fortunately, it was re-thought. Ren led Haru inside. Admirably, she wasn’t shaken up. She was  _ annoyed.  _ She sat down, grumbling.

“If we were in the Metaverse, I would have taken them apart…” Haru groused.

Ren smiled. “I don’t doubt it.”

Makoto sighed. “Those guys… They were the same ones staring at me and Ann when we arrived with Ren and Ryuji. I had a feeling they would have made a move if we had been alone.”

Ann cracked her knuckles. “I almost wish they had.”

Haru looked curiously at Makoto and Ann. “So… Mako-chan, Ann-chan, you both know martial arts?”

Makoto nodded. “My father taught me while I was growing up, and I started practising seriously again. Ann’s picked up some boxing from Ren.”

Haru frowned. “I’m a little jealous. It seems there’s no shortage of people who want to try pushing me around physically. First Hisahito Sugimura, then my father…”

Ryuji perked up. “Ah. Well, you could take some self-defense classes?”

Haru blinked. “Oh. That’s a good idea. Mako-chan, Ann-chan, could you two teach me? If I could perform that wrist lock, or some punch combinations…”

Ren shook his head. “It’s different, with Makoto and Ann. Makoto’s not a beginner, and Ann just started learning for fun months ago. I’m not saying you shouldn’t start, Haru, but if you want something more immediate, you shouldn’t start with combinations or joint locks.”

“Why? It seemed pretty effective.”

“I used to teach some self-defense classes with my coach. We focused on single, hard strikes to vulnerable points. Just enough to create the separation necessary for you to run away. In the stress of an assault, most people without experience can’t pull off the coordination needed for locks or combos.” Ren said. “If you want, I could teach you a bit? I’ve been meaning to show Futaba some stuff, ever since the otaku incident in Akihabara…”

Haru smiled. “Well, you have to admit, Futaba-chan was pretty resourceful.”

Ren sighed, but chuckled with some resignation. “I’m not sure popping an antacid and foaming at the mouth to pretend she had rabies is ‘resourceful’... Though, in her words, it was ‘super-effective’.” 

“Anyway. Back to work!” Ann chirped, making eyes at Ren.

Ren smirked.

They studied for a couple more hours, until the group gradually devolved into friendly chatter.

“So, you all always go for a celebration, after?” Haru asked, curiously.

“We do!” Ryuji said, grinning. “Where should we go this time?”

Ren frowned. “We’ll need to ask Yusuke and Futaba as well. We’ve done the beach, fireworks, the buffet…”

Ann perked up. “Oh! I vote the Wilton again.”

Haru smiled. “...You know? I think I have just the place.”

>>>

October 11, 20xx

“This is the  _ shit _ …!” Ryuji said, finishing his dessert. The group sat together at an outdoor table in Destinyland, at the conclusion of a lavish meal with full sit-down table service.

Yusuke nodded. “Yes. While my language is rarely as colorful as Ryuji’s, I must agree. This is indeed ‘the shit’.”

Haru smiled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourselves! You know, there’s also going to be a fireworks show…”

Ann gasped. “Really?! Just for us!?”

“Yes!” Haru said. “It’s the least I could do. You know, my father said he was going to get in touch with Tachibana-san again? He mentioned it after I told him that I was learning some self-defense. He said he wanted someone I trust to look out for me.”

Ren frowned, warily. “ _ That _ Tachibana…?” He reflexively rubbed his left thigh, remembering the thrashing he received.

“I’m sure she won’t stab you in real life, Wildcard.” Ann said. She paused, glancing at Haru’s thoughtful expression. “...Will she?”

“N-no. Probably not. But I remember that she used to care deeply for my mother, and by extension, myself. It was quite thoughtful of Father to suggest it. I’d love to see her again.” Haru said. “Anyway… This place has a fairly good view of the fireworks. There’s another spot right there, though. Up on the castle’s battlements. It’s apparently one of the most romantic spots in Destinyland.”

Ryuji looked up at the castle in time to see a test shot of the fireworks - the battlements were  _ directly _ under them. It was the perfect view; it would look like the sky was exploding all around them into color…

Ren turned to Ann. “Hey, Songbird--Ouch!”

Ann turned, just in time to see Ryuji drag Ren away from the table.

“Dude, you gotta help me…!”

Ann frowned. She had a feeling Ren was going to ask her up to the castle battlements. “Hey! Ryuji, where do you think you’re taking my boyfriend-- Eh?”

Makoto was suddenly beside Ann. She spoke quietly, desperately to her. “Ann! Ann, you’ve  _ got _ to help me.”

>>>

And so, as the fireworks started, Ren found himself creeping quietly through a building across from the faux castle. The view of the fireworks wouldn’t be as good, but it would afford him a good view of the battlements. And in turn, a good view of Makoto and Ryuji. He made his way to the top floor, to a large window that would allow him to see them, but shadowed enough to ensure they wouldn’t see  _ him. _

He froze.

Someone was already standing in the shadows near the window, looking up at Ryuji and Makoto. The pair of them were leaning on the battlements already, watching the first explosions of color in the night sky.

Ren snuck closer.  _ ‘Not going to let some random creep spy on my friends…’ _

“..Good. You’ve got this. Now, tell him you’re glad that he invited you.”

Ren stepped on a particularly squeaky floorboard just as another firework exploded, lighting up both his features - and Ann, who was already standing at the window. From his view, he could see a small earbud in her right ear - a twin to the one he had in his own ear.

She gasped; she quickly muted the radio clipped to her collar, hissing at Ren. “What are you doing here?!”

“What are  _ you _ doing here?!” Ren asked, muting his own radio.

Ann looked at the radio. “...you. You flaked on me to coach Ryuji?!”

“Well, didn’t you flake on me to coach Makoto?”

The two exchanged glares. Ann’s lower lip started to quiver.

Ren’s eyebrow started to twitch.

They burst into laughter.

“Oh my God… This is so stupid.” Ann gasped.

“I know. I know, right? Ryuji  _ begged _ me. They’re literally in the most romantic spot in this park, and he’s still overthinking it.” Ren said, laughing. He paused, holding up a finger as they listened in to the conversation.

“I said, I wonder what _ Ren’s  _ up to right now.” Ryuji said, his voice tinged with anxiety.

“W-why are you asking like that? I mean,  _ Ann _ would say that’s super-weird.” Makoto said, in an oddly high-pitched voice.

Ren, his eyes twinkling with mischief, winked at Ann. He pushed the button on his mic. “Sorry, buddy. Had to get into position. I’m here now. Tell her... you like her ears.”

Ann gasped, a hand over her mouth. “Ren! Don’t! He’ll actually--”

“I uh, like your ears?”

Ann smacked Ren’s arm, nearly dying from stifled laughter. “You’re terrible.”

Ren grinned. “So, Songbird. Wanna play chicken?”

>>>

“I uh, like your ears?” Ryuji said, looking confused as he relayed the statement he had heard through his nearly invisible earbud. The confusion only grew as he watched Makoto look away, and to her right. She might have even shaken her head briefly before her shoulders slumped slightly in resignation.

“...Th-thanks,  _ hot stuff _ . They’re my… best feature.” Makoto mumbled, blushing brightly.

_ ‘ ‘Hot stuff’…?’  _ Ryuji thought.  _ ‘Is this actually working?!’ _

Makoto was mortified. She turned aside during a particularly loud explosion, hissing into her mic. “No, Ann! I am  _ not _ saying that!”

“Do you want my help or not?” Ann asked, neutrally.

“...H-hey, Ryuji? Do… do you like  _ maids _ …?”

Ryuji blinked. His cheeks turned red. Had Makoto heard about ‘Operation Maidwatch’? Quickly, he prepared a vehement denial. Until Ren’s voice in his ear stopped him. He froze in place, his eyes wide.

Makoto thought she had made a terrible mistake as Ryuji turned aside. During another particularly loud explosion of color, the blonde boy hissed into  _ his _ radio.

“No! Not a freaking chance, bro!”

“Do you want my help or not?” Ren asked, placidly.

“... ...Y-yeah,  _ Mako-chan _ . Maids. Love ‘em. Totally hot. I spend like, eighty percent of my disposable income at the local maid cafe.”

“..w-well, th-then, you should stop. Because… because I’m…” Makoto mumbled something.

“...sorry?”

Makoto mumbled again.

“Makoto, I didn’t catch that.” Ryuji said.

“I said you should stop, because I’m  _ maid _ for you!” Makoto shouted, her fists clenched in irritation at the terrible pun. She stood frozen in fear at the sudden silence. Ryuji was probably going to turn around and leave.

“...I also like feet.” Ryuji said, just numbly relaying what Ren said. “Like, all kinds of feet.”

Makoto’s eyes widened in shock. What kind of boy had she fallen for, exactly?!

“- _ giggle- _ Tell… t-tell him… you think his feet are sexy, too-- ..- _ snrrrk-” _

“...Wait. Wait. Why are you laughing!? Why do I hear Ren there?!”

“Oh, shit--”

The radio beeped, signifying that it had been shut off.

Ryuji blinked. “...Makoto? Who were you talking to?”

“...Ann.” Makoto said, her face burning as she stared at the ground.

Ryuji blinked. Slowly, he took his earbud out, showing it to Makoto. “Ren.”

The two stared at each other.

Ryuji’s lip quivered.

Makoto’s eyebrow twitched.

They both burst into relieved laughter.

“Oh.. oh my God. I can’t believe it… I almost had an aneurysm when you said ‘hot stuff’...”

“And I almost died when I thought the boy I like has a maid fetish  _ and _ a foot fetish… haha…” Makoto said, holding her stomach.

Gradually, they quieted.

Ryuji turned to face the fireworks again, looking up. He eyed Makoto sidelong after a moment. “...So… you  _ like _ me?”

Makoto froze. She almost turned the radio back on. Instead, she drew herself up, turning to face Ryuji with a strangely gallant expression on her face. “Yes. Ryuji Sakamoto, I like you. As in, I  _ like _ you like you.”

Ryuji blinked. After a long silence, he started laughing again.

Makoto immediately grew flustered, smacking his arm repeatedly. “You’re not supposed to laugh!”

“You… you looked like you were delivering a verdict in a courtroom, or reading someone their rights! How am I supposed to  _ not _ laugh?!”

Makoto bit her lip, looking away, frustrated. “That… that’s the best I can do.”

Ryuji smiled. He pushed himself away from the battlements.

_ ‘...Just be myself, and do what comes natural, right, Ren?’ _

“Then it’s perfect for me.”

Ryuji stepped toward her, drawing Makoto into a gentle embrace. His lips touched her cheek in a chaste kiss. “I like you, too. Wanna date?”

Makoto blinked. She tensed up, her flight-or-fight response briefly activating, before short-circuiting due to the impracticality of  _ either _ response. She just remained frozen, eyes wide, face burning.

_ ‘What do I do?! What should I do… ...what do I  _ ** _want_ ** _ to do…?’ _

>>>

Ren smirked, averting his eyes respectfully as he saw Makoto stand on her toes, leaning against Ryuji. She tilted her chin up… 

Ren turned away completely, sitting down on the floor under the window. The leader of the Phantom Thieves turned to Ann as she joined him. “Welp. That’s my win, isn’t it?”

Ann snorted. “Seriously? ‘I also like feet’? That’s so unoriginal that I think we both know who should be declared the victor, here.”

“It got you to laugh, didn’t it? Besides. ‘I’m  _ maid _ for you?’ Come  _ on _ , Songbird.” Ren laughed.

“That almost got you, admit it.” Ann said, leaning against him.

Ren chuckled, turning to kiss her hair. “Mm. It did.”

“What saved you?”

“The thought of claiming a penalty from you.” Ren said, smiling.

“Oh? And what penalty does Wildcard, the wielder of bad ear and foot lines, demand?” Ann asked, smirking up at Ren.

“Just a kiss, Songbird.” Ren said. He smiled at her; the finale of the fireworks show lit the sky in brilliant reds and golds, briefly making the room they were in glow with the warmth of it. He gently swept a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His grey eyes caught the light, making them seem that much more alive, more enraptured with her. As if he was staring at the only woman in the world.

Ann shook her head slightly, cupping his cheek gently. She savored the electric chill that ran down her spine at his look, his proximity. “How…”

“Hm?” Ren mumbled, leaning in.

“How is it that months later, you can still make me feel like this is my first kiss?” Ann murmured.

“You tell me, Songbird. You tell me…”

>>>

Ren and Ann left the building they were in, hand in hand. They headed back toward the table where Haru, Yusuke, Futaba, and Mona waited. Mona and Yusuke had been aware of what Ren was up to; Haru and Futaba knew of Ann’s plan. When  _ both _ Ren and Ann went missing, they quickly put together what was happening, much to their amusement.

Futaba grinned. “So? What happened?”

Ren and Ann filled them in.

“Haha! Classic.” Futaba said, snickering. She immediately started texting Shiho.

Haru shook her head. “Oh, my. It sounds like things worked out, though…”

The group looked up. Makoto and Ryuji were leaving the castle; the student council president held onto the bottle blonde’s elbow. She tensed up, sensing the smiles and knowing glances of their friends. She blushed - but didn’t let go. They rejoined the group, to loud and raucous congratulations from Ren, Futaba, and Ann.

Ryuji smiled, a little embarrassed for the attention. “...Heh. Gotta say. Life’s pretty good right now.”

“Remember, we still haven’t found the real culprit in the black mask.” Makoto said, sternly. But her expression softened; she squeezed Ryuji’s hand under the table. “...But, yes. Life is pretty good.”

Yusuke glanced at his phone. “Ah. The Okumura Foods press conference is going to start soon, is it not?”

Futaba nodded. “Right!” She started fishing her laptop out of her bag.

As they gathered around the computer to watch, Ren sighed contentedly. It was true. They had more work to do, but things were looking up. On the screen, Kunikazu Okumura stood up, starting the conference.

“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to gather here…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Palace was a lot of fun to re-write. Hope the constant barrage of winks/nudges/outright "HEY LOOK AT THIS" references weren't too much. They were just fun for me.
> 
> As those of you on the discord (and those of you reading along the whole way) know, I have a certain dislike for cliche love triangles. I hate how most manga/drama set one character up to be a caricature rather than an actual person. I've never personally known _anyone_ who's actually thought something along the lines of 'Wow, I really like John. But he's already dating Tina... Welp! Time to act like a total psycho, and break them up! Surely, John will run to my arms, and NOT realize I'm freaking nuts!"
> 
> There isn't much in the Okumura arc that came from my source material of old one-shots; I largely skipped over this part. I'm glad I addressed it, though. I like Haru.
> 
> Rambling on a bit further, it's funny how things develop. When I first came up with Reiko (Kyoko in early drafts), she wasn't a character. Just a plot device, barely had a personality beyond being too weak to stand by Ren. But it didn't make sense that the Ren I created could be _so_ in love with someone who was that shallow. So she got reasons - and gained my sympathy.
> 
> Similarly, the same thing happened as I wrote Kunikazu. It didn't make sense to me in canon that he was basically "I don't wanna be poor so let's go to spaaaace space space space.... ..and you can have my daughter lol bai". I wanted Haru to have a more emotional response to everything that was happening. Which meant she needed a relationship with her father. Which meant he had to not be a jerk at some point. Which means sad story.
> 
> And lo and behold, the author gains sympathy for another devil.
> 
> ...Shido's still a tool. I promise.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	33. Match Fixing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Match fixing is when the outcome of a match in organized sports has been manipulated. The reason for fixing a match includes ensuring a certain team advances or gambling. Match fixing is seen as one of the biggest problems in organized sports. In particular, boxing has (rightfully) obtained a reputation as being one of the more corrupt sports in the modern era. Fixing a match usually involves paying a boxer to intentionally lose._
> 
> _Refusing the fix can be detrimental to a boxer’s career - and his lifespan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CCTV - Closed circuit television (security cameras)  
toshu kakutō - Mixed martial arts style used by the JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Forces)  
krav maga - Combat system used by the Israeli military  
Tokushusakusengun - JSDF special forces unit

October 11, 20xx

**SS: So Blondie and the Champ played chicken slash puppet master with two of their closest friends? And they STILL got them to finally fess up and kiss?!**

**FS: Uh huh! **(Porcupine stamp with ‘love’ under it; Black cat stamp with the same)

**SS: I’m both sad that I missed it, and proud that I didn’t have to be involved to make it happen**

**FS: How’s shadowing the doctor going?**

**SS: Good. Interesting but not exciting, which is probably a good thing**

“Shiho? Did something good happen?” Takemi asked. “You’re smiling.”

Shiho looked up from her phone. She was sitting in the cafeteria at The University of Tokyo Hospital, where she was shadowing Tae Takemi during a call shift. “Just two good friends of mine finally finding each other.”

Takemi sighed, sitting down across from Shiho. She slid a can of tea across to the girl. “You kids and your romances.” She laughed. “It’s enough to make me feel old.”

Shiho snorted, eyeing Takemi’s minidress and fishnets. As the doctor crossed her legs while leaning back in her chair, there was a crash and a curse as a passing cafeteria employee ran his trolley full of trays and used dishes head on into a wall. The man sheepishly and quickly picked up his mess, pointedly _ not _ looking at Takemi’s legs.

“Right. You, feeling _ old _.” Shiho said.

Takemi smirked, sipping her own tea. “Well. It’s not as if my life leaves me much time for a relationship, Shiho.”

Shiho shrugged. “So you keep saying. But you said yourself that this call shift is a one off, didn’t you? You’re a staff endocrinologist, so you’re not usually here at night. You’re just covering for your fellow. That means--”

“That means that once this call shift is over, I’m back to my usual routine of my clinical work, administrative meetings and research, and running my clinic in Yongen.” Takemi shook her head, chuckling. “Just because you played matchmaker with four of your friends doesn’t mean you should start in on me. Let it go, Shiho. I’m happy.”

Shiho shrugged. “Alright… So, that consultation from Hayakawa-sensei was pretty interesting.”

“Mm. I was impressed with how prompt he was. Sometimes, getting a surgical consult can be challenging. They’re busy and often swamped by calls.”

Shiho nodded. “It’s amazing… Iwatani-san just had some nagging leg pain, but she’s going to leave with a surgery. What did he call it? An impending atypical femur fracture from bisphosphonate use?”

“That’s right.” Takemi said.

“What surgery is he going to do?”

“It’s called an intramedullary nail.” Takemi said. “Basically they drill out the center of the femur, and then insert a long metal rod down.”

“Ah.” Shiho paused. “And how do they get it in there?”

“Usually a hammer - orthopedics can sometimes be a bit rough. The nail has to be a tight fit, from what he says.”

“Right, right. So Hayakawa-sensei is a young, attractive surgeon who’s really good at pounding things into tight spaces.” Shiho said, innocently. “And an expert in nailing things.”

Takemi performed a spit take, coughing. “Shiho!”

“What?” Shiho asked, grinning. “You were _ so _ into him.”

Takemi looked uncharacteristically flustered, a faint blush creeping across her pale skin. She really was into him. “Look. He’s a new staff surgeon, just getting his practice going. I’m relatively new as well. Do you think either of us have the time? Besides, I’m sure he’s already marr--”

“No ring. And before you ask, no tan-line were a ring would be, and nothing around his neck where he might keep it on a chain because of his job.” Shiho said. “And he kept trying not to look at your chest or your legs. He’s _ really _ into you, too.”

“...You’re almost _ scary _ sometimes, Shiho.” Takemi said, starting to laugh. She glanced over at the windows overlooking the hospital’s emergency entrance. Red and white flashing lights caught her eye as an ambulance pulled up below.

“Call it a talent.” Shiho said, grinning.

“And what about you, Shiho? Did you take my advice?” Takemi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...I did, in a way. I went up on that roof a couple weeks ago.” Shiho replied.

“And?”

“I’m not the person who I was back then.” Shiho said, firmly. “I’m not just meddling in my friends’ lives to avoid living my own.”

Takemi nodded. “Good. So, you’re going to stop living vicariously through everyone…?”

“Oh, hell no. It’s _ way _ too much fun. I can’t make people in the dramas and animes do things the way I can in real life.” Shiho pantomimed making puppets dance.

Takemi snorted in amusement, glancing up again at the windows. A crowd was gathering - not the usual response of a busy hospital to a single ambulance arriving. “What in the world…”

She and Shiho stood, approaching the windows. It was indeed a single ambulance - surrounded by both police escort as well as private security. In hot pursuit, there were multiple news vans and reporters. A single stretcher was brought out. They couldn’t see who it was from the cafeteria, but the patient had been intubated in the field and was being ventilated by one of the paramedics. The policemen and security worked together to push back the encroaching media.

Another car pulled up from the opposite direction; a single person stepped out from the back. A woman - probably a girl, from her slight figure. The flashing light of the ambulance caught her face.

“...Haru-chan!” Shiho gasped.

Takemi frowned, as members of the media seemed to notice as well - they started to lurch towards the girl like a horde of zombies. “Shiho, that’s a friend of yours? Stay here. I’ll go down and.. ...Shiho?”

She was already gone.

>>>

“Haru Okumura? Aren’t you Haru Okumura?!”

“Excuse me, Okumura-san. Do you have any comment on what happened?”

“Do you have any insight as to what your father was going to say?!”

“Do you have any words for the Phantom Thieves?! Did they kill your father?”

Haru stared numbly at the flashing cameras, the microphones pointed at her. The police and security were preoccupied with protecting her father. Some part of her registered this as a good thing - if she was distracting them from trying to take pictures of Kunikazu Okumura, this was a good thing. But it meant she couldn’t run to him. It meant she couldn’t see him. It meant she couldn’t confirm whether or not she had been complicit in the death of her father.

Sound seemed to fade away from her world. It became hollow and dull, like someone had encased her in the same glass that had been around the cognitive projection of Kurenai. Things blurred. Someone shoved another microphone in her face. A camera flash stole her vision, leaving ghostly afterimages.

Someone grabbed her wrist.

“...from her!”

Haru blinked. That was a familiar voice.

“_ Get away _from her! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Shiho screamed. She shoved her way to Haru’s side, taking hold of her wrist. She started dragging the girl toward the hospital entrance, pushing aside microphones and cameras.

A particularly sleazy looking paparazzo barred the way. “The people have a right to know. This is big news. Everyone’s going to ask her these questions anyway, so she might as well get it over with.”

“It can wait.” Shiho snarled, moving to get around him.

The man grabbed Shiho’s elbow. “No. It can’t. I’m not going to let myself get scooped just because of some dumb bitch with a bleeding heart.”

Shiho’s eyes widened. She felt sick at the rough and unwanted touch on her arm. In an instant, the trauma of months prior flooded back to her mind - the laughter, the sound of her clothes tearing. The crude voice and language. The warped hope that it would end at just a beating. The despair in those moments before Ryuji’s arrival when she realized it wouldn’t. In these seconds, the paparazzo’s face seemed to warp, started to look familiar… Shiho froze up.

She felt Haru’s wrist move - it compelled Shiho to look away from the face of Kamoshida and brought her back to reality. She instead looked at the girl she had become fast friends with during the sleepover at Ann’s place. Normally so composed, she looked pale; her hair was disheveled. Her eyes were wide.

_ ‘...No.’ _

Shiho turned back to the paparazzo. She still saw Kamoshida’s face. But instead of hopeless despair, she felt _ rage _. The man tried to shove Shiho aside to get to Haru.

“Now, Okumura-san…--Augh! Fuck!”

Shiho did as she, Futaba, and Haru had been taught by Ren. A single, full-force strike to a vulnerable area, aiming _ past _ the target in order to maximize the damage. The paparazzo screamed like he had been shot when he was kicked in the shin, where there was nothing but skin over the bone. He instantly let go of Shiho.

“Haru-chan, come on!” Shiho said, shoving Haru forward, past the crowd. She paused beside the man, who was doubled over. He reached out, flailing - his hand again caught Shiho’s arm.

Shiho smiled. _ ‘That means this counts as self-defense, right?’ _

She rammed her knee into the man’s groin.

>>>

Haru and Shiho sat on the couch in the office that Takemi kept at the hospital. They had been there for the past half hour, waiting for Takemi to return with news. Haru stared numbly at the now lukewarm can of tea in her hands. Besides saying ‘thank you’ to Shiho and Takemi, the heiress had been basically silent.

The door opened. Haru started to stand respectfully on seeing Takemi; the woman stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She pulled a chair up to sit down across from Haru and Shiho.

“Takemi-sensei…” Haru grimaced; she hadn’t realized how dry her throat was. She took a sip of her tea before putting the can down on the end table beside the couch. “How is my father?”

Takemi shook her head slowly. “...Okumura-san, I’m sorry. There’s no easy way for me say this.”

“Please.” Haru replied, stiffly.

“Your father is breathing with the help of a ventilator. His heart is beating.” Takemi began. Her expression told the girls that this was not good news. “But he isn’t responding to any external stimulus. The ICU is still running tests, but it seems he’s suffered a mental shutdown.”

There was a silence in the room.

Haru drew herself up. She took a deep breath. “...I see. When will we know more?”

“During the next few days.” Takemi said. “Is there anyone I can call?”

“No. There’s no one left.” Haru shook her head. She looked remarkably composed, but Shiho saw the way she clasped her hands; her knuckles were turning white. She started to reach over to Haru’s hands in sympathy. The door opened again, announcing the arrival of another visitor.

“I wouldn’t say there’s _no_ _one_ left, ojou-sama.”

>>>

October 13, 20xx

Haru sat at her father’s bedside in a private room at the hospital. He was still intubated and attached to the ventilator. Soft, regular beeping in the background cut into the air of the otherwise quiet room, a constant reminder that the heart of the man in front of her was still beating. Still beating, but pumping blood to a brain that had long since ceased to function. As she held her father’s hand, she glanced up at the doctor in charge of her father’s care. She barely remembered his name; he was young, intimidated by her family name. Tae Takemi was there anyway, and she had been a godsend. She treated Haru simply with the respect and care due to the closest family member of the patient and acted as something of a ‘medical interpreter’ for Haru. It was an important role, given the parade of professionals that gave her, the sole living relative, their opinions and findings.

_ ‘Haru… what it all means is that mental shutdowns are variable. In some cases, people are able to walk and move, so long as they’re led about. They’ll eat, if food is given to them. But they won’t speak; they won’t do anything of their own volition. It’s debatable if they’re truly ‘alive’. In other cases, the shock is so severe that the victims have something like a heart attack and die immediately.’ _

_ ‘...And my father?’ _

Haru smiled bitterly. Prior to this, her father’s health wasn’t the best. But he was still an obstinate, stubborn man. He should have been one of the latter cases - someone who died due to the shock of having his mind stolen from him. But it seemed that his grit had pushed him into a grey area. Seemingly every test imaginable had been run on Kunikazu Okumura, owing to his wealth and influence. Physical exams by neurologists and intensivists. MRI angiography of his brain. Electroencephalography. Takemi had explained each of them to her as best as she was able. Haru’s astute mind boiled down the pages and pages of reports into a simple, unbiased conclusion:

He would never walk. He would never eat. He would never open his eyes.

He would never tell his daughter he loved her.

Kunikazu Okumura was gone.

But his heart was still beating.

And so, Haru Okumura, the sole remaining member of the Okumura family, had one final duty to carry out for her father. The man who she had just started thinking of as ‘Father’ once more. Haru looked at Takemi. She nodded, once, before her eyes returned to Kunikazu.

_ ‘You’re right. As you are, you aren’t my father. You aren’t the man that Kurenai Okumura loved; you aren’t the man who took me to dance class, or took me to visit Mother…. But a completely evil man wouldn’t care to remember those moments, would he? … Kunikazu-- ...Father. We can’t go back to those days. Not ever. But… but I hope we can try to move forward, together.’ _

Takemi looked at the nameless young ICU doctor. He shook his head, gesturing to Takemi - he had been effectively reduced a figurehead, anyway. She nodded, stepping forward.

“Haru… I’m turning off the ventilator.”

Haru nodded once more, her eyes remaining fixed on her father’s face. His eyes were closed; his chest rose and fell in time with the ventilator. She recalled watching movies where characters would boldly state that they didn’t want their loved one to remember them ‘like this’. 

Instead, the sole heir of the Okumura family forced herself to remember. Forced herself to commit to memory the way his face looked so still; the way his chest ceased to rise and fall. She imprinted the sound of the slow beeps of his EKG becoming slower… slower.

And then a single long tone, fading into silence as Takemi mercifully shut the machine off.

Kunikazu Okumura was gone.

His heart was no longer beating.

Haru didn’t cry. She refused. She didn’t want the tears to blur her vision as she looked over her father. She squeezed his still-warm hand as she remembered his final words to her.

_ ‘We will be a family again. One that Kurenai will watch over proudly.’ _

“...Take as long as you need, Haru. We’ll be outside.”

Takemi and the other physician left the room; Rui Tachibana stood silently at the doorway. The woman had re-entered Haru’s life, becoming her shadow and confidant in the same way she had been for Kurenai.

Haru let go of Kunikazu’s hand, reaching up to gently touch her father’s face, now free of the endotracheal tube.

She forced herself to remember every last detail. It galvanized her; it resolved her. It made her realize that she had been wrong.

The daughter of Okumura had one more duty to perform.

Taking vengeance.

>>>

Ren arrived at the hospital ahead of the other Phantom Thieves, moving quickly. He glanced again at his phone to check the time as well as the room number. He scanned the group chat.

**HO: My father has passed. I thought you all should find out from me, rather than the news**

**AT: Oh, Haru…**

**FS: Haru…**

**MN: I’m sorry**

**RS: that’s terrible**

**YK: My condolences, Haru… Is there anything we can do?**

**HO: No. I’ll be away from school for a few days.**

**RA: I’m nearby - I’ll drop by.**

**AT: Yeah… Haru, you shouldn’t be alone right now.**

**HO: It’s fine**

**MN: No, Ann’s probably right, Haru…**

Eventually, Haru relented to the urging of her concerned friends. Ren reached the room, recoiling reflexively at the sight of the real Rui Tachibana standing guard outside. The woman was every bit as tall and fit as her cognition had been. Her dark blue hair was pulled back into a high warrior’s ponytail; bangs framed her face. In the real world, she wore a charcoal business suit with a pencil skirt rather than the Tron-inspired bodysuit and shield. But, she was no less intimidating.

The effect, Ren noted, was similar to when he had seen Mamoru Yamanaka in a suit.

The suit fit the body, but it didn’t fit the woman. This person was dangerous.

Tachibana spotted Ren. She eyed him from behind a pair of black-framed glasses. After a moment, she smiled. “Ah. Amamiya-san.”

Ren didn’t question how she knew his name. He just bowed politely. “Tachibana-san. Is Haru inside?”

The woman didn’t seem surprised that Ren knew who _ she _ was. She just nodded. “Go on in.”

Ren passed by, catching the shape of a pistol holstered under her suit jacket.

Haru stood inside the clean and empty hospital room, looking out at the parking lot below. It was starting to rain. The bed was empty, made up for the next patient already. Kunikazu’s few possessions he had on him at the time of the conference were packed up into a small bag beside the heiress. Ren started to say something, but his gut told him to hold off. There was a certain tension in the room that touched the finely honed instincts of the boxer.

After a long silence, Ren spoke up carefully.

“Haru… Are you okay?”

“...Yes. Thank you for coming, Ren-kun.” She replied, in her usual polite tone. She didn’t turn around. “It’s getting late, though. Shouldn’t you head home?”

“It’s fine, Haru. The others are coming anyway.” Ren said, relaxing slightly.

“They also need the room, Ren-kun. Really, I’m fine. You should go.” Haru replied. She still didn’t turn to face Ren.

“If… if there’s anything we can do. If there’s anything I can do…” Ren said, glancing at the floor. He missed how Haru’s shoulders tightened up.

Lightning flashed outside; thunder rolled in the distance.

“Haven’t you done enough?” Haru asked. Her voice took on a very different tone. It reminded him of the quiet swipe of the whetstone on a knife.

“...Excuse me?”

“I said, haven’t you done enough?” Haru said. She turned to face Ren. Tears fell; she trembled as she started to lose composure. “You said it would be fine. All of you did. It was supposed to be so simple…”

“Haru, what--” Ren started to say, surprised.

“Just go through with it, finish the mission. Then I’d save the father I loved. We would be a family again.” Haru said, her fists clenched at her sides. She hissed through clenched teeth. “I was so _ stupid _.”

Ren’s felt the floor fall away from him. Haru blamed the Phantom Thieves - or, more accurately, she blamed _ him _. He had to fix this.

“Haru. Haru, I know what you’re thinking. The calling card they found in Kobayakawa’s office, we didn’t--”

“I know. I _ know _ that.” Haru said, shaking her head. “The timing was completely wrong. We were in Hawaii. And you had no reason to go after him. But how could you _ possibly _know what I’m thinking! What I’m feeling!”

Haru stepped closer to Ren, aggressively. She jabbed a finger at him.

“The worst part of this… the worst part of this is that you were _ right _ . I got to see the father I thought I lost. Before I met you, all of you, I _ gave up on seeing him again! I accepted it _ !” Haru shouted. “Because of you, I _ dared _ to hope, and this is what happens! He’s gone! He’s gone, and I’m _ alone _!”

Ren raised his hands in a placating gesture. He shook his head, his eyes wide. “Haru… If you need to blame me, I understand. I--”

“Shut up. Just shut up. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of that kind smile, the way you try to take care of everyone like you know what you’re doing. You don’t. None of us did, and now my father’s gone! Get out. Get OUT!” She screamed in a tired, broken voice. She shoved him.

Ren stumbled as he backed up. He turned and left hastily. He strode quickly past Tachibana; he nearly bowled Futaba and Ann over in the hallway.

“!? RenRen?” Futaba asked. “Where--”

He kept moving. Ann caught the look on Ren’s face - the boxer looked like he was going to be sick.

Ann turned toward Ren; she ran down the hallway after him. She looked over her shoulder. “Futaba! Go and check on Haru, I’ll see to Ren.”

“R-Right!” Futaba said. Her phone buzzed; she looked down to check the text.

>>>

October 16, 20xx

It was a quiet night at Crossroads. It usually was, on Sundays. So, Lala was a little surprised to see Ren darken her doorway to provide some live music. Most of his salary was from tips, after all. Hard to get tips from empty chairs. But, the veteran bartender was cagey enough to recognize a man who needed a safe place to think. She just nodded at him, motioning to the piano.

“Go on ahead, Miyaya. The usual?”

“Yeah, Lala-chan. Thanks.”

The soft sounds of the Yamaha filled the bar as he started playing. In another moment, Lala stopped beside Ren, placing a glass tumbler on the empty stool beside the piano bench. “Rum and Coke Zero, Miyaya…”

“Hold the rum.” Ren said, in unison with Lala. He showed a wan smile at the tired joke. “Thanks again.”

Lala nodded. “I’ll be in my dressing room. If a customer comes in or if you need an ear, let me know.”

“You got it, boss.”

Ren let his hands move, drifting from song to song as he sank into his thoughts. It had been a rough few days for their little ‘family’. Predictably, after news of Kunikazu Okumura’s mental shutdown and death became widely known, public opinion completely turned against the Phantom Thieves. It was all over the news, the website, and the school.

_ ‘I mean, I was all about the Phantom Thieves before… but did Okumura really deserve that?’ _

_ ‘It was basically a public execution.’ _

_ ‘Doesn’t his daughter go to school here, too?’ _

Ren missed a note, thinking of the last conversation - if it could be called that - he had with Haru. He recognized it for what it was, particularly after learning more details from Shiho, Takemi, and surprisingly, Tachibana. He only learned after the fact that Kunikazu hadn’t simply passed away - Haru, being the only remaining relative, had to make the decision to let him go, to turn off the ventilator that was keeping Kunikazu alive. Haru was a girl who lost her only remaining parent only days after getting him back. She needed to lash out and Ren was a convenient target.

She was still a member of his team - still one of his friends - and if being a punching bag helped her, then so be it.

He sighed. But there was more. As public opinion changed in response to Kunikazu’s fate, yet more information was leaked to the masses (and the Phantom Thieves).

Kamoshida, comatose and effectively dead after being assaulted in prison.

Madarame, deceased after a heart attack while in custody.

Kaneshiro, dead in a motor vehicle collision - one that the police and SID suspected was caused by a psychotic break.

Haruto Sato, the man thought to be the ‘Medjed’ that targeted the Phantom Thieves, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Apparent, because the police were now stating they suspected foul play. They didn’t mention the Phantom Thieves, but didn’t deny that they were suspects.

The news of all these deaths broke almost simultaneously, only increasing the intensity of the uproar.

Ren shook his head.

_ ‘We’re trapped. We didn’t know that all of our previous targets are effectively dead. We’re being blamed for the deaths of five criminals. Six, if you count Kobayakawa. It’s too perfect. Kunikazu Okumura dies after admitting his own crimes, but before he can reveal the conspiracy. Then _ ** _after_ ** _ , a fake calling card just happens to get discovered. In Kobayakawa’s office, a room already searched multiple times.’ _

If the calling card had appeared before Okumura, then that might have changed the Phantom Thieves’ focus. They likely would have held off from any other activity until they learned more about where the calling card came from. As it was, the timing was perfectly set up to lay six deaths at the feet of the Phantom Thieves.

_ ‘What we don’t know is why. What’s the gain, here? Kunikazu Okumura called himself a cog in a greater conspiracy. ...What kind of fire are we playing with? Haru’s lost a parent. So has Futaba. It’s not like we have nothing to lose....’ _

Ren looked up, hearing the familiar sound of Ann’s footsteps. He smiled. “Hey, Songbird.”

“Hey, Wildcard. Got your text.” She said, smiling. She sat down on the bench beside Ren. “You doing okay…?”

“As well as any of us can be, I think.” Ren said, sighing. He continued to play. “More importantly, Haru…?”

“She’s alright. She’s going to come back to school on Thursday and meet up with us afterward. She’s sorry about what she said to you; she’s just working up the courage to apologize to you in person.”

Ren shook his head. “She has every right to be angry, Ann. If it wasn’t for me…”

“If it wasn’t for _ all of us _, she’d be married to a perverted, abusive monster. Or she’d have killed herself feeling unloved and abandoned by the only family she had left.” Ann said, firmly.

Ren sighed. “...Yeah. I know.”

“Then why are you here alone, moping?” Ann asked.

“I’m not alone.” Ren said. He smiled at her. “I’m with you. Why do you think I texted you? Misery loves company.”

“Mm. So you _ are _ learning. Finally.” Ann said, sighing. “But really. It’s the night before midterms, and you’re dragging me out like this? I could be studying.”

Ren sighed. “What do you want…?”

Ann blinked, recoiling slightly. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you probably weren’t studying.” Ren said, smirking. “Not after our last session on Saturday, when you said you were ‘done’. If you’re bringing up studying in this context and with that drawn-out sigh, that means you’re trying to leverage guilt into getting something out of me.”

Ann scoffed. She raised her nose in the air, crossing her arms, her eyes closed. “Hmmph.”

She held that pose for a second. She opened an eye to peer at Ren.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

Ann started giggling, leaning against Ren. She smiled up at him. “You’re not wrong. I do want something.”

Ren grinned. “And?”

“A song.”

“Oh? Well, that’s easy--”

“No. Can you sing to me again? Without a blindfold this time?” Ann asked.

Ren frowned. “...I don’t know, Songbird.”

“...Please…?” She pouted.

“...Any requests?” Ren asked, his will to resist crumbling almost immediately at the look on her face. He shelved his resolution to somehow build up an immunity against Ann’s expression for a later time; it was simply too much fun to give in.

“No. Anything’s fine.” Ann said, leaning against him. 

“Hm. Alright…” Ren said, thinking. He started playing one of the first jazz songs he learned. The melody sounded lonely and melancholy. “I used to play this when I was feeling down. Something about how sad songs are best during sad times, I guess.”

He stole a glance at Ann. Even though there wasn’t a blindfold, she still kept her eyes on the piano. Her eyes flitted to him briefly, favoring him with a wink, before going back to the keys. Ren smiled slightly, and started to sing.

_ “They’re writing songs of love _  
_ But not for me _  
_ A lucky star’s above _  
_ But not for me _  
_ With love to lead the way _  
_ I’ve found more clouds of grey _  
_ Than any Russian play could guarantee _  
_ I was a fool to fall and get that way _  
_ Heigh-ho, alas, and also, lack-a-day _  
_ Although I can't dismiss the memory of her kiss _ _  
_I guess she's not for me”

Ren continued playing the melody, nearly missing a note as Ann kissed his slightly red cheek.

“You’re cute when you sing.”

Ren grinned. “I’m not cute any other time?”

“No. You are. When you’re sleeping, too.” Ann said, smiling. “It’s actually pretty similar. You look peaceful, like you’re finally not thinking about the things that you worry about all the time.”

“I worry all the time?” Ren asked. He did, he knew. But as usual, he found himself fascinated by the girl sitting beside him.

“You do.” Ann nodded. She looked up at him again, hugging his arm as he stopped playing. “You worry about the team. You worry about all of your friends and family. You worry about me. And lately, there’s been something else, too.”

She looked at him expectantly.

Ren shook his head slowly. “...It’s almost terrifying how you do that, you know? When did I let you in so far?”

She shrugged. “I could read you like a book from almost the moment we met, remember?”

“Right. Right…” Ren sighed. “It’s a few things. First, what happened to Haru and by extension, Futaba. With Futaba, we didn’t dwell on it because her mother died long before the Phantom Thieves were involved. But with Haru… It’s terrifying. Even if we didn’t directly kill him, I can’t rule out the fact that it happened because we came into the picture. It makes me think. All of us have loved ones. All of us could lose someone.”

Ann nodded, resting her head on Ren’s shoulder. “I think all of us have been thinking of that, lately. The other day, Ryuji tried to foist tickets to some police movie off on me because he wanted to spend more time with his mom and Makoto was too worried about her sister being stressed out.”

“And the second thing… My abilities in the Metaverse have become more unstable.”

Ann frowned. “I noticed. We all did. In hindsight, we were all a little careless. When you reappeared in that fight against Madarame with those armguards, we were all just too happy to have you back to question it.”

“Yeah. It’s hard to question a decisive advantage like that. But the last two times - against Tachibana, and then briefly, against Kunikazu Okumura… It felt different. Each time, it put me down for almost the entire day afterwards. And normally when I’m using it, I feel…”

Ren gestured, looking for words.

“...Normally it feels like I’m flying, for a lack of better words. Like I’m weightless on my feet, but with all the punching power I could ever want. Like I’m the ideal boxer I imagine. But the last two times, it was different. It was… it was like a cup with water filled to the brim. The meniscus forms on top, the surface tension keeps it from overflowing. _ Barely _. All it needs is a little push…”

“Can’t you stop using it, then?” Ann asked, quietly.

“If it means saving the rest of you, then no. I won’t stop using it.” Ren said, shaking his head.

Ann started to protest, but paused, instead studying her… lately, the term ‘boyfriend’ didn’t seem to be quite enough to describe him. He was resolved to give everything he had to his friends. She smiled in resignation, touching his cheek with her free hand. She thought back to what she had told Reiko, so many months ago.

_ ‘He loves so much that it fills his heart and head and when the people he cares about are happy, he’s happy. But if they’re hurting, especially if they’re hurting because of him… It kills him. It hurts him more than he deserves.’ _

“Songbird?”

Ann shook her head. “...It’s nothing, Wildcard. I think… I think right now, we don’t have any option but to move forward, don’t we? We have a responsibility to Haru and Futaba, and countless others. No one else has a lead on who the real culprit is. If we just back off, there’s no guarantee that we or our loved ones would be safe.”

Ren nodded. “Right.”

“And as for your ‘Black Wing’... ...Do what you have to, Wildcard. I’ll always be there to pick up the pieces.”

>>>

October 20, 20xx

Midterms came and went. With the help of Makoto and Ren, the Phantom Thieves survived; the police presence at Shujin, there to interview the students and faculty, served as extra motivation for the team to look like they were studious, future productive members of society. They now gathered in the boxing club room, with Yamada and a few of his boys situated outside the entrance to prevent any interruptions. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Akechi was starting to visit Leblanc more frequently, once again making meetings in the attic a little more challenging. Ironically, the Detective Prince himself was the topic of the day’s meeting.

“So we’re all in agreement?” Ren asked, his grey eyes surveying the group. They all nodded, or gave a quiet affirmation. Ryuji hesitated.

“Tch… ...Yeah. Fine.” The blonde boy muttered.

Ren nodded, turning finally to Haru. Ren met Haru privately before the meeting on the roof, helping her tend her garden. She had apologized for lashing out, but things were far from over from her perspective.

_ ‘Ren-kun, I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. But I’ve had a lot of time to think. I think I can’t let go… I can’t truly lay my father to rest until I have revenge.’ _

_ ‘You mean justice?’ _

_ ‘I think in this case, they’re the same thing.’ _

He had been struck by how _ cold _ she sounded. It was similar to when the heiress had entertained the thought of guaranteeing her freedom by killing her father’s Shadow. But this time, it wasn’t a passing cloud on a sunny day. This time, it was more like a dense fog surrounding the girl, something that settled down, just beneath your notice.

Until it rose up to obscure your vision, right before the killing blow.

“Haru?”

“...Yes. I’m certain.” Haru nodded, firmly.

Makoto sighed. She rolled her shoulders, feeling a small degree of tension bleed away at having at least made a decision. “Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll contact Akechi, and ask him to be the guest at the cultural festival. And speaking of the cultural festival. Ren, Ann, Ryuji - the three of you will be joining Haru and I on the committee.”

Ryuji blinked. “...Wait, what?!”

Ren frowned. “Wouldn’t suddenly adding us to the committee raise suspicions? Don’t get me wrong. I understand what you’re trying to do. You want to give us a legitimate reason to be seen around each other.”

Makoto nodded. “That’s right. But new additions aren’t unreasonable. The committee is a mess this year; that’s actually why we didn’t collect the votes and contact Akechi already, even though the festival is on the 25th. Everyone knows we need help.”

“Aw, man…” Ryuji mumbled.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ryuji. Just think of it as more quality time with your _ girlfriend _.”

At that, both Ryuji and Makoto turned red. They suddenly realized their proximity - right beside each other on the floor of the boxing ring - and shuffled a good metre further away from each other.

“Oh, _ yeah _, that’ll fool us.” Futaba said, sarcastically. Her voice was slightly tinny, coming through on Ren’s smartphone. She and Yusuke were listening in from off-site, rather than trying to sneak onto campus while the police were actively investigating.

Ren waved a hand. “We shouldn’t tease. They haven’t even kissed. If we keep it up, they’ll never progress and just continue to annoy the rest of us.”

Ryuji glared at Ren. “Uh, excuse me? We’ve totally kissed. It was right after--mmph!”

Makoto had a hand clamped over Ryuji’s mouth. “God… Ryuji, look at Ren’s face. Right now.”

Ren had a Cheshire-cat grin at the successful trap. “We’ll adjourn for now, then. Since Makoto and Ryuji can’t keep their hands off each other.”

With an indignant squawk, Makoto again created distance between herself and Ryuji. Although the Phantom Thieves family knew they were ‘official’, the student council president and former track star still hadn’t managed to figure out if having their relationship acknowledged should make them feel happy, embarrassed, or both. So they settled on hilariously awkward and easy to tease.

As the team filed out, Ren caught Haru at the door.

“Haru… Are you sure you’re ok?”

She stared at Ren, for a long moment, her face carefully composed.

“No. But I will be.”

>>>

October 21, 20xx

“You’re running out of time, Niijima.” Arai sat behind his heavy oak desk, his arms crossed as he leaned back in his leather chair. “What do you have so far?”

Sae returned Arai’s stare with a sharp glare of her own.

“It’s laid out in the report right in front of you.”

“I have. But I’d like to hear you describe your findings as well.” Arai said, smirking. The power game was obvious - this meeting served no purpose other than to remind Sae that she was nearly out of time, and that she had nothing she could do about it.

She grit her teeth, before speaking slowly, with carefully chosen words. Cursing out her boss would feel good for a _ second _, she told herself. Though each moment she had to look at his smug face made it seem more and more worth it.

“Right now, we’ve found connections linking Kamoshida to Kobayakawa, Kobayakawa to Kaneshiro, and Kaneshiro to Madarame. It seems as though Madarame was laundering money for both Kaneshiro and Okumura, also.”

Sae paused. She leaned forward, opening the report to the last page.

“And by investigating Shujin further, we found the link between Kobayakawa and Okumura. A combination of blackmail and nepotism. If Okumura wanted to reward an underling or bribe a partner who had a child enrolled in Shujin, he’d get Kobayakawa to advance them in any way required - padding a GPA, writing a letter. Or he’d fast-track their transfer to Shujin. If he wanted to blackmail or punish someone, and they were unlucky enough to have a child at Shujin, then the opposite. Letters hurting their chances, or transfers out. Some transfers, in fact, to a ‘Takabe Academy’, which doesn’t even exist. Those students simply went missing. Moreover, Kobayakawa served as a go-between for Okumura and Madarame. It seems as though Okumura was also able to launder money surreptitiously and also pay off Kobayakawa for his favours.”

“I notice your report didn’t mention the Phantom Thieves. Funny, given that your main task is to bring them to justice--”

Sae tossed another sheaf of papers onto Arai’s desk. “I see you haven’t checked your email. Here’s the printout. I separated the reports because the second half, concerning my theory on the Phantom Thieves, is substantiated primarily by circumstantial evidence. The first half, the one you’ve read, is more or less confirmed.”

“Then what does the second half say?” Arai asked.

“It reviews my previous theory that the Phantom Thieves are hitmen, or corporate ‘cleaners’. They took out Kamoshida, Kaneshiro, Madarame, and Kobayakawa… Only now, we have a likely employer or benefactor: Okumura. Kamoshida was taken down as his predations became more and more bold; it was probably Kobayakawa that requested the hit as he realized his golden goose was more trouble than he was worth.”

Sae continued. “And if you recall my previous reports, both Madarame and Kaneshiro’s criminal activities were picking up in scale prior to their respective downfalls - it’s quite likely that they were seen as getting too greedy, creating trouble for Okumura. So they were the next to go.”

“And Kobayakawa?” Arai asked, rubbing his chin.

“The final link between Okumura and the others. Likely taken out to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to burn Okumura. He was after all, the only living member of a criminal cell that used to boast four members. It’s likely that after the Kobayakawa job, things soured between the Phantom Thieves and Okumura. It’s hard to say what exactly happened - Okumura might have balked at paying them, or maybe he realized that they knew too much. Either way, the Phantom Thieves struck hard and struck first. There’s precedent for such independent action, too.”

Arai nodded. “Medjed… Haruto Sato. He was unrelated to Okumura.”

“Correct.” Sae said. “He seemingly threatened the Phantom Thieves, so they responded by doxxing him and taking down the website. He then shot himself. It was quite tidy… except for the fact that Sato was a day trader, not a hacker. Our Cyber Crimes division studied samples of his code - there was nothing elegant about it, in their words. All copy-pasted, no ‘signature’ that a real hacker would use. And, it turns out that Sato was embezzling from his company, and getting too greedy…”

“...Ah. So you think he was a separate job, altogether?”

“I do. I think the Phantom Thieves aren’t Okumura’s employees. I think they’re contractors. All we’re missing are the suspects - hence our ongoing investigation of Shujin. I suspect that the Phantom Thieves originated there, after all.”

“...I see.”

Sae crossed her arms, waiting for the inevitable scoff, sneer, or dressing down.

“...Strong work, Niijima.”

Sae blinked. “...Thank you, sir.”

“I trust you’ll have suspects soon?”

“Yes sir. By any means necessary.”

Arai watched her leave, his hands clasped in front of his mouth - in order to hide his smirk. Sae Niijima had woven the web of half-truths into a perfectly acceptable lie. One that the public would eat up happily. She had even found the information they leaked about Haruto Sato. In truth, the day trader was a peripheral member of the United Future Party - one that had indeed gotten a little too greedy. ‘Medjed’ was simply a convenient way to dispose of the man at the time.

And now, all they needed were named suspects. Arai smiled. There was a plan in place for that, too. He picked up his phone.

“She’s made the proper ‘deductions’ as you predicted. Everything is prepared on this end.”

>>>

October 24, 20xx

The bell above the door to Leblanc chimed as Ren pushed the door open. It was the evening, the end to a challenging day - it had been Ren’s turn to be interviewed by the police. It had too many similarities to his ‘interviews’ prior to his conviction in Kamakura. Ren suppressed an involuntary shiver as he remembered that time in his life.

_ ‘Amamiya-kun, is it? No need to look so tense, son. We’re just trying to find out exactly what happened…’ _

Smiling faces with metaphorical daggers held behind their backs. In Kamakura, they ruthlessly twisted every innocuous thing he said. The detectives at Shujin barely questioned him - they simply confirmed who his friends were, and whether or not he had a dispute with Kamoshida. Then they thanked him, and let him go.

He had replayed the interview over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what the police’s play was. So focused was Ren, that he nearly walked right past Akechi. The brunette was sitting in a booth instead of at his usual spot at the bar.

“Ah. Amamiya-kun. So good to see you. You’re awfully late.” The shaggy-haired Detective Prince smiled.

“Late for what?” Ren replied.

“...I’m sorry?”

“Telling me I’m awfully late implies that you were expecting to see me earlier.” Ren replied, shrugging.

“Heh… You continue to be quite interesting… I apologize. I think I’ve just missed seeing my friend.” Akechi said, shrugging. “It seems as though it’s been awhile since we’ve trained together or had a chance to talk.”

“It seems we’ve both been busy.” Ren said, non-committal. He leaned against the counter. “I think the last time was before our school trips, actually. How was Kamakura?”

“I found that it agreed with me quite a bit. Your parents are very welcoming people. It must have been hard to leave them behind.”

“It was. Thanks for telling my mother about Sports Day, by the way. I was happy to see her.” Ren said.

“I’m glad.” Akechi said, smiling. “Say. Since you’re here, would you like to play a game of chess? I noticed that Sakura-san has a set.”

Ren glanced over at the rarely-used chess set, boxed up near the magazines and books. “I don’t think there would be much point. I don’t play very much.”

“I disagree, Amamiya-kun.” Akechi said, smiling. “I think there’s enjoyment even in playing against a novice. While the outcome might be known, an inexperienced player can still do some unexpected things.”

“...No thanks.” Ren said, heading for the stairs. “I’m a little tired.”

“Ah. That’s fair. I understand the police have been at Shujin again, after all. I’ve received a request to be the guest speaker at the cultural festival, you know. It seems that as public opinion of the Phantom Thieves has fallen, my image has improved.”

“Didn’t we talk about how you don’t have to care about that sort of thing?”

“We did. And I don’t.” Akechi’s nearly smug smile said otherwise. “Though it is gratifying, nonetheless.”

“Right. Anyway...”

“Goodnight. ...Hm.”

Ren paused, at the foot of the stairs to the attic. “What is it now?”

Akechi shrugged, spreading his hands. His smile quirked slightly - almost mockingly.

“I would have thought that a boxer would have a more courageous response to a no-win scenario.” Akechi paused for a moment, as if gauging Ren’s response. When the boxer’s expression didn’t change, he continued. “Especially in a low-stakes game of chess.”

“A ‘no-win’ scenario…?” Ren turned to look at Akechi.

“Indeed.”

The two teens regarded each other in silence, unmoving. Akechi, his hands spread in a gesture that was on the surface welcoming, but also seemed like they were ready to grapple. Ren, his body half-turned, his left foot towards the Detective Prince. His right hand casually holding the strap of his Shujin bag, near his chin, his left hand in his pocket, but relaxed.

On the television, a bald, bespectacled politician ranted aggressively about the corruption of society. His angry voice was intrusive, seeming to gradually increase the mounting tension.

Sojiro frowned as he polished glasses behind the counter. The man left his wild days behind him years ago, but he could still recognize when a fight was brewing. “...Hey. Ren. While you’re upstairs, can you check the fuse box? The lights have been a bit janky all day.”

“...Right. Sure, Sojiro.” Ren nodded to Sojiro before glancing at Akechi. “Have you heard of the _ Kobayashi Maru _?”

Akechi blinked. “...The Japanese steamship? The one that carried 376 passengers from British India to Vancouver, Canada?”

Ren smiled, suppressing a laugh. “...Yes. Exactly. Thank you - that’s been bothering me since the exam. Goodnight, Akechi.”

“Goodnight…”

>>>

October 25, 20xx

“So. Everyone’s alright, then?” Ren asked, looking around the table outside 2-D’s ‘Maid Takoyaki’. “Haru?”

Haru blinked; she was staring off into space. Irritation flashed across her normally placid features as she looked at Ren. She smiled. “Yes. No concerns.”

Makoto sighed. “Good. It’s been hard on all of us. I thought that the cultural festival would be a chance to relax a little, but people everywhere keep spreading rumors…”

“For real. It’s all bullshit, too.” Ryuji scoffed. “I mean, some people are starting to suspect the Phantom Thieves for things that happened _ before _ Kamoshida.”

Ann played with one of her twintails, sighing. “...Yeah. It’s really disheartening. It’s like no one cares about the people we helped.”

“Indeed. It’s as if we’ve become the booger-men of the public.” Yusuke said, seriously.

There was a silence as the other Phantom Thieves turned to Yusuke. It wasn’t even that funny - but it broke the mood. Futaba started snickering first. Eventually, the whole group broke into uncontrolled laughter.

“It’s… it’s _ bogeymen _, Yusuke.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“Oh man. It’s not as good as being a good ‘bird man’, but I’ll take it.” Ryuji said, laughing. He held a fist up to Yusuke. “You know what to do with this now, at least?”

Yusuke nodded seriously. He bumped Ryuji’s fist.

Futaba stopped laughing. “Wait. Wait, what did he do before?”

Ren looked at Ryuji. He offered his fist to the blonde boy.

Ryuji nodded gravely. He took Ren’s fist in his palm, shaking it.

Futaba snorted.

“Guys. Guys, come on.” Ann said, laughing herself. “You’ll make Yusuke feel.. ...bad?”

The tall artist smirked slightly. “Actually, I thought that we could all use some laughter.”

Ren shook his head in admiration. “...Thanks, Yusuke.”

“Of course. Like Marie Kondo, I am happy to ‘spark joy’.” Yusuke said, with a gravity and elegance that only he could pull off. And a face so carefully composed and straight that it set the group to laughing again.

“What’s so funny?” Shiho asked, plopping down at the table. She carried the group’s order, the ‘Russian Takoyaki’.

Ryuji grinned. “Just sparking some joy.” He eyed the takoyaki. “Man. I can’t believe that they made one of us come up to get it. So much for the maid service…”

Ann sighed. “It’s a miracle we even pulled off the decorations and costumes. I’m one of 2-D’s reps for the cultural festival, remember? It didn’t help that every time we mentioned the word ‘maid’ or brought the costumes around, Kawakami looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown. At least the takoyaki are freshly made.”

Ren frowned, poking the side of one. “...Are you sure about that, Songbird?”

Futaba nodded. “I think I even heard a microwave go off…”

The group started to reach for the food, pausing as the familiar form of the Detective Prince strode up to the table.

“Ah. Everyone’s all here.” Akechi said, smiling.

Makoto blinked. “...Akechi-kun. The panel isn’t until tomorrow…”

“I’m aware. I just wanted to come by to see what the venue is like. After all, we can’t afford to have any mistakes, can we?” He said, his eyes on Ren.

“Of course.” Ren said, shrugging. He started to spear the red takoyaki with a toothpick, before pausing. “Ah. Rude of me. Do you want one, Akechi?”

The Detective Prince smiled. He picked up a toothpick, selecting the red one that Ren seemed to have wanted. “Thank you. I’ll have this one.” He said, unable to hide all of his amusement at the petty gesture of taking something of Ren’s away.

Akechi took it in one bite.

A mix of sriracha sauce, tabasco, and a hint of ghost peppers instantly coated the Detective Prince’s tongue. It was a screaming cacophony of hot and sour, the flavors wrestling for dominance on his tongue. The battle between the three spices raged on for a few moments as Akechi made strange, inhuman sounds. He quieted, managing to swallow the takoyaki.

The battle was over. The victor?

Pain.

Akechi took off down the hall, running for the nearest restroom.

“...Oh. Whoa.” Ryuji said, his eyes wide. He grinned. “Nice.”

Mona popped up out of Ren’s bag. “How’d you know he was going to take that one?”

Ren smiled. “Because I motioned at it with my toothpick before offering him one. He’s actually fairly predictable…”

Shiho stood up.

Ann blinked, looking at her. “...Shiho? Are you going to check on Akechi?” She asked, thinking of Shiho’s career aspirations.

“Hm? Oh, no.” Shiho walked over to the Maid Takoyaki counter.

“I’ll take all the red ones you have left, please.”

>>>

October 26, 20xx

It was the afternoon of the second day of the cultural festival, just after the panel with the guest of honor, Goro Akechi. Makoto led the Detective Prince to the PE faculty office, where the other Phantom Thieves waited. She pushed the door open, closing and locking it behind them. The team gathered around the cluttered, half-packed office. Since Kamoshida’s resignation, a permanent replacement still hadn’t been found. The man’s personal possessions were gone already, but the remainder was a cluttered mess of stacked boxes and folding chairs. It was decidedly cramped and uncomfortable, but decreased the likelihood that anyone would stumble across them.

Akechi’s face was his manicured smile. His perfect mix of polite friendliness with smug confidence, designed to enchant his fans and irritate his enemies. And so, eight different individuals found themselves clenching their fists or jaws, or tensing their shoulders.

“Ah. So everyone’s here. How are you enjoying the festival?”

“I think you can stop pretending to care, Akechi-kun.” Makoto crossed her arms, leaning against the door. “What did you want to talk about?”

Akechi was nonplussed, continuing to smile. “Perhaps it’s easier if I show you.”

The Detective Prince reached into his blazer with a gloved hand, taking out three photographs. He placed them on the desk, one by one: pictures of the Phantom Thieves leaving the Metaverse after taking down Okumura’s Palace.

The group stared at the photos in shocked silence.

“...Those… those gotta be fakes!” Ryuji blurted out.

“I have video footage as well.” Akechi said, continuing to smile. “So please. Let us dispense with feigning ignorance. Furthermore, I too have been to the other world. The first time was right around when I took these photographs. You might as well admit it. You are the Phantom Thieves, operating in the other world.”

The Detective Prince stared directly at Ren, a triumphant smile on his face.

Ren gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Well. No matter. I have all the evidence here.” Akechi replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He seemed to draw himself up, managing to give the distinct impression that he was looking down at the lot of them.

Haru glared at Akechi. “We didn’t kill _ anyone _.”

“Indeed. I don’t believe you did… When I entered the other world, I saw someone else there. A man in a black mask. He shot at me immediately. It was only in my desperation that my need to discover the truth for the sake of justice caused me to awaken to the same powers you all have…”

“...This guy has a Persona?!” Mona said, his tail lashing.

Akechi turned, eyes wide. “...Did that cat just talk?!”

Ann nodded. “This is Morgana. Our guide in the Metaverse. He taught us everything we know…”

“...Ah. I see. That’s how you learned to steal hearts…” Akechi said, frowning. “I wonder, what else--”

“So what do you want from us?” Ren interrupted.

“The only thing I want Amamiya-kun, is justice. I cannot abide a senseless killer who--”

“Save it, Akechi.” Ren said, shaking his head. “You have the photos and a video. You called us into a room where we can have a private conversation. You’ve thrown incriminating evidence in our faces. You’re going to blackmail us.”

“...Ah. Such harsh language.” Akechi said, his eyebrow twitching slightly at his interrupted monologue. “I would call it an ‘exchange of favors’. You see, Sae Niijima is in control of the investigation, as you might know. What you don’t know, is that she has concocted quite the theory…”

Akechi went on to detail Sae’s investigation. The Phantom Thieves listened on grimly.

“...That… that’s crazy!” Ann said, shaking her head. “We’re not hitmen for Okumura! Why would she jump to that conclusion?!”

“The pressure that Sae-san is under is enormous. The SID has never failed to identify and convict a suspect, and they have no intention to begin now.” Akechi said. “If they cannot identify the real Phantom Thieves… they will simply _ select _ a suitable scapegoat.”

“No way…” Ryuji said, eyes wide.

“That would explain their nearly impossible conviction rate over the past few decades…” Futaba said, shaking her head. “If they can’t find the evidence, they create it.”

“So, this is the exchange I want to offer you all.” Akechi continued. “You will help me track down the true culprit. In exchange, I won’t turn you in - so long as you cease all activities as the Phantom Thieves. ...You don’t need to decide now. I can see that you don’t trust me. Take all the time you need… up until Friday.”

“How generous.” Ren said, flatly.

“Yes, I believe so as well.” Akechi replied, clearly understanding but ignoring the sarcasm. “After all, I could have turned this over to the police immediately. You should be grateful. And as a matter of due course, they would not only have investigated each of you, but any remaining family members. Parents… sisters. It seems to me, that you all have a _ lot _ to lose. So, I trust you will decide wisely.”

He turned, waving a hand. “I’ll see you on Friday, at Leblanc.”

>>>

“Student Sharing Special…?” Ren asked, slowly.

“Don’t look at me!” Ann replied, a little defensively. “I tried telling them to cut it out this year. Nobody ever volunteers to go up. They usually just end up picking some poor soul out of the crowd—”

“You! You there!”

A spotlight aimed directly at Ren and Ann, standing to the side of the gymnasium, the venue for the post-festival party. The MC, a third-year student, was clearly looking at Ann.

“Look at you! Good looks, smoking body. You look like you don’t have a care in the world!”

Ann rolled her eyes, muttering. “Seriously? Koyama-senpai? He hasn’t forgiven me for turning him down when I was a first year… do you think I should go up there— Ren? Where are you…”

Ren was already moving. He climbed up on stage, taking the second microphone from the surprised third year.

“Thanks for the compliments, senpai. I’m glad someone’s noticed that I took extra time on my hair today. And I _ have _ been working out.”

The audience tittered with amusement.

Koyama frowned. “I didn’t… Oh. Well. Er… what’s your name, then?”

“Ren Amamiya.”

The audience murmured.

“_ He’s _ that transfer student? The one who’s a real criminal, but somehow topping the charts for exams…?”

“He’s totally yakuza. I heard Yamada call him ‘aniki’...”

Koyama grinned. “Oh? _ That _Amamiya? So, why don’t you say something?”

“Something.” Ren said, shrugging.

Again, the crowd laughed slightly, despite the fact that it was an old joke.

“Well, fine. If you’re going to be that way.” Koyama said. His eyes caught Ann. She looked mildly concerned. Koyama smirked. “Well, how about this. Why don’t you properly address the article that everyone was talking about after summer break? The one in _ Boxing Fan? _”

Ren blinked, and then smiled.

“Oh. Happy to. So you see, Yamanaka-san boxes southpaw, so the article was reviewing all the current contenders for the WBC Lightweight Championship - specifically their ability to counter Yamanaka-san’s stance. Having been on the receiving end, I can tell you it’s not that simple—” Ren said, starting to describe word for word the feature article on Mamoru Yamanaka.

“No! The article with the pictures! Of you!” Koyama snapped, now clearly irritated.

“Wow. First complimenting my looks, and now I find out you’ve been keeping magazine clippings of me, too? You’re making me blush, senpai.” Ren said, innocently.

“You… no! You and Takamaki!”

“Oh. Well, that’s easy. I think I loved her almost the moment I met her. Sometimes I think it was love at first sight, other times more like a premonition. Either way, I’m probably going to do whatever I can stay by her side for as long as possible.” 

Ren shrugged.

“Or something like that.”

He and Ann managed to escape in the ensuing uproar.

>>>

“I… I can’t believe you!” Ann said, giving Ren’s shoulder a half-hearted shove in the privacy of the fenced-off area around the school’s pool. It was already getting dark out; the lights at the bottom and around the water provided enough light for the pair to see, though. “That was so embarrassing!”

“Then why can’t you stop smiling?” Ren asked, laughing.

Ann covered her mouth. “Am not.”

“And your eyes are twinkling.”

She covered her eyes as well. “Lies.”

“Come on, Songbird.” Ren said. He lightly tapped on her hands with his index finger. “Are you really that embarrassed?”

“Yes.” Ann replied. She continued to cover her face. “I’m not coming out.”

“Going to be pretty hard to model like that.”

“Hand modeling is a thing.”

“It would be a waste. If you show me your face, you get a surprise.”

“...is it a _ good _ one?”

“Mmhm.”

Ann slowly moved her hands away. As she expected, she was rewarded with the gentle touch of Ren’s mouth on her own, stealing a soft kiss. She smiled against his lips, her fingers running through his hair. She sighed, draping her arms over his shoulders, leaning against him.

“What am I going to do with you, Wildcard…?”

“Love me, Songbird. Just love me.” Ren held her closely against himself, the press of her slender form both familiar and thrilling.

She took off his glasses, stealing a kiss of her own. A pretty blush formed on her face as she spoke again. “Not a problem. We’re pretty good together, aren’t we?”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You know, a traditional Japanese boy might consider that a proposal.”

Ann slid his glasses on, peering up at Ren over the thick black frame. “Oh? And how traditional are you?” 

“Well, my parents _ do _ run an inn. And I was raised in a small town.” Ren said. He quietly marveled at how she made _ that _ look work, too.

“Uh huh. But I’m a part American, part Finnish, part Japanese model from a cosmopolitan jet-setting family. So I could literally be saying _ anything _. I could mean we’re pretty good together right now… or pretty good together a week from now. Or pretty good together with the same last name.” Ann affected a coquettish little smile.

“I see… so? Which is it?”

“Anything. Everything. All or none of the above…” Ann stepped away from him, giggling. She turned to face the pool; her features took on a gently rippling glow from the lights around the water. “I need to leave you with some anxiety for when you eventually ask me, right? It makes it more romantic.”

“You mean _ if. _”

Ann scoffed, mockingly. “Please.”

Ren shook his head, laughing. “Yeah. Stupid of me…”

Ann smiled as she turned back to him, smiling softly. “Whenever you do… have confidence, Wildcard.”

>>>

Ren and Futaba approached Leblanc, on their way home from Shujin.

“Oh, come on. It’ll be great. You can tell Kana all about how you go to school with your big bro.” Ren said, grinning.

Futaba rolled her eyes. “Who might that be?”

“Oh, ouch.” Ren replied, miming a dagger through his heart. “And after all we’ve been through together.”

Futaba chuckled. She then looked up at Ren as they turned down the alleyway toward the cafe. Over the past few days, despite all of the turmoil around Kunikazu Okumura, the Phantom Thieves, and the cultural festival, Ren had made time for her - to help her deal with her issues, and to help change the hearts of her old friend’s parents. The girls swore a pact shortly after to attend school again, starting next year. All because of Ren.

Ren paused, feeling Futaba tug on his sleeve.

“Gremlin?”

“...You know, RenRen. I… ...Yeah.” She mumbled, looking down at her feet. She startled slightly, feeling him break free of her grip - only to ruffle her hair. She looked back at him, eyes wide.

He flashed a smile at her. “Any time, Futaba.”

She grinned back at him. “Ehehe. I’ll take you up on that.”

They walked into Leblanc. Surprisingly, the door was still unlocked and Sojiro was seated on the wrong side of the counter. The middle-aged man generally looked pretty relaxed; smooth. Ren rarely thought of him as being ‘older’ per se. But this evening, Sojiro’s shoulders seemed to bear the weight of the world. As he turned to look at them, he seemed tired physically and mentally.

“...Boss? What’s… ...wrong…”

Ren’s eyes went to the countertop in front of Sojiro.

A calling card.

Sojiro stood slowly. He regarded both of his wards.

“Lock the door and sit down. You two have some explaining to do.”

>>>

Akechi smiled slightly to himself, the manicured expression fading into something between smug and predatory. He was on the rooftop of his apartment building in Shibuya. There, he looked over the evidence he had accumulated on the Phantom Thieves. The photographs, the video. They had played directly into his hands. Amamiya and his friends only had one possible course of action in front of them.

The Left Hand squatted down, in front of a small metal bowl he had brought up to the roof. His smile slowly broadened into a grin as he dropped the photographs and the USB drive with the only digital copies of the CCTV footage of the Phantom Thieves leaving the Metaverse into it, with a hollow metallic -_ clang- _. This was followed in short order by lighter fluid, and a lit match.

Arai would have lost his mind if he knew that this was happening.

Fortunately, the Director didn’t even know that the evidence _ existed _.

The flames of the only evidence positively identifying the Phantom Thieves reflected in his eyes, giving him a decidedly devilish look as he watched everything go up in smoke. It didn’t make much sense from a law and order perspective, of course. If he turned the evidence over to Arai, the Phantom Thieves would be done. They could be arrested with the key thrown away.

But this could all be done without Akechi’s involvement, through at least somewhat legal channels. Burning the evidence left the SID Director and Shido with a single option to ‘clean up’ the Phantom Thieves: Goro Akechi.

Akechi chuckled quietly. This way, they would need to force a confession out of Amamiya. That would be… productive. Satisfying. _ Fun _. Moreover, they wouldn’t be able to touch the other Phantom Thieves. Not legally, anyway. It would become another task for Akechi. One he would relish.

He stood up, leaving behind the bowl of ash and twisted plastic.

The trap wasn’t _ quite _ perfect, though. Not yet. Amamiya was wily. Even when he caved to Akechi’s ‘deal’, he wasn’t likely to include the Detective Prince on the finer details of his plans. He was likely to assume that Akechi would betray him. After all, Amamiya was someone who had been betrayed by the legal system before.

He smiled again, going through files in his phone. Akechi needed a way to stay a step ahead. Fortunately, he already had one.

>>>

October 28, 20xx

“Hell of a few days, bro.” Ryuji sighed, sitting slouched in a booth at Leblanc.

“Tell me about it.” Ren replied, shaking his head. Sojiro had taken the revelation about their identities as the Phantom Thieves surprisingly well, once he heard the whole story. There wasn’t any risk of him selling them out - despite the incredible thirty million yen reward for information leading to their arrest.

The boxer looked around the small cafe, at the rest of his team. The news of the price on their head had struck them all deeply. Coupled with Futaba’s revelation that ‘Medjed’, Haruto Sato, was a patsy who couldn’t even code… They all felt like they had been used - dancing in the palm of some unknown power’s hand. It forced them all to re-evaluate everything they had done up until now.

_ ‘Caroline and Justine did say we’re losing focus… But that doesn’t explain everything. The public turned around _ ** _instantly_ ** _ . What was it that Justine said…? ‘Reform society’....? This can’t be completely on us.’ _

As he thought, his eyes lit on Ryuji and Haru.

Those two had been particularly hard on themselves. Ryuji knew he had gotten swept away by the potential for fame and popularity; Haru was still obviously both upset and enraged about the loss of her father. The bounty on their heads simply added salt in the wound. They wanted to take action, but were for the moment frozen. Until the Detective Prince stepping through the door revealed his hand.

Akechi smiled. “Ah, so good to see everyone here.”

Silence.

“...Well. Shouldn’t you offer me a cup of coffee, Ren--”

“Don’t push your luck, flatfoot. I’m not your friend. Or your barista.” Ren growled. “We’re taking your deal. But never forget that you’ve threatened my friends. And my parents, if I recall your wording. That’s enough reason enough for me to knock your pompous head off.”

Akechi raised his hands, still smiling - smirking, even. “I suppose I’ll have to allow for some barking here and there. If you’re done, then shall we discuss the plan from here on out?”

Ren glared at Akechi, but motioned with a hand. “Go for it.”

“So. As I alluded to at our last encounter, the primary concern is Sae Niijima.” Akechi said, falling into the same speech patterns he had when he first met Ren. His smile quirked slightly, seeing Ren’s eyebrow twitch. “The prosecutor is under enormous pressure to identify and convict a suspect. Preparations are already under way to fabricate a conviction. This is the true purpose behind the interviews occurring at Shujin Academy.”

“...That makes sense.” Ren said, shaking his head. “My contacts tell me the questions they’ve been asking are fairly benign. Just like what they did with me. They didn’t grill me or try to make me say anything incriminating. They just wanted to know who I hung out with and whether I might have had a dispute with Kamoshida.”

Akechi nodded. “That is correct, Amamiya-kun. The police are attempting to identify a suspect who would best fit the profile of the Phantom Thieves. Someone palatable to the general public.”

Yusuke looked downcast. “So… they would even identify someone completely unrelated?”

“Yes. But I believe there is a solution to this. We must change Sae-san’s heart. I’ve checked - she has a Palace.”

The team looked surprised - save one. Their eyes immediately turned to Makoto.

“I… ...Yes.” Makoto said, sadly. “She does. I’ve known for some time… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you all because I felt it would be selfish. And I was too scared to confront this on my own.”

Ryuji squeezed Makoto’s hand under the table. He looked at Akechi. “How does changing the heart of a single person change anything?”

“Sae-san holds considerable influence over the investigation. She is surrounded by people who care nothing more than a quick resolution to the case; they are all willing to turn a blind eye to the fabrication of evidence, especially if it means preventing another embarrassment.” 

The Detective Prince sighed.

“This is why I believe changing her heart is the best option. If she comes to her senses, she will put a stop to this. And also, changing her heart will protect Sae-san herself; if the true culprit finds out that she’s heading the investigation, she may become his next target. If we stop the investigation before this, the true culprit would have no reason to go after her. Then, with the false investigation over, all that remains would be identifying the true culprit - which I will take care of, alone.”

Makoto frowned. “I see… You intend for us to disband afterward.”

“Indeed.” Akechi said, nodding.

Haru frowned. “Akechi-kun… why are you doing all of this? Why are you so motivated?”

“Because this is intolerable, simple as that. Not for society’s sake or for reform, but for my sense of personal justice. Call it a grudge, if you will. Nothing will stand in my way.” Akechi said, determined.

“...He sounds a little like us, doesn’t he?” Ann said.

“We’re similar, huh…?” Akechi said, looking thoughtful. He turned to Ren. “So… won’t you cooperate with me? To change Sae-san’s heart?”

Ren leaned against the booth, his hands in his pockets. He stared incredulously at Akechi. “Are you serious? You know we don’t have a choice.”

Akechi shrugged. “You always have a choice, Amamiya-kun.”

“Then, fine. We’ll cooperate.” Ren nodded.

“Excellent. We should begin immediately. Sae-san is planning to name a suspect on the 20th, after all. We will scout out the Palace today. I--”

“I said we’d cooperate, not turn the reins over to you, flatfoot.” Ren said. “We’ve all got things to do today.”

Akechi frowned. “Do you, truly? Or are you merely being contrarian for the sake of petty revolt?”

“Yes.” Ren replied, deadpan.

Akechi blinked. He then chuckled. “Ah. More barking. Very well. We’ll start tomorrow. Until then…”

He turned to leave.

Haru frowned. “Ah, Akechi-kun. Shouldn’t we all exchange phone numbers? Otherwise, we won’t be able to get in contact about where and when to meet.”

“...Ah. Yes, of course.”

They exchanged numbers, ending the meeting.

Ren walked alongside Ann to the station. “Hey, Songbird. I’ll walk you home.”

“Hm? Didn’t you have to meet up with Haru about something?” Ann asked. She took his arm, regardless.

“Oh, she told me that she was going to run late.” Ren shrugged. “I’ll drop by later.”

Ann frowned. “I hope she’s okay. It’s awfully soon for her to be back in action…”

“It’s her choice, Songbird. I’m sure we can rely on her.”

>>>

“Hyah!” Haru shouted, driving her knee upward into the hitting mitt held by Rui Tachibana. She immediately followed this up with a hard elbow into the opposite mitt.

“Good. Take a break.” Tachibana said, nodding. She regarded the daughter of her former employer - rather, she regarded her _ current _ employer. Haru panted, sweat dripping from her face, her auburn hair matted. The heiress was in workout gear, wearing MMA style fighting gloves, tank top, and shorts. They trained in the basement of the Okumura estate. It used to serve as a small dance studio for Haru when she was a child, but it was suitable for martial arts training, as well.

Haru’s experience in dance served her well. She still retained excellent control over her position in space and took instruction well - even as Tachibana taught Haru her personal mix of _ toshu kakutō _ and _ krav maga _. Tachibana had been mildly surprised at the request to train, only a day or two after the death of Kunikazu Okumura.

_ ‘Tachibana-san. Will you teach me how to fight?’ _

_ ‘Isn’t that friend of yours showing you some self defense?’ _

_ ‘...I can’t go to him. Not anymore.’ _

Tachibana assumed it was just a brief fancy, something to take her mind off her father’s death. But the girl had thrown herself into the training, even as the former member of the _ Tokushusakusengun _special forces unit ramped up the intensity and difficulty.

_ ‘I would have loved to have more recruits as intense as Haru… I wonder what’s happened? This goes beyond grief.’ _

Tachibana glanced at her phone a second before it buzzed. “Okumura-sama. Are you expecting a guest?”

“Hm? Oh, yes. I lost track of time. Please show him in, Tachibana-san. He’s a friend. The living room will do.”

Haru went to her suite, quickly showering and getting dressed. She briefly glanced out the window as she headed to the living room. It was late in the afternoon; the sun was only just starting to set. The birds that nested near the windows flitted by, chirping and tweeting away. It was almost idyllic. The head of the Okumura household smiled sardonically, thinking of a quote from Dumas’ _ Three Musketeers _. She had re-read the book shortly upon Awakening to her Persona, the duplicitous Milady de Winter.

_ ‘ _ _ ‘Milady felt a consolation in seeing nature partake of the disorder of her heart. The thunder growled in the air like the passion and anger in her thoughts. It appeared to her that the blast as it swept along disheveled her brow, as it bowed the branches of the trees and bore away their leaves. She howled as the hurricane howled; and her voice was lost in the great voice of nature, which also seemed to groan with despair’... ...A shame there isn’t a storm, like the other night. That would have been more in keeping with the theme.’ _

She stepped into the living room, smiling politely at her guest.

“Good afternoon, Akechi-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/3 chapters focusing on the casino/interrogation arc.
> 
> I'll comment more on Haru's development in the third chapter.
> 
> ...All three are done. (including this one) Just editing!


	34. MGM Grand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,157 seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. It is a famous venue in the world of professional boxing, the location of multiple historic bouts: Holyfield v. Tyson and Mayweather v. Pacquiao, to name two._
> 
> _Infamously, this arena was also the last public appearance of rapper Tupac Shakur before he was killed in a drive-by shooting; he was attending a boxing match. Suspicion for the murder fell upon Shakur’s rival: The Notorious B.I.G. While he had an alibi, some believe that he bankrolled the hit._
> 
> _Nonetheless, Shakur’s murder remains unsolved. Botched police investigation, or deeper conspiracy? Who can say? Either way, it adds further mystique to the storied arena._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H&K USP - Type of handgun  
Konami Code - Google it :)

November 7, 20xx

Like most casinos, Sae’s Palace was a glitzy and loud affair. Bright lights and flashing signs advertised games of chance. There was a constant din from the digitized sounds of the slots, the chatter of the dealers and gamblers, the clatter of plastic chips like falling rain. It was hard to find quiet places or shadows away from the glaring lights. Especially here, on the high stakes floor - the second storey of the four-tiered casino.

Not to say there weren’t  _ Shadows _ , of course. Two stood guard at the elevator and six more patrolled the floor. And overlooking them all was the floor manager, who stood in a small office situated above the gambling floor. They took the form of either faceless burly men in vests or girls dressed like Playboy bunnies. They strode about confidently; there were few places of concealment on this floor.

Few, but not  _ none _ .

The elevator let out a soft - _ ding- _ , announcing the arrival of yet another group of high rollers hoping to try their luck. The doors opened. No one walked out.

After a moment, the guards turned, peering inside the empty elevator.

In that instant, the air rushed up, out of the elevator - the Shadows were instantly pulled into the remaining vacuum, falling in a pile of twisted limbs. The doors closed, muffling their otherworldly shrieks as they began to shift into their true forms. These cries were cut short with the sound of metallic slashes through gristle and scampering across the smooth floor.

The six other guards on the floor were suddenly frozen into place. Tendrils of frost replaced their breaths.

Silenced sniper fire eliminated two, their bodies vanishing into the ether before the cognitions of gamblers even noticed. A cattle prod jammed into the side of another, before a gloved hand clamped over the Shadow’s ‘mouth’, hauling it back around the corner where the stun baton had come from.

A whip lashed around the ankle of yet another Shadow, dragging it into a utility room. The door slammed shut; there was a brief flash of light from under the door, followed by a few wisps of smoke.

The final two fell to black blades, thrown expertly from behind a pillar. Each was taken in the throat, falling silently before vanishing.

The floor manager snarled; his form started to twist as he turned toward the door of his office, ready to kill the intruders. The door slammed open before he could reach the entrance.

Makoto stood there, twin tonfas at the ready; Futaba covered her, Desert Eagle drawn.

The floor manager sneered. “Just two little girls? How insulting.”

The humanoid form twisted and expanded, revealing the true shape of Ganesha, the elephant god. He brandished twin swords, but wasn’t fast enough to deflect two hard jabs from Makoto’s tonfa.

Ganesha stumbled back, chortling with amusement - the physical strikes did little to the elephant-headed Shadow’s prodigious girth other than push him back toward the window overlooking the floor.

“Foolish. Aren’t you supposed to be a well-organized cadre of thieves? You’re terribly unprepared to face  _ me _ . If you beg, perhaps I’ll make it quick--”

Two silenced shots punched through the glass, double-tapping the head of the Shadow. It crumpled to the floor, vanishing. Futaba dashed forward immediately, holstering her weapon and getting on the computer. She glanced briefly at the various security monitors in the room, all overlooking the gambling floor.

Ren’s voice came through on the radio. “One minute until the alarm, Oracle.”

“Roger! Not a problem!”

Futaba typed quickly.

“Thirty seconds…”

“Just hang on!”

“Ten…”

“Done!” Futaba chirped, with a triumphant keystroke. In an instant, the security feeds turned briefly to static - replaced by footage of the same casino floor, but with live, patrolling guards. This camera feed was transmitted to all the other security offices in the casino. The actual high roller floor, of course, remained devoid of anyone but Sae Niijima’s cognitions of gamblers, dealers, and pit bosses.

On the casino floor, Akechi, in his ‘thief’ outfit - in reality, a white and gold Prince’s costume, with a red mask reminiscent of a Medieval plague mask - smiled.

“Well, nice to see that our plan went off without a hitch. Now, we’ll just--”

Ren put a hand out. “ _ Our _ plan, actually. And hold on, before you blow this whole thing. Oracle? Is Phase 2 ready?”

“Mmhm! Starting now.” Futaba replied.

Ren’s outfit glitched briefly with a green and black digital overlay stacking up like bricks around the Phantom Thief - they then ‘collapsed’, revealing a well-fitted black tuxedo. Though, with a dark red tie rather than black bow.

Akechi blinked. “...Oh.”

“We can’t confirm if the cognitions can sound the alarm.” Ren said. “So we need to fit in.”

“Then what about--” Akechi started to say. His outfit then warped and glitched, also turning into a tuxedo. A powder blue one from the 1970’s, complete with black trim and ruffled shirt. The Detective Prince gawked at his outfit. “ _ This _ is fitting in?!”

Ren couldn’t completely suppress his smirk. “More or less. You shouldn’t have tried to mansplain the Intel vs. AMD debate to Oracle.”

Ren glanced at his reflection as he adjusted his collar and tie, heading out to the casino floor.  _ ‘Ann’s going to love this. I bet she’ll … …’ _

Ren’s mind went blank.

She stood there, waiting by the elevator. Her hair was down, she wore a backless red dress that was somehow both form-fitting and flowing - fitted from the hips up, it exposed her from the small of her back to the nape of neck. Her shoulders were bare. It was flowing because of the long slit that started mid thigh, going all the way down to the floor. As she turned to face Ren the skirt flared slightly; he caught a glimpse of creamy skin, shapely legs, and black stiletto heels.

Ann met his eyes. She smirked. Despite the outfit, this was the Metaverse. She was still 100% Panther. She closed the distance and laid a hand on his chest. “You can thank Oracle later, Joker. And you can gawk later, too. We’ve got a job to do.”

Playfully, she took hold of Ren’s tie, glancing at Akechi. She gave him a quick once over, a languid smirk on her face. “Shouldn’t have pissed off Oracle. Imagine that. Crow’s eating crow. Anyway. I’ll be borrowing Joker for our part.”

She gently led Ren off by his tie, who was still too busy staring to offer much in the way of intelligent conversation.

The other Phantom Thieves joined Akechi.

Yusuke, wearing a tuxedo like Ren’s but with the classic bow tie, watched Ann lead their leader off. “I take it Phase 2 is to start as planned?”

“Heh. I guess so. I don’t think that Joker’s in any state of mind to make any changes on the fly right now. ...Man, this thing’s tight.” Ryuji mumbled, tugging at the collar of his own tux.

“Ungrateful.” Oracle said, smirking. She wore a dark green cocktail dress, the hem of the skirt ending just above her knee. “It’s more that you aren’t used to wearing clothes that  _ fit _ . Or so Panther says. You should be thankful I didn’t give you the Crow treatment. And you should be thankful for what I dressed your wifey in.”

“I am  _ not _ his ‘wifey’!” Makoto snapped, her face red. “...Though, the dress  _ is _ nice, Oracle…”

Makoto wrung her hands lightly. She was in a navy blue evening gown, with plunging sweetheart neckline. Her modesty was  _ somewhat _ preserved with the presence of sheer blue fabric that covered her decolletage and upper back. Her eyes flitted to Ryuji, briefly.

“Y-yeah. It’s really… something.” Ryuji finished, awkwardly. Clearly very much  _ wanting _ to stare at Makoto, but unsure of  _ where _ to stare, exactly.

Akechi sighed. “I do wish Joker would let me in on the actual details of the plan. It is somewhat… disconcerting to find out on the fly.”

“You’re on a ‘need to know’ basis.” Haru said, looking over her deep violet, high-necked sleeveless dress. She adjusted the sheer cream-colored shawl she had draped over her elbows. “He doesn’t trust you.”

“Still, this is bordering on intolerable. How is this cooperation? I barely take part in any of the battles!”

Ryuji rolled his eyes. “Please. How did you expect him to treat some stranger who’s blackmailing us?”

Mona adjusted his yellow bow tie. “...Still. It’s a bit much. Joker’s slow to trust, and doesn’t react well to betrayal. Or to anyone threatening people close to him. You might say he  _ over _ reacts, actually. But regardless, I think it’s pretty safe to fill Crow in now.”

“Agreed.” Makoto said. “Crow, as you know, the casino’s laid out in four floors. The first floor was low stakes; this is the ‘high roller’ area. Just like the first floor, everything is rigged. And we can’t progress to the third floor until we earn one million chips. We’re dressed this way because we have to gamble our way up. There isn’t any way to rob the casino or to steal from the vaults.”

Crow frowned. “But this is unwinnable. The games are rigged. Unless…”

Futaba grinned. “Ehehe. Joker doesn’t believe in no-win scenarios. That’s where I come in. In his words, if we can’t win the games… we change the rules. Mona and Fox are going to break me into the control room of this floor before they go and play some slots. I’ll at least be able to turn the probability back to normal levels.”

“Normal levels? But the house always wins…”

“I’ll be playing blackjack. Eidetic memory.” Makoto said, tapping her temple. “I can count cards. And because you can bet on  _ anything _ in this place, Skull’s going to be betting on me to clean the blackjack dealers out.”

“I see… Then, I believe I can be of assistance in Texas Hold’em.” Akechi said, nodding. “I should be able to deduce the intent of my opponents fairly easily. I am a detective, after all.”

The Phantom Thieves exchanged glances.

Haru frowned. “...I’ll keep an eye on him. I’m afraid I’m not good for much of anything else, in here. I don’t know any of these games.”

Makoto nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s move.”

Haru followed Akechi towards the poker tables as the Detective Prince scratched at his neck; the polyester suit was fairly itchy. She shook her head. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“Tired of what, Noir?” Akechi asked, smiling placidly.

“Deduce this, detect that.” Haru said.

“Why would I? My fans appreciate it. It allows me to move fairly easily through the world.”

Haru scoffed. “I suppose it’s better to say ‘I should be able to deduce the intent’ than ‘I’m good at poker because I’m a sociopath’...”

“You’re one to talk. Aren’t you betraying your friends?” Akechi sneered, his smiling, manufactured mask finally disappearing.

Haru glared at Akechi as they arrived at the Texas Hold’em table. “Not my friends. Just the man responsible for my father’s death.”

Akechi smiled again. “Such venom. You truly are your father’s daughter.”

“Shut up and play. I made a deal with you to hand you Amamiya’s head on a platter, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you.”

“Of course… Of course.”

Akechi smiled cruelly as the cards were dealt. Everything was coming together. As he suspected, Amamiya had no intention of allowing Akechi into his inner circle. Through the entire infiltration to this point, the Detective Prince had been kept in the dark regarding any important plans. He had fought alongside the Phantom Thieves the entire past week as they gathered information but was told virtually nothing. Clearly, Joker thought to safeguard himself against betrayal.

But, the leader of the Phantom Thieves didn’t expect  _ two _ knives in the dark..

Akechi glanced at his hand, before looking up at his opponents. He hadn’t gotten a signal from Futaba yet, so he immediately folded, rather than wasting any money. He waited for the signal and thought back to his meeting with Haru Okumura.

>>>

“Good afternoon, Akechi-kun.”

“Hello, Okumura-san.” Akechi said, smiling. “You don’t seem very surprised to see me.”

Haru‘s polite smile vanished like vapor. She threw a surveillance bug at Akechi’s feet. “I’m the sole heir of Okumura Foods. Did you think I would be so careless as to not notice this? Even one placed in the room where my father died. You’re disgusting, to do that to a man on his deathbed.”

Akechi knelt down, picking up the bug. “I’d do anything for my justice.”

“Enough.” Haru said. She dropped a file folder onto the coffee table between them. Documents and surveillance photographs of Akechi spilled out.

For once, Akechi was caught completely off guard. He picked up the folder, finding surveillance images of  _ him _ performing surveillance. In particular, trailing Ren Amamiya. There were even CCTV images from before Haru was involved - whoever was helping the heiress had access to the city archives and biometric scanning technology. “...How… how did you?!”

Haru smiled pleasantly. “You’re not bad at tracking, Akechi-kun. But Tachibana-san says you’re pathetically bad at ‘checking your six’.”

Akechi unbuttoned his coat, ostensibly so he could sit down. Actually, so he could have easy access to the pistol he had in his inner pocket. How much did she know? Was she aware of his Metaverse activities…? “I… see. And what do you intend to do…?”

He slowly moved his gloved hand across his lap.

Someone closed the distance to him in a flash - he attempted to stand. A strong hand shoved him back into his seat before slapping him across the face, momentarily stunning him.

When he looked back up again, hair awry, jaw aching, his coat was lighter - Rui Tachibana stood several metres away, just behind Haru. She idly inspected the Detective Prince’s Heckler and Koch USP, before casually sitting down, ejecting the chambered bullet and expertly field stripping the pistol.

“Ah. How rude of me.” Haru said. “Rui Tachibana, Goro Akechi. Akechi-kun, Tachibana-san is a former member of the JSDF’s  _ Tokushusakusengun _ . She has been invaluable in learning about you. You’ve been investigating the mental shutdowns and the Phantom Thieves for months. You’ve suspected Ren Amamiya for weeks. Do you expect me to believe that the great ‘Detective Prince’ has  _ any _ intention of just wasting all that work and letting the Phantom Thieves walk, even if there  _ is _ a ‘true culprit’?”

Akechi relaxed slightly.  _ ‘...Ah. Good. She knows nothing.’ _

. “...Of course. Truthfully, I was never attacked in the Metaverse. I am uncertain if there is a ‘true culprit’... And you are correct. I have no intention of letting the Phantom Thieves go. Or at least, not their leader. I merely wanted to lull you all into a false sense of security.” Akechi smiled at his own half-truth.

“There is no tangible evidence that you all are Phantom Thieves - you need to be caught in the act. In particular, Ren Amamiya needs to be caught in the act, and needs to sign a full confession.” Akechi said. “I came here today because to enact my plan, I need to turn someone on his team to my side.”

Haru nodded at the bug in Akechi’s hand. “So you heard everything?”

Akechi nodded. He took out his phone - slowly, as Tachibana immediately glared at him - and played the audio file he had gleaned from the listening device.

“I said, haven’t you done enough? You said it would be fine. All of you did. It was supposed to be so simple…”

He turned it off. “I came here to feel you out, to see if you’re willing to do the right thing. Ren Amamiya is charismatic, but he is a charismatic  _ murderer _ . After all, I am on the side of true justice--”

“Save it. This isn’t about justice.” Haru said, rolling her eyes. “You’re obviously trying to take down the Phantom Thieves in the most showy, glamorous way possible. A big sting operation instead of carefully building a case. To do the latter, you’d need to involve more people, share the credit. You’re a sociopath. You care only about your own advancement, damn the methods or consequences. I met dozens of men and women like you while growing up as my father’s sole heir. That’s why you can’t fool me. And, as for my own feelings…”

Haru was silent, for a moment.

“...My feelings are resolved. I will put my father to rest by getting revenge on the man most responsible for his death and my misery. I want Ren Amamiya to pay.”

>>>

“Alright everyone! Phase 2’s a go! Place your bets!” Futaba called.

Akechi was snapped out of his reverie. He glanced at his cards, and then the three cards of the flop. He had nothing of note. He then looked up at his opponents, briefly studying them.

He smiled, pushing his pile of chips into the middle of the table.

“All in.”

>>>

Makoto sat at the blackjack table. She glanced up at Ryuji, smiling gratefully as he bent down to place a drink at her elbow. She blushed faintly, catching his wrist before he stood up straight again, pecking his cheek with a quick kiss. She placed her wager - virtually all of her chips.

She then glanced at her hand. Two tens. The dealer - one ten visible.

“Split, please.” Makoto said, separating the cards. The dealer nodded, giving the Phantom Thief two more cards. She peered at the new cards carefully. She nodded, once again parsing the counts she had memorized. The time was definitely now. “Stand on the left. Double down on the right.”

The dealer nodded. He flipped his other card - seventeen, total. He was forced to stand.

Makoto grinned, almost feral. She flipped her cards. Eighteen, for one hand. Twenty for the other.

“The lady wins.” The dealer intoned. “Please excuse me for a moment, miss. I need to call for more chips from the cashier.”

The dealer left, heading over to speak to the pit boss.

Ryuji returned, having collected his own bet on Makoto. “Man. It freaks me out how you’re able to do that.”

Makoto glanced at Ryuji, tensing up a little at the proximity. “...Right.”

“...Makoto? What’s the problem?”

“What do you mean, what’s the problem?! Why would you insist on me kissing your cheek as a signal to bet on me to clean out the dealer? It’s so ridiculous…”

“...Uh… Oracle told me that  _ you _ were the one that decided on that. Just that you were going to pretend to be flustered, so the pit boss wouldn’t notice.”

“...I’m going to kill her.”

>>>

Yusuke sat in front of the slot machine with Mona keeping a lookout.

“I still can’t believe that you’ll be able to pull the lever at the right time.” Mona said, shaking his head. “I know Oracle changed the machine so that each tumbler will stop spinning when you pull again, but they’re going so fast…”

“Joker has faith in me.” Yusuke said, shrugging. He pulled the lever, studying the first tumbler. He pulled the lever, stopping the first reel on a bell.

“No one’s hand-eye coordination is  _ that _ good…”

Yusuke shrugged again. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed - his hand pulled the lever twice in rapid succession.

Three bells stood prominently on the screen. Celebratory chimes and alarms rang as chips started to pour out of the machine. Mona yelped, dodging out of the way. He stared at Yusuke in shock.

“Holy… That was amazing!”

“Indeed. You might say that Joker  _ slotted  _ me into the right task.”

“...Annnd you ruined it.”

>>>

Ren stood at the head of the craps table. Tuxedo on, arm around the waist of a bombshell. He kept stealing looks at Ann.

She smirked, placing her finger on his chin, gently turning his face back toward the table. “I think you should concentrate on your throw.”

“That dress is borderline illegal.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“You can arrest me later.” Ann smirked, clinging to his arm just a little tighter. It pushed certain parts of her anatomy against Ren that made it just a little harder to focus on rolling the dice.

“I might take you up on that.” He paused, starting to summon Succubus for Rebellion. A little critical luck would come in handy, here. “Succu--”

Ann shook her head. A graceful index finger lighted on his lips, silencing him. “No. I don’t feel like sharing tonight, Wildcard. You don’t need her. Just…  _ concentrate _ .” She purred, gesturing with her other hand.

Celestine appeared momentarily at Ren’s other arm. The Persona blew on the dice, before winking at Ren - then winking out of existence.

Blinking, he realized that he could  _ feel _ the imperfections in the dice. How the weight wasn’t quite perfectly distributed. They weren’t loaded, by any means. But taking the natural imbalance into account, with the texture of the table, the movement of the air… And the way he’d throw… it was all so clear.

“Aces. Everything on 2.”

There was a gasp at the table, a sudden silence at the high risk bet. Ren grinned; he tossed the dice.

They tumbled… coming to a stop at aces. 2.

“S...sir! Congratulations. Pardon me. I’ll need to visit the cashier…”

“Well. That takes care of our share, doesn’t it?” Ann asked, smiling.

“Mm. It does.” Ren said. With nothing else to focus on, he eyed Ann head to toe, in her dress.

Ann paused, listening in on her radio. “Sounds like we’re the first. We’ve got a bit of time-- Where are you taking me?”

Ren was leading her away by the hand, accepting his winnings in a small case with the other. “Safe room.”

“Why… ...Oh…”

>>>

The Phantom Thieves gathered at the elevator, winnings in hand.

Mona laughed. “Looks like we did pretty well for ourselves. What’s on the next floor?”

“It looks like some sort of arena.” Akechi said, studying the map that Futaba had procured while she hacked the probability-manipulating system of the high-roller floor. “But more importantly, where are Panther and Joker?”

The Phantom Thieves exchanged knowing, mildly annoyed, mildly amused glances.

Yusuke coughed. “Er…likely ‘exploring’.  _ Vigorously _ .”

Sure enough, Joker strode toward the elevator, Ann on his arm. She had a faint glow to her; she was giggling about something, lightly swatting at Joker’s arm. Joker’s tie wasn’t quite tied up tight.

“...Oh. I see. Here?  _ Really _ ? You’d think those two would be more careful...” Akechi said, shaking his head. “I… I suppose we should move on, then.”

The group stepped into the elevator, ascending to the third level. They were unable to move on much further. The third level of the Palace seemed to represent the courtroom; their access was limited by a real cognitive block - Sae had to think of teenagers as being allowed to enter the courtroom. So, the group adjourned - agreeing to meet the following day after school at the courthouse.

They exited the Metaverse, adjourning for the day.

“Ah, I’m fine, Ann-chan. Thank you…” Haru said. “Tachibana-san’s going to pick me up.”

Ren frowned. “From here? Haru, how much does she know?”

“She doesn’t ask questions, Ren-kun.” Haru replied, after a moment’s hesitation. “She’s used to doing what’s needed on a need to know basis.”

“If you’re worried she’ll discover something, we can--”

“She won’t. Trust me.” Haru said, tersely. Her smile wavered for a moment.

“Right. Sure.” Ren said.

The Phantom Thieves parted ways. Ren glanced at Mona, poking his head out of his bag. “Haru’s acting a little strangely.”

Mona nodded. “Mm. Yeah… I hope there isn’t an issue.”

A short distance away, Haru got into the back of a luxury town car. Tachibana sat at the wheel.

“Okumura-sama.”

“Tachibana-san, you don’t have to call me that. Haru is fine. Or even ‘ojou-sama’, if you must. I… I haven’t felt much like the head of an esteemed household lately.” Haru said, frowning

“Then, Rui is fine, for my part.” Tachibana said, peering at Haru through the rearview mirror. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing fine.”

“Thank you. Did you do as Akechi-kun requested?”

“Yes. I provided him with the appropriate contacts, through the appropriate channels. He’s requested some fairly rough… ...contractors. Individuals I wouldn’t normally recommend. They’re known for causing collateral damage…”

“They’ll do, I’m sure. We aren’t looking for saints, Rui-san. We need people that won’t blink an eye at doing what we need them to do.”

“Of course. They will. The first group will be standing by in Kamakura on the 19th. The second group is already looking for an appropriate staging area in Hiroo.”

>>>

November 8, 20xx

“Come on, Joker! Stick and move! Stick and move!” Futaba shouted, standing at ringside on the third floor of Sae’s Palace. They had gained entry by simply attending one of Sae’s trials as part of the public gallery, supposedly on an ‘educational field trip’.

The third floor was something like fight night at the MGM Grand in Vegas; cognitions formed the crowd gathered in the stands around the ring. Everything from down and out gamblers, betting everything they had left on the fight, to high class whales, wearing expensive clothes and expensive girls. The crowd roared as Ren bravely tried to fend off his opponent - a Shadow who took the form of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.

Ren narrowly slipped a hammer blow, darting in to counter. He was in his usual thief outfit, bringing his black blades to bear as he jabbed at Thor’s abdomen.

The shockwave from the hammer hitting the floor blasted him back.

That had been the story of the past several rounds. It wasn’t looking good for Ren. It was getting harder and harder to dodge, and he was behind on points Being in the ring sealed off most of his Phantom Thief abilities, but Thor was able to use his own thunder and lightning with wild abandon. While Ren was stumbling, the hammer flew towards his face. His eyes widened; he was unable to dodge.

The bell rang - the hammer whirled, returning to Thor’s hand. The Norse god gave Ren a haughty smirk as he sat down in his corner, tended to by Valkyries.

Ren sat on his own stool, panting. He looked over at Futaba, Ryuji, and Ann - the three were serving as his ‘corner’ - the remainder of the Phantom Thieves watched from the stands, ensuring that there was no outside interference.

“How’s it looking, Oracle?” Ren asked.

“Oh, the odds are  _ terrible _ . It’s 40:1 right now that you manage to turn this around in the last round. It’s a shame that none of us are allowed to bet on you. But, you’ve got this.” Futaba brought up a screen. The progress bar displayed was nearly full. “Nearly there, Joker. You’ll start the last round on even footing.”

“Hm. Can you do a little better than even…?”

“Probably. What did you have in mind?”

Ren and Futaba exchanged hurried words. She blinked, and then nodded.

The bell rang.

Ren got up off his stool, taking his stance. He cracked a crooked smile as both he and Thor glitched, with Futaba’s tell-tale digital distortion. When the green and black pixels dropped away, Ren stood there - wearing shorts, boxing boots, and gloves. All in stylized red and black.

Thor stumbled, mid-hammer swing. He too wore a similar outfit, stripped of his hammer, armor, and helm.

“W-wait… I’m powerless without Mjolnir…!”

“Oh. That’s a shame.” Ren said, pleasantly. He moved forward, smiling.

The round was over in short order. Ren raised his fist in victory, claiming the purse. “Wow…” He breathed, in awe, as his outfit changed back. “I asked partly out of curiosity, Oracle. I didn’t think Necronomicon was already that powerful.”

“Hm? Not Necronomicon, actually. Al Azif.” Futaba casually pointed up as her Persona appeared overhead. The slightly goofy UFO was now a sleek, shard-like spaceship. “Had my Second Awakening.”

“...Seriously? When?!” Ann gasped.

“Oh, when we were on the high roller floor. I got bored waiting for all of you, so I went into Necronomicon and typed in the Konami code.”

Ren and Ann stared at Futaba for a moment.

“You’re kidding, right?” Ren said.

Futaba shook her head. “Nope! That was it. I don’t get why all of you guys had to be so dramatic…”

Ren laughed, ruffling Futaba’s hair fondly as they made their way to join the others at the entrance to the fourth and final floor - the manager’s level. The team stopped at the foot of an elaborate drawbridge, shaped like a scale.

“I see…” Yusuke said, his hand on his chin. “It looks like a gaudy sculpture, but it seems as though our winnings will pour down onto the scale, lowering the middle of the bridge into place for us to cross. Do we have enough?”

Joker glanced down at the card he held; it had a small LED screen on it. “Looks like it.”

He swiped the card in the console. It briefly flashed green, before flaring red. “Insufficient funds.”

“...What?”

Shadow Sae’s voice crackled to life over the casino’s PA system.

“As the casino manager, it’s up to my discretion to decide on the entry fee for the manager’s suite. As of now, I’ve  _ doubled _ the cost.”

“H-hey! That’s not fair!” Oracle shouted. 

“Who are you to tell me what’s fair, and what’s not? The only way you could have reached this point at all would have been by circumventing my casino’s systems.”

“...Well. She’s not wrong.” Ren said.

“So… We are in possession of five million, and now the cost is ten million?” Akechi asked.

“Yes, that’s right. So you might as well go back down to the high roller floor and try your luck. Though, none of your tricks will work this time.”

“We decline, thank you.” Akechi said. He produced another card, quickly swiping it before Sae had a chance to increase the required sum again. The sound of ten million plastic chips was nearly deafening as they clattered down onto the scale.

“How did you…” Makoto murmured, staring.

“Quite simple. I didn’t dispose of this ‘Taro Tanaka’ card that Oracle made on the first floor. Instead, I borrowed to the maximum, to start. For 100,000 total. Then, I bet on Ren to win the fight, for four million total. After paying back the original 100,000, I had 3.9 million… which I then leveraged for another loan, for a total of 7.8 million.”

“...Wow, Crow. Brilliant.” Mona breathed.

“Imagine what I could have done had I been briefed on the plan start to finish.” He said, simply.

Ren shook his head slowly. He then sighed, stepping forward. He offered his hand. “...Sorry, Crow. It was probably excessive to keep you in the dark that much. You’ve more than proven yourself, I think.”

Akechi shook Ren’s hand. “No harm done. Shall we see what this Treasure Room looks like?”

Ren led the Phantom Thieves across the bridge, into a large foyer. The Treasure, barely visible, glowed on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

“That’s it, huh…” Ryuji said.

Mona nodded. “It’s got the right feel. Can’t quite see what it is, though…”

“Onee-san…” Makoto murmured, reaching out. Her fingers just passed through the un-materialized Treasure.

Akechi looked thoughtful. “Ah. I see. This is what you meant by making the Treasure manifest with the calling cards. Without them, nothing can be taken at all.”

“That is correct.” Yusuke said. “I will get to work immediately on the calling card. It shall be my magnum opus as a Phantom Thief.”

“Great. As soon as you have it, we’ll send it. The sooner the better, right?” Ryuji said. “I want to get this over with.”

“Hm. If I may…” Akechi said. Ren nodded at him, gesturing for him to go on. “I think that it may be to our advantage to wait until the last possible day. That is to say, the 19th of November.”

“Really? Why?” Mona asked.

“For two reasons. First of all, Sae-san has been hunting the Phantom Thieves for months. We cannot discount the fact that she is accustomed to seeing calling cards. Thus, the shock to her cognition may not be as profound as in other cases. If we wait until the deadline, her anxiety will increase, and perhaps magnify the effect.”

Makoto nodded. “From what little we understand of the Metaverse, that seems to be logical…”

“And the second reason. If we wait until as late as possible, the police will have less time to find a replacement for Sae-san to try and fabricate new evidence. Especially if Sae-san destroys the fake case, as I anticipate she will. The police department’s main goal is to settle things prior to the election.”

“Right. If we make them fail their goal, they’ll have no reason to keep trying to find a fall guy.” Ryuji said.

“Correct.”

Ren thought for a moment, and then nodded. “...Alright. The 19th it is. We steal the Treasure on the 20th. Until then, everyone should rest up and prepare as best they can. This is our last heist as the Phantom Thieves.”

>>>

November 12, 20xx

“We can’t get any further in Mementos and there’s no more requests. Good job, everyone.”

Ren motioned at the group gathered around the card table in the attic - including Akechi, who had integrated somewhat after his display of cunning at the Bridge of Judgement.  _ Some _ of the unease of having the Detective Prince at these meetings had settled. Ren shrugged.

“We’ve officially run out of things to do before the 19th.”

“Well, not  _ completely _ !” Shiho called, coming up the stairs. She kicked the door open, carrying a large cake with lit candles on the top. “Happy birthday to you…!”

The official troll of the Phantom Thieves’ inner circle started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in English, grinning. Sojiro followed her up, holding a tray with a variety of snacks. Everyone else quickly joined in, grinning at the blushing model.

“Oh, you guys…!”

“Happy Birthday… to you!”

Ann blew out the candles, laughing. “Really? Even with everything going on?”

“ _ Especially _ with everything going on, Songbird. It makes it even more important to remember things like this.” Ren said, leaking over to kiss her cheek.

Shiho started cutting the cake. “First slice for the birthday girl~”

“Wait. Shiho, did you make this?” Ren asked, immediately looking alarmed.

“Why would that matter?” Shiho asked, smiling. She put a slice in front of Ann, and another in front of Ren. Her smile became slightly eerie. “...Go on…  _ try it _ .”

The chatter in the room died down. There was something like a Mexican stand-off over the two pieces of dessert, with Shiho, Ren, and Ann facing each other down.

Shiho grinned, breaking the stalemate. “I didn’t make the cake, guys. Dig in. Boss can corroborate.”

Sojiro nodded, putting down the track of snacks. It included karaage, takoyaki, and other selections of not-so-good-for-you-but-heavily-fried foods, perfect for commiseration or celebration. “It’s true. She didn’t make the  _ cake… _ ”

Akechi approached, smiling. “Happy Birthday, Takamaki-san.” He reached out for the snack tray. “I’ve been craving real takoyaki since the… incident… at the cultural festival.”

The Detective Prince picked one out, spearing it with a toothpick. It was perfectly spherical, a beautiful golden-brown. Decorated with bonito flakes and criss-cross of Japanese mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce. “Ah. Exquisite…”

“Ah, Akechi-kun, she--”

Akechi popped the takoyaki in his mouth.

“...made the takoyaki.”

Akechi’s eyes widened. He coughed. A familiar battle between hot and sour started on his tongue.

Shiho beamed. “I reverse-engineered the red ones from the cultural festival. Now, they’re that hot  _ without _ being red. So we can play actual Russian takoyaki.”

Akechi charged down the stairs, hands over his mouth. Tears streamed from his eyes.

Ren barely suppressed his laugh; Ryuji outright guffawed. The blonde boy had developed a grudging respect for Akechi, but didn’t appreciate the potshots at his intelligence that the Detective Prince had taken over the past week - for example, suggesting that his best use was carrying their winnings in the Casino of Envy.

Haru shook her head with a little smile, taking out her phone. She stood up as she texted. “I’ll see if Rui-san is nearby. She can take Akechi-kun home.”

Haru left the sounds of the party behind, heading down the stairs. In the kitchen, Akechi was bent over the sink. He had turned the tap on and was currently in the unenviable position of washing his tongue off with the blessedly cold water. His eyes were wild, fearful.

In a moment, he stood up, his sweater-vest wet, his hair a mess. “That… that Suzui is a  _ menace _ .”

Haru smiled. “An amusing menace. But she provided a convenient exit. Let’s talk.” She motioned at the door.

She and Akechi left Leblanc, leaving the alley for the roadside.

“Did you find the contractors to your satisfaction?” Haru asked.

“Yes.” Akechi said, nodding. “Your Tachibana-san is quite efficient. I secured them through Sugimura’s holdings in order to create some separation between the mercenaries and Okumura Foods, as you suggested. You were right. Hisamoto Sugimura jumped at the chance to form an alliance with Okumura Foods; the fool still hopes to obtain the resources of your family. No one should suspect Okumura Foods was involved. And the plan for the casino heist…?”

Haru nodded. “Amamiya has no intention of letting you anywhere near the Treasure. He’s starting to trust you, but he isn’t a fool. I suspect he’ll be trying to keep you to the back lines of the battle against Shadow Sae, should it come to that. So, I’ll ensure I’m the one to steal the ‘Treasure’.. I have a metal briefcase that they should believe is the item.”

“Excellent… So long as we don’t take the actual Treasure, the Palace won’t collapse. And I’ll be able to bring the Special Assault Teams in…”

Haru frowned nodding. “Yes. You’ll be able to capture Amamiya in the Metaverse, and Ann-chan outside.”

Akechi sneered. “You’re hesitating  _ now _ ?”

“I admit, I am having second thoughts in regards to Ann-chan…” Haru said. “She is simply following Amamiya’s lead, just like the others. Amamiya is the only one I hold responsible for what happened to my father.”

“If you really want to hurt Amamiya, you need to do it through the people he cares about. If not Takamaki and his parents, then it would need to be one of the others. Takamaki would be the most… efficient.”

“You’re only going to hold her captive? Not hurt her?” Haru asked, biting her lip.

“Oh, of course. I won’t touch her. I only need him to sign a confession.”

Haru nodded. “Good. Good… And, something else has been bothering me. Amamiya is resourceful, as you’ve seen. Not even Ann-chan knows how many Personas he has at his disposal. What if he manages to escape?”

“Hm. It is unlikely, but possible.” Akechi said. “Truthfully, if that happens, we’ll have no choice but to send the full force of the Special Assault Team to hunt him and his friends down in the real world in a public manhunt. After all - after the 19th, my window to be involved as a ‘member of the team’ will likely be closed, and my ability to keep an eye on the Phantom Thieves will be reduced. I can’t have them going to ground.”

“I see. You really have thought of everything... I should be getting back. Do you actually need a ride, or are you fine from here?”

“I’m fine from here.” Akechi said, motioning. He smirked. “Go and have fun. I think it will be the last time your little group has much joy from here on.”

Akechi watched her go, smiling. He took out his phone, texting the squad leaders of the contractors he had hired through Sugimura.  _ ‘Well. I wasn’t lying.  _ ** _I_ ** _ won’t be the one to touch Takamaki…’ _

>>>

November 19, 20xx

Inside the Takamaki apartment in Hiroo, the silence of Saturday morning was interrupted by gentle bird song. Ann’s iPhone had come to life, softly tweeting and chirping for her 0600 alarm, her usual wake up time on a school day. Ann rolled over, quickly shutting the alarm off. She squinted at the screen for a moment through bleary eyes, identifying - and then turning off - the subsequent second and third backup alarms that she usually had set up on her phone.

She and Ren already agreed to skip school today.

Ann turned back to face the aforementioned boxer; in her haste to switch the alarm off, she had dragged some of the sheets off of his bare torso. He only grimaced slightly in his sleep at the sudden cold, but didn’t wake. Carefully, she rearranged the linens, cocooning their naked forms together. She smiled softly, looking at his tousled hair. The prominent cowlick only made his sleeping face more adorable. Ann sighed quietly at the familiar warmth of his body. She had missed him. By their standards, it had been a while; since just before her birthday, in fact. 

She snuggled up against him, sliding her hand lightly across his hard chest. She paused as her hand brushed the ring he now wore on a chain around his neck. She carefully took it between her thumb and index finger, her smile becoming slightly wistful as she looked at it. It was silver, like the one she wore around her own neck. His had a stylized bird etched into the band; hers had each suit from a deck of cards elegantly carved into the metal band. Strangely, the one Ann wore was a man’s ring; the one Ren had a woman’s.

_ ‘...Hey, Wildcard. Let’s switch.’ _

_ ‘...Sorry?’ _

_ ‘I mean, let’s switch rings. D-don’t get me wrong! I love it. I really do. But… I want to wear yours. And you should wear mine. We’re just borrowing, though, okay? So… so that way, you have to return it to me later. And I have to return it to you.’ _

_ ‘...Right. Of course, Ann. That’s a good idea.’ _

Ann let go of the ring to wipe at her eyes. It wouldn’t do to wake him up with her tears. It was supposed to be their day, after all. They were going to sleep in and make breakfast. They were going to get scolded by Ba-chan for skipping, only to have Ren charm his way out of it, as usual. They were going to be stupid, young, and in love.

Despite the promise of the borrowed rings, Ann knew:

This might be their last chance.

>>>

“Come on, let’s go, rogues!” Ren shouted. “Turn…”

Ryuji rolled his eyes, taking cover behind some of the twisted wreckage of the roulette wheel. “Don’t say, it, Joker. Don’t--”

“Turn up the heat!”

Ryuji groaned. He fired his automatic shotgun without looking, the explosive slugs battering Shadow Sae’s Leviathan form and halting her berserker rush. “Seriously, man?! You  _ know _ I had to listen to that for the entire time during the Okumura assault.”

“Yeah, because it’s both heroic and badass.” Ren said, dashing out from behind cover. The armor materialized on his arms; Arsene’s wings exploded out behind him as he dashed forward, his feet barely touching the ground. He was careful this time to not draw excessive amounts of power - he couldn’t afford to fatigue himself here.

Ren shot into the air above a burst of minigun fire, and then twisted his body to dodge the flailing sword. He landed on Leviathan’s shoulders, his blades slashing and stabbing down in a series of hard rabbit punches. He was thrown down to the ground; he rolled aside as the sword stabbed down at him.

“I mean, it would be cooler if you actually used a fire Persona afterward, Joker. But you always just say the line, and then don’t do anything different.” Ryuji replied. “William! Ziodyne!”

Skull aimed his shotgun. Behind him, the ghostly image of William cackled, aiming his rail cannon in turn. Twin beams of electric energy blasted Leviathan; she shrieked, flailing.

Ren leapt to his feet. “That’s fair, I’ll keep that in mi-- shit!”

He was knocked right back down again. And this time, pinned, as Leviathan stepped on his chest. Joker pushed at the massive foot on his chest, looking up wide-eyed at the rotating barrels of the minigun aimed at his face.

“Time to turn up the heat. Celestine!”

A ring of flame appeared around Ren and Leviathan.

“Oh, Songbird, don’t you dare-- Surt! Come to me!”

The ring of flame exploded into a blinding column of flame, temporarily stealing the vision of all those present.

Leviathan roared, stumbling back again.

Ren made his way back to cover, frantically beating at some small flames on the tails of his jacket. He was none the worse for wear, thanks to Surt, but was slightly charred.

Ryuji nodded, jerking his thumb at Ann. “See? Like that.  _ That _ was cool.”

Ann beamed at Ren. “Got you covered, Wildcard.”

“You set me on fire.  _ Again _ .”

Ann just gave him a haughty little smirk, poking his chin with the handle of her whip before returning her attention to the battle. With groans and shrieks of bending and twisting metal, the roulette wheel started to repair itself and spin again.

Haru, standing far above the roulette wheel, pointed.

“Milady!”

Cannon and mortar fire instantly disabled the wheel once again, preventing Leviathan from turning the field to her advantage through enhanced healing or damage. The monster of metal and spikes shrieked, stomping forward. Its steps were more unsteady, now.

Futaba, observing and supporting the battle from above in Al Azif, called down. “Guys! Hurry it up! Crow, Fox, and Mona are getting overrun at the bridge!”

The other three were at the Bridge of Judgement, taking down the Shadows of the Casino of Envy as they rushed to the assistance of their master. Fortunately, Sae’s Palace was relatively new in comparison to Okumura - the Shadows had no tactics other than running head on into the chokepoint of the bridge, where they faced down sniper fire, Akechi’s sword, and howling winds that knocked them into the chasm. But there were simply too many.

“Right, Oracle. Queen! Let’s finish this!”

Ren dashed forward, calling forth the speed gifted to him by the Black Wing. He slipped inside the range of the massive sword but was forced to dodge left from wild gunfire, taking distance again. Bullets tore up the ground behind him as he ran, the gun arm sweeping out to the left.

Makoto darted into the opening, abruptly stopping - the sword crashed down into the floor in front of her. She ran  _ up _ the spine of the blade deftly, jabbing Leviathan’s face twice with her left tonfa before finishing the combination with a whirling roundhouse kick and heavy right tonfa strike to the head that brought the monster to its knees. Queen landed in front of it, placing a hand on the armored behemoth’s shoulder.

“Tr… traitor!” Leviathan gasped, with a metallic, cold voice.

“...I know you’re in there somewhere, onee-san. It falls on me to find you.” Makoto’s hand started to glow with blue energy. “Freidyne.”

A wash of nuclear energy obscured the two Niijima sisters for a moment.

When it faded, it revealed Shadow Sae in her black dress, kneeling in front of Makoto. Makoto still had her hand on her sister’s shoulder. She knelt down as well.

“So… I’ve lost.” Sae murmured.

“Onee-san… I don’t disagree with you. We have to try to bring criminals to justice, even when they can’t be touched by the law. That’s all we’re trying to do as the Phantom Thieves. But fabricating evidence? Using illegal means to get a conviction at any cost? That… that isn’t  _ you _ . Please… please try to remember how you used to be!” Makoto said, her voice trembling.

“It’s just a Shadow, why are--” Akechi started.

“Ssh!” Ann hissed.

Haru frowned. “...I think Queen could use a moment. I’ll find the Treasure…”

Makoto leaned forward, embracing her sister’s Shadow. “Please…”

In a moment, Haru returned, with a metal briefcase.

Akechi glanced at Haru. “I suppose that brings our deal to a close, Joker. The false investigation will end, giving me time to seek out the true culprit. And all of you will cease activity as the Phantom Thieves.”

“That’s right.” Ren said. “Make sure you hold up your end of the bargain, Crow. You’ve got evidence on us, it’s true. But now you’ve operated alongside thieves. Shame if the public found out that their Detective Prince is a criminal, too.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Akechi said, smiling. “Shall we?”

Ryuji paused by Makoto, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Queen? Are you alright…?”

Makoto looked at Shadow Sae - she looked like she was taking Makoto’s words to heart.

“I… I think so. Let’s go.”

“...Guys! Guys, something’s wrong!” Futaba said, suddenly. She brought up multiple screens; the projected images and numbers encircled the small orange-haired girl. “We’ve taken the Treasure, but the Palace isn’t collapsing. There’s more Shadows by the second!”

Mona shook his head. “This shouldn’t be happening… We’ve even defeated the Palace ruler. That should pacify the Shadows and make them flee the Palace, like rats from a sinking ship. They wouldn’t want to be here during a collapse either. Why…”

“We don’t have time to consider why.” Makoto said, pointing. “Our escape options are dwindling rapidly. As it stands, we’ll never make it out in a group as large as this. We’ll have to split up…”

Ren looked around at the group. They looked anxious and frightened. Even Akechi seemed to be on edge.

“...Heh. Well…”

He held a hand out toward Haru. “Noir? I’ll take that.”

Haru blinked. “Oh… ...okay. I tried opening it, but it won’t…”

“That’s not why I’m taking it.” Ren said, shaking his head.

Ann stepped forward, her eyes wide. She knew what he was going to propose.

Ren turned to face her, smiling softly at his… lately, girlfriend didn’t really seem to cover it. “Hey, Songbird. Don’t be mad, okay?”

“No. You can’t hope to distract them all by yourself!” Makoto said, eyes wide.

Ryuji stared at Ren for a few moments, before shaking his head with a bitter laugh. “...Heh. Leave it to you to steal the show, like always… I won’t try to stop you. Once you’ve made up your mind like this…”

“Indeed. This is a difficult parting, but our leader’s resolve will surely carry him through.” Yusuke intoned. He looked at Ren, before offering his raised fist.

With a grave nod, Ren took Yusuke’s fist in his hand, and shook it. The two exchanged a quick laugh and smile.

“Please don’t do anything reckless, okay?” Haru said, looking away.

Ren smirked. “Clearly, you don’t know me very well, yet.”

He turned again to Ann.

She stepped forward, placing her hand on his chest, where she could feel the ring under his waistcoat. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “...You promised, remember? You promised.”

He knew what she meant. It wasn’t just the rings. It was everything. The teasing conversation by the school’s pool, hinting at a shared future. The quiet moments in Hawaii. The very first promise between them in the attic, just moments after he decided not to take his own life.

The promise to  _ try _ .

“...I remember, Songbird. I won’t just try, though. I  _ will _ .”

They kissed - and then he was gone in a flash of black and red.

>>>

“Now’s your chance! Run for the stairs!” Futaba shouted into the radio.

Ren slipped by the agent, heading up the stairs. He paused by a control room, listening in.

“He isn’t alone, but we can’t find the others! They… they might already be out. We had to pull guards away from the exits to go after the one in black.”

“What?! All of them? He’s just one intruder!”

“You don’t understand, sir! He’s armed to the teeth. On the high roller floor, he had an assault rifle and shotgun. He was firing grenades like they were going out of style. It’s a complete war zone up here!”

“Well, he’s gone dark on the first floor… Send everyone that’s left down here. If we can’t get his friends, we’ll at least get him!”

Ren waited for an agent to turn his back before moving quickly by the room. He breathed a faint sigh of relief.  _ ‘At least they got away… Just need to save my own skin, now.’ _

“Joker, head up the stairs.”

“Roger.”

Ren ran up the steps.  _ ‘Up? This takes me above the foyer. There wasn’t--’ _

“There! Over there, take him down!”

Without looking, Ren drew Faith, firing behind him. He was rewarded instantly with a cry of pain and the howl of a dying Shadow. He turned, pulling Vengeance and drawing a bead on the other agents. He smiled.

- _ Click- _

_ ‘...Oh. That’s sub-optimal.’ _

He turned, charging up the remaining steps. In his haste, he nearly fell over the balcony.

“Are you there? The exit should be just ahead of you!”

“There’s just a stained glass window, Oracle. No door!”

“ _ That’s _ the only one left! You’ve got every guard in the place looking for you after the stunt you pulled on the high roller floor. They’re blocking the bottom floor completely!”

“...What can I say? I’m thorough.”

“You’re also going to be dead if you don’t get moving. Go!”

He deftly jumped onto the balcony rail, just dodging the tackle of a security guard. He charged along the narrow ledge lining the split-level foyer, before diving through the beautiful stained-glass decoration. He broke his fall into a roll, landing in front of the casino.

Futaba sighed in relief. “You’re free and clear, Joker. Just--... wait. These readings…!”

Spotlights clicked on in front of Joker, nearly blinding him. As his eyes quickly adjusted, he could make out the uniforms of the Tokyo Police Department’s Special Assault Team. Joker snapped out his wrist-blades; Arsene appeared menacingly behind him. The armor started to appear on his arms.

“Joker! Wait… Their signals are reading as human! Don’t kill them! Just run!”

“What?! Shit…!”

Joker sheathed his weapons. He turned and ran - almost headlong into another line of police. Cursing, he leapt, catching the ladder of a fire escape. He started to climb. If he could get to the roof, there would be more options. He looked down behind him; the ground was crawling with cops. Apparently,  _ human _ cops.

A light clicked on above him. 

Ren looked up - the flashlight attachment of an MP5 submachine gun blinded him, moments before a boot caught him in the chin.

He fell back, into the waiting sea of policemen. They shoved him to the ground, slapping cuffs on him. A detective approached with a grim smile. He grabbed Ren by his hair, yanking his chin up to inspect his features.

“Heh. Never thought the one embarrassing the force for the past few months would just be some pissant kid. Fuck. You should know. You were sold out.”

He was dropped roughly back to the pavement.

>>>

November 20, 20xx

Ren didn’t quite feel like himself.

It was understandable, of course. Being beaten by vengeful police officers would put anyone out of sorts. So would being kept awake in a tiny, dark room where he was handcuffed to an uncomfortable chair. And then there was the multiple injections of… _ something _ . His mind was sluggish and hazy. But it still helpfully provided the likely drug, based on his reading of spy and police novels when he was in juvie.

_ ‘Probably sodium thiopental. ‘Truth serum’. Mildly sedating, disinhibiting. A barb… barbit… barbitu…?’ _

Ren started to giggle. What  _ was _ that word? Barbitoo? Barbeque? Barbarian? Barbara…?

“...Barbiturate…”

“What’s that?” A tall man in a black suit spoke in a gravely voice. He grabbed Ren by his hair, yanking it back and forcing his face up. “Finally going to cooperate?”

“B...barbiturate… ...funny word.”

“...What the hell are you talking about?” The hand gripping his hair yanked again. “Hey. Hey!”

Ren was dozing off, going from giggly to sleepy.

“No dozing off! Wake him up.”

Ice cold water splashed across his face; Ren woke up with a gasp, his consciousness briefly clearing before the drug-induced haze settled back over him. He looked up at the man with dopey, dull eyes. He tried to move his hand to gesture; the cuffs rattled slightly.

Apparently, that bothered his interrogator. “Heh. Still trying to escape. You just don’t get it, do you?”

A brutal kick to his stomach sent him to the floor. It hurt, but the pain was strangely distant.

“Come on, cooperate! Or do you want another shot?!”

“...a… actually… worst thing… you could do.”

“What?”

Ren coughed, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his ribs, how even a small breath seemed to hurt. “Injection. You… probably injected me with sodium thiopental. Truth… serum. Not actually truth serum. Barbiturate… makes people disinhibited… talkative. Helpful. Sleepier when overdosed… less talky when ssssllleepy.”

“If you’re so helpful, then why aren’t you talking?!”

Ren frowned, confused. He looked up at the man from his place on the floor. “...I’m talking… righ now? ...heh. ‘Righ’. Someone texted ‘righ’ to me once. Was a clue. She was in trouble. I went to the alley outside Jonathan’s to help her. Have you eaten at Jonathan’s? Really good. The fries are double-fried, so ex… ex… exrra crispy…”

“Useless!” Another hard kick.

Ren yelped, coughing. His eyes wandered about the room. There was a mirror on one wall, probably two-way. On another wall, some mounted flatscreen monitors, likely for catching suspects in the middle of their lies with filmed evidence. His eyes settled on the blinking red LED of the camera above them.

The man grabbed him by his hair, pulling him up a few inches from the floor. “...Oh? Hoping that the camera’s going to record evidence of police brutality? You stupid piece of shit. I’ll tell it to you straight, punk. You weren’t arrested. Not officially. You’re off the books. That means we can do whatever the fuck we want to you.”

He sneered.

“There’s no laws here. There’s nothing here to protect a criminal like  _ you _ .” He slammed Ren’s head into the hard floor, before nodding to the other man in black. “Get him up.”

Ren was pulled into a sitting position on the floor, his hands uncuffed. A clipboard was tossed onto his lap, with a pen.

“This is a full confession to all the crimes you’ve committed. Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons, manslaughter... Sign it.”

Ren took the clipboard, hazily reading it. “..I… ...can’t sign this.”

“What? Still resisting?!”

“..no. Can’t. Technically… wrong. Weapons are airsoft or replicas. Legal. If I signed this, it would be invalid based on a technicality. Also, I’m under the inf… infll… … was injected with a drug. So… not valid.”

“Mouthy piece of shit…!”

“Not mouthy… disinhibited. Side effect of--”

Another kick to his side sent him sprawling back to the floor.

Dull, repeated thuds of fists and feet striking flesh filled the air of the tiny room as Ren was brutally beaten. It hurt, at first. But gradually, the sound became more noticeable than the pain. He felt increasingly distant from his own body, welcoming the sensation of detachment. He spat out blood before another blow struck him in the face.

_ ‘This… must be what it’s like to be beaten within an inch of my life. ..Inch? Metric country… 2.54 cm of my life? Heh… …’ _

He didn’t have time to be amused. The door slammed open.

“That’s enough! He’s my suspect to interrogate. I’m still in charge of this investigation for a little longer!”

Sae Niijima stood there, a look of shock on her face as she regarded Ren. “He’s a suspect, but he’s still just a student! What’s wrong with you?!”

“We don’t answer to you, rookie.” The agent spat. “Only the director--”

“I have the Director’s clearance.” Sae said, glaring at the men. She shoved a signed form at the men, since cellphone reception was nil in the SID’s basement. It stated that ‘Prosecutor Niijima has been given permission to interrogate the suspect, pending promotion to the public safety department.’ Director Arai’s signature was scrawled across the bottom.

Sae grit her teeth at the smug expression of the two men. ‘Public safety promotion’ was SID code for being shoved behind a desk to do paperwork for the foreseeable future.

“Oh. Well, in that case. Come on. Get him up.”

They dragged Ren to his feet and righted his chair, dropping him roughly into it. A metal table was shoved into place in front of him, and another chair placed across from the boy.

“Knock yourself out. I doubt you’ll get much out of him.”

Sae shook her head. “Just leave us.”

The door closed.

“They call this an interrogation… Truth serum. Really. In what backwater were those two trained...” Sae turned back to Ren.

She glanced at the carelessly discarded syringe on the floor of the interrogation room, shaking her head in disgust. Most modern countries no longer used ‘truth serum’. She knew any testimony while under the influence of sodium pentothal was notoriously unreliable. It made suspects more disinhibited and often strangely helpful to their interrogators - but it blunted their ability to focus. They had a tendency to ramble on into pointless tangents. It could be like talking to a drunk.

If they were conscious.

Ren’s head lolled. He blinked slowly. 

“...It’s hard to believe it’s you. Sojiro Sakura’s ward… Are you able to talk? I’ll need you to answer my questions, now. Down here, they really can do whatever they want to you. Your only hope is to answer my questions honestly.”

>>>

The men in black stepped into the elevator, ascending. The lead interrogator took out his phone, dialing a number as they reached the surface and he obtained a signal once again.

“Hello?” He said, careful not to use his own name over the line.

“Did he sign it?” The voice asked, simply, also not identifying himself.

“No. We either used too much of the drug, or he’s more resistant than I thought.”

“Ah. Well. I’m not terribly surprised. I don’t think physical violence or chemical manipulation will break him. I have a far better solution. Let me know when Niijima-san is close to finishing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second of three.  
Thanks for reading!
> 
> More in depth commentary in the next chapter.
> 
> For this one - sodium thiopental (Pentothal) is 'truth serum', and probably what they used on the protagonist in canon. Drug class is barbiturate - is a central nervous system depressant, like alcohol. Makes subjects talkative/emotionally labile... Sorta like being drunk. Most countries have given up on using chemical interrogation as the testimony is extremely unreliable.
> 
> Also, some references/inspirations - Ocean's 11, the ultimate casino heist flick (for me).
> 
> For evening wear outfits, some inspiration from this (particularly for Makoto) https://images.app.goo.gl/YtoiG1ugXTgNrAFaA
> 
> For Ann and Ren: https://twitter.com/YolkYao/status/1193973597611548672


	35. Rocky Balboa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. _
> 
> _But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!_
> 
> _I’m always gonna love you, no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life. Don't forget to visit your mother.”_
> 
> _Rocky, in Rocky Balboa (2006)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dates bounce around a LOT in this one. Please pay attention as flashbacks occur.

November 20, 20xx 

“And… and then… after getting out from school, I read a book about William Kidd on my way to my job at Beef Bowl. It was a busy shift. Lots of people got beef. Heh… got beef… And.. and then I went to the bath house, because they had a special on. Did you know that on Monday, they have this special… _ medicinal _ bath? You come out like… sssshiny.” Ren slurred, nodding earnestly.

“Right. So. Madarame. Let’s talk about Madarame.” Sae said.

She glanced at her notes. Interrogating Amamiya had gone as she predicted. It was hard to keep him on task as the drugs worked their way through his system. He alternated between being overly talkative and sleepy, and always unable to focus. It was like he was trying to give her a day by day account of his activities since arriving in Tokyo, including how and when he bought plant nutrients for the potted fern in his attic. Gradually, though, a story was coming together. An unbelievable, insane story, but a story nonetheless. 

“Let’s refocus on Madarame and how that concluded. You were unclear on some details earlier.”

“Right. Sure.” Ren said, nodding. His expression was still somewhat dopey. But at least whatever cocktail they injected him with seemed to dull the pain enough for him to speak.

Sae suppressed an eye roll at that thought. _ ‘What’s the sense in injecting him with something that dulls pain, and then trying to beat a confession out of him…?’ _

“Sssooo... after Madarame was taken down, I went and got closure properly with my ex. I told you about her already, right? Rei-chan, the girl who left me after my conviction in Kamakura. Only, she didn’t really _ want _ to leave me. Only, she kind of did, because otherwise, she wouldn’t have? Though, I guess her dad made her. ...You know, he isn’t such a bad guy, either. Just overprotective of Rei-chan, and he smoked too much. I tried telling him, ‘those cigarettes are going to kill you’, and he’d--”

“Please. Madarame.” Sae said, sighing. At least he wasn’t dozing off mid-sentence.

“Right. Madarame. So, I went to see Rei-chan--”

“What does this have to do with anything?!”

“Everything!” Ren said, confused. “Didn’t you want to know the most important points?!”

Sae rolled her eyes for real this time, gesturing for Ren to go on.

“...Right. Rude. Anyway. Rei-chan… legs for _ days _ . I mean, _ criminally _ long. Can you prosecute her for that? All she had to do was stretch a certain way, and I’d--”

“Let’s move on to the _ next _ important point, please.”

“...You… you sure? Getting closure with Rei-chan was really, rrrreally important for what happened next.”

Sae frowned, glancing through her notes. Nothing about Takahase being involved with the Phantom Thieves to any significant degree. Maybe this could be a breakthrough. “...Very well. Go on.”

“Right. So after I properly broke up with Rei-chan, I went home with my girlfriend. _ Smoking _ hot. We totally did it, and it was _ amazing. _ Y’know, I _ thought _ I knew what ‘legs for days’ meant, but when she wrapped hers around me, I--”

“Madarame. Ma-da-ra-me. How did you find your next target after Madarame?!” Sae yelled, slamming her palm on the table. She ignored the heat on her face.

Ren stared at her hazily, shocked by the loud noise.

“Trrrrrust me. This is like, the _ most _ important part of the story.” Ren said, his voice a little slurred.

“...Fine.”

“She makes this little sound when I bite her on her--”

“Oh, for the love of God…” Sae facepalmed. It was true, though. For whatever reason, Amamiya’s girlfriend kept coming up in the narrative. Maybe this could be an important subject.

“Fine. Let’s talk about your girlfriend. Ann Takamaki, right? From that boxing magazine? Was she a Phantom Thief?”

“She’s really something. And the way she kisses my…”

She groaned. Sae let him ramble on, hoping he’d come back around to something relevant to the case. Barbiturate induced haze or not, the girl was clearly important to him.

>>>

Ann stepped off the train in Hiroo, just a couple hours after leaving the Metaverse. It was a little past midnight; the team had first debriefed at Leblanc, though Haru and Akechi were absent and not responding to texts.

_ ‘I hope Haru got out…’ _

Ann turned the corner, nearing her family’s home. She paused. The street was more dimly lit than usual. A few of the street lights were broken, plunging odd intervals of the road into darkness. She and her family lived in a fairly affluent part of the city, so maintenance issues like this were unusual.

It was also very quiet, which _ was _ the norm. But that only spiked her anxiety. Not a single soul seemed to be on the road in front of her.

Her phone chimed with a text message. In the quiet darkness, the sound was almost deafening. If anyone _ was _ ahead, they would know she was coming. Ann’s mouth went dry at _ that _ thought. She clamped her hand on it to cut the sound off, briefly glancing at the screen. 

She bit her lip and took a breath; her instincts screamed at her that the usual route home was a mistake. Ann turned on her heel, darting down an alleyway.

Her heart pounded as she heard loud curses and pounding footsteps behind her.

“We’ve been made! Go after her!”

>>>

“So you had nothing to do with Kobayakawa?”

“Hm? No, I wouldn’t say that.” Ren said, shaking his head. Partly to disagree and partly to try to speed the slowly clearing haze in his head.

_ ‘There’s something that I need to make sure I say…’ _

“So you did kill him.”

“No. He was the principal of my school? So I literally had _ something _to do with him. Oh. There was the time where Makoto started spying on me. Because he threatened her into investigating possible leads on the Phantom Thieves.”

She narrowed her eyes. “He did _ what _to Makoto? Tell me about Makoto.”

Ren nodded. “Happy to. Your sister has a _ really _ nice ass. I mean, _ damn _. I mean, she clearly never skips leg day…”

Sae, now almost used to this, waved a hand. “Tell me about how she spied on you. Not about her… features.”

“She had a huge crush on me. She can be really cute sometimes.”

Sae leaned across the table, grabbing Ren’s collar. “Are you dating _ her _, too?”

“Oh. I’m not. I never saw her that way. She has a boyfriend, though.”

“Who— no. No. It’s not relevant. Tell me what happened after you returned from Hawaii. How did Sports Day lead to your involvement with the Okumura case?”

Ren frowned. He shook his head again; he took a sip from the bottle of water Sae provided. Talking so much was thirsty work.

“Is that a no?”

“Oh, no. I think the Pentothal is wearing off.”

“How do you know about Pentothal? That isn’t helping your attempt to paint yourself as a normal teenager dragged into unusual circumstances.”

“After my arrest, I only had time to read. Turns out prison is really good at turning people into criminals. ...you know, I’ve said that before. To my friends, and my talking cat.”

“Right. Your talking cat.”

“Yeah. The one who turns into a bus. Oh. Funny story. So, this one time, I got inside of him through the back door, and I just had to ask—“

“Sports Day.”

“Oh. Sure. So my mom - I call her kaa-chan - taught me to cook. I mean, the bentos I make are okay, but hers are works of _ art _…”

Sae facepalmed again. She knew this would be relevant. Eventually…

>>>

In Kamakura, the Amamiya _ ryokan’s _windows were mostly dark. Even if they had been appropriately licensed, it wasn’t the busy season for the inn anyhow. Only the lights in the family quarters were on as Kenji and Inoue Amamiya prepared for bed.

“Ken-san! Did you remember to turn the _ kotatsu _ off?” Inoue called from their bedroom.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.” Kenji quietly stepped out of the kitchen, heading into the living room. He knelt down, flicking the switch underneath the heated table. With a little smirk that made him look quite a bit like his son, he stood up. The little smirk faded from his face, replaced by a sheepish smile.

Inoue leaned against the doorframe that opened onto the hallway that led to the family bedrooms. She laughed. “Liar.”

Kenji chuckled briefly, before sighing. He shrugged. “Sorry. There’s a lot on my mind lately, Inoue-chan.”

Inoue sighed as well, walking over to him. She gave her husband a hug. “I know, Ken-san. Things will be fine. I know it’s hard right now, but we’ll pull through. And Ren--”

There was a chime from the doorbell to the main entrance.

Kenji frowned. “That’s odd.”

He walked over to the security monitor linked to the doorbell; it was a small flat screen mounted near the entrance to the family quarters. It just showed the dimly lit front entryway to the inn. It didn’t look like anyone was outside.

He coughed, speaking up. “I’ll check it out, Inoue-chan. Go on to bed.”

“Okay. Don’t use this as an excuse to go to your hobby room to play with your toys.”

“They’re _ action figures _.”

“Uh huh. Come to bed soon.”

Kenji shook his head, smiling ruefully. He walked down the hallway to the main part of the ryokan, his bare feet making almost no noise as he walked.

He reached the main foyer and unlocked the front door, peering out. There was no one there, just as he saw on the monitor. In the darkness beyond the light that illuminated the front of the inn’s door, there was nothing but gently blowing wind and the quiet lapping of waves on the nearby beach.

Kenji looked back over his shoulder. “Ne, Inoue-chan. Can you get some tea ready?”

He looked forward, as multiple figures stepped out of the shadows. Rough looking men, carrying stun prods and what looked like riot guns.

“We’ve got guests.”

>>>

“...I see. So that’s how you ended up captured.” Sae said. Amamiya’s mind seemed to be clearing up; he was no longer as easily driven off topic. However, the teenager was becoming more sullen, less eager to please. Or at least, instead of distractedly talking about everything, he was distractedly talking about _ nothing _.

Ren nodded absently, looking at his hands, then at his phone, to Sae’s left.

_ ‘...There was something. Something I had to do.’ _

“What a disappointing end to your career as a vigilante. You’ll likely see a lengthy prison sentence. And members of the government will likely lobby for you to be tried as an adult. The death penalty will be possible.”

_ ‘Something… Just have one shot at this.’ _

“But, I may be able to commute this sentence. Make a deal with me. There’s no way you did this all on your own.” Sae gestured with some degree of frustration at her notes. “Despite the drug-induced stupor, you’ve done an admirable job of speaking in vague terms. You haven’t named a single Phantom Thief or co-conspirator, nor admitted to your numbers.”

_ ‘One shot.. Shot…’ _

“...I worked alone. Completely alone.” Ren said.

“_ Really _. Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, and… and Makoto Niijima.” Sae said, biting her lip for a moment. “Were they not your teammates? Phantom Thieves?”

Ren shook his head. “No. I worked alone.”

Sae glared at Ren. “Then collaborators. You didn’t acquire these weapons on your own, replicas or not. Who helped you?”

“Not a soul.” Ren said.

_ ‘Weapons… ...Impossible shot. It was an impossible shot.’ _

“Then what about Goro Akechi? He was frequently seen alongside you. What about him?”

Ren shook his head. “He was _ never _ one of us.” He said, vehemently.

Sae sighed. “...So you won’t tell me anything. You’re willing to take on the entire responsibility for everything. Why won’t you give me anything? You’re just a student! I don’t want to throw you in prison for the rest of your life, nor do I want to see you executed!”

“I won’t do it, Niijima-san.” Ren said, his voice thick. “I won’t.”

“Why?! They’re just criminals, like you. Why not give them up?”

“...I’ll die first. Giving them up, that isn’t justice. They’re my family.” Ren said, drawing himself up. He closed his eyes for a moment, giving his head a final shake. He tuned Sae out as she waxed poetic about justice and responsibility. Something was just on the edge of his consciousness, drifting back to him.

_ ‘Shot… An impossible shot. A camera, a photograph… ...pancakes.’ _

“...ey. Hey, are you listening? Look. Your story is a fairy tale. I have no evidence on whether this is true or not. Don’t you understand? If you can’t give me a better story, something concrete, then everything gets laid at your feet.”

Sae glanced at her watch.

“It’s a shame. It looks like your mind is clearing up. But I’m nearly out of time. We’re done here. But there’s one last thing I need to ask you. In the last report I received as head of this investigation, I read that someone ‘sold you out’. Do you know who that is?”

Ren’s eyes drifted again to his phone. “...That. That’s it. My phone.”

_ ‘I don’t believe in no-win scenarios, Gremlin. Here’s what I’m thinking…’ _

Ren blinked; he saw the ghostly image of a butterfly crossing his vision. 

_ ‘Remember! You must remember! You’ve done as we - I - wanted. You’ve had faith in your connections, in your feelings! But you _ ** _must_ ** _ remember! Survive and reform the world!’ _

“What? What is it about the phone? I’m told it’s yours. What are you getting at?”

Ren looked up at Sae. In that moment, he looked somehow taller; more confident. A slow smile spread across his bruised and battered face.

“Niijima-san… Have you heard of the _ Kobayashi Maru? _”

>>>

Ann panted, stepping out of the maze of alleyways she had found and back onto the street. She lost her pursuers several minutes ago.

_ ‘Nowhere near home, now. That… that was scary. I hope Ren’s alright…’ _

She glanced up and down the street, and then started heading for the nearest train station that didn’t take her past her home. It was likely too dangerous to return to her apartment.

As she cleared the entrance to the alleyways, the screech of tires made her turn around. A van now blocked the path. The blonde girl bolted in the opposite direction - nearly getting run over by a second vehicle. The door slammed open.

Thick hands reached out, dragging her inside as a gag was tied over her mouth. The door slammed shut.

>>>

“Hya!” Kenji shouted, striking another assailant with his thick fist. He wasn’t a boxer like his son, but he was in his fair share of scraps growing up in Kamakura. He kept his fists up, looking warily around.

Another man spoke into his radio. “We’ve got the old man surrounded. It’s a matter of time. Where’s his wife?!”

Kenji spat out a bloodied tooth. “That’s just insulting.”

He cursed as someone tackled him. He swore, hammering the back of his neck and head with his hands. He struck a particularly hard blow just above the man’s ear, knocking him out. Kenji gave him a hard kick. “Come on! You can’t sleep here. We’re not licensed--Augh!”

Kenji’s body convulsed as he was jabbed with a stun baton. He fell limply to the ground outside the inn’s main entrance.

He laid there with an unresponsive body as his hands were roughly zip tied together.

“You found her? Good. Keep her there, we’ll drag this old bastard in and wait for orders.”

Kenji smiled. Or he would have. _ ‘Like Inoue-chan would just go along meekly. She doesn’t even listen to her husband.’ _

A large body crashed through one of the front windows of the inn.

The ‘contractors’ outside the inn stared mutely at the man. He was 180 cm tall, and hulking in stature, and he had been thrown through the glass like refuse. They looked nervously at the yawning window.

A wooden staff cleared the glass shards off the bottom of the frame.

Inoue carefully climbed up. She hung there, half-perched on the window sill, carrying a wooden practice _ naginata _ , carved out of solid white oak. “Ah… Shouldn’t have built these so _ high _. Ken-san, can you help me down-- oh. You’re a little tied up at the moment…”

She landed on the ground. She turned, holding the polearm that was taller than herself, while wearing pyjama pants and an old _ Ultraman _ t-shirt that used to belong to Ren. She frowned. “Do you have a reservation?”

One of the men approached her, shaking his head. “Seriously? How’d a sweet little thing like you fluke into beating Tsuda’s ass? I mean--”

The naginata whirled, striking the man’s chin from below and then his head from above. The blows were so fast that they seemed to come at the same time, like the fangs of a wolf closing down on its prey. He fell limply to the ground.

Kenji smiled slightly, regaining some control over his mouth. He spoke with slurred speech. “Haha. You’rrre fucked.”

Inoue dashed forward, her wooden weapon cracking against limbs and heads, taking two more mercenaries down. She raised her weapon to finish a fourth, until a loud crackle and a strangled yelp stopped her.

“Put it down, you crazy bitch. Or I’m sticking this stun baton into hubby’s ear and letting it go full blast.”

Inoue sighed. She dropped the naginata.

>>>

Akechi sighed, passing by Sae Niijima after their brief conversation in the hallway of the secured underground of the SID headquarters. 

_ ‘Foolish woman…’ _Akechi paused, looking at the uniformed guard that stood outside the interrogation room. “Excuse me. Would you mind coming in with me? He’s a dangerous thief and murderer after all, and I’m just a student.”

“Ah. Of course. You are the one I was told to expect.”

The guard opened the door, stepping inside.

Akechi walked in behind him, closing the door. He glanced up at the cameras in the room, with the winking red LEDs. He reached into his pocket, thumbing a remote control - the lights turned off.

He them promptly drew the guard’s gun, pistol-whipping him in the back of the head. The guard fell limply to the ground, still breathing.

Ren blinked, leaning forward, as if to get up. As if he was anticipating a breakout.

Akechi gave him an eerie little smile. He knelt down, checking the guard’s pulse. He then casually threaded a silencer onto the pistol, stood back up, and shot the guard in the back of the head. Blood and brain matter stained the floor; the guard’s limbs jerked once or twice at the sudden interruption of neurological signals.

“Ah. How cruel. You just executed a guard in cold blood, Amamiya-kun. Right before your suicide. That just seems excessive.” Akechi took a seat across from Ren, his ‘Detective Prince’ smile returning to his face. “So? Have you pieced it all together?”

Ren clenched his fists. “This was your plan from the start, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. And you played right into it. Though, I can’t take all the credit. That Tachibana of Okumura’s is quite efficient. Ah. Of course... Haru Okumura sends her regards.”

“...No. No. You’re lying!” Ren snarled. He started to get up.

Akechi pointed the gun at him. “Ah ah. Why would I lie to a dead man? No, rest assured. She betrayed you. She holds you responsible for her father’s death and her subsequent wreck of a life, so she worked with me. Ironic. And quite amusing, I might add.”

Akechi chuckled. “You see, I’m the one who killed Kunikazu Okumura. That foolish heiress has no idea.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Really. You persist in barking… In any event, we just have one simple matter to clear up. You see, this is the story we’ll present to the public: Overcome with guilt and grief, the infamous leader of the Phantom Thieves signs a full confession… Unfortunately, he is so _ cowardly _ that instead of facing trial, he overpowers an _ innocent _ guard, executing him out of pure spite before killing himself in shame. Such a tragic end to a young life.”

“You’ve overplayed your hand, Akechi. I won’t sign anything if I’m dead anyway. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Ah. That’s where you’re wrong, Amamiya-kun.” Akechi said. He reached into his coat, pressing another button on the interrogation room’s remote control. “It’s a shame I couldn’t bring you live video. We’re far too deep underground for a reliable signal. But lucky for you, I have some pre-recorded samples.”

The LED flatscreens on the wall came to life.

On the left, his mother and father were tied up, sitting in the living room of the inn. The living room was ransacked. Off screen, Ren could hear the sound of falling furniture and shattering glass as the family quarters were looted. Kenji was battered and beaten up. Inoue had a bruise on her face as well, and her ridiculous t-shirt was torn. A man wearing military fatigues and a balaclava stepped on screen, kneeling down. He grabbed Inoue’s face, turning her toward the camera.

“Well, go on. Say hi to your son. Tell him to sign the fuckin’ form, if he wants you two to live.”

Inoue spat in the man’s face, and then yelped as she was brutally backhanded.

“Kaa-chan!” Ren shouted. He again moved to stand; Akechi pressed the pistol against his forehead, forcing him back down.

Kenji shouted. “Don’t sign a god damned thing, Ren! Don’t you dare! Don’t worry about your mom and old man, we’re-- Aaaauugh, _ fuck _!” He was stunned again, his body convulsing.

The video looped from here, forcing Ren to watch again. Or he would have, if it weren’t for the screen on the right starting.

“....Ann. No.... No. No, no, no….” Ren whispered.

She was tied up as well; her Shujin blazer and white hoody had been removed by her captors. Ann struggled violently in her black t-shirt, skirt, and torn leggings, tied to a chair.

“Oh come on, honey. Enough of that.” A man said, laughing. Even though he wore a ski mask as well, it was clear that he was leering at the blonde girl. “Doncha wanna say hi to your boy? He’s going to be watching this, y’know.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” Ann snarled.

“Heh. She’s got a lot of fight, kid. Must be a wildcat in the sack. If you don’t sign the paper, I guarantee you, I’ll get to find out. Me and all the rest of the boys here. We’ll even film it, make it her big AV debut. Pretty hardcore, though. Most idols don’t start with a gangbang.”

“Ren… Wildcard. Don’t worry about me! Just… just get home safe. Please. _ Please… _”

“Aw, that’s sweet. I hope he doesn’t sign.”

That video started looping, too.

Ren stared blankly at the table. He watched with a thousand-yard stare as Akechi slid the paper across to him, along with a pen.

Broken, numb, Ren signed it.

Akechi smiled. He folded the paper, putting it in his pocket. He stood up. “Excellent. Oh. You should know, by the way.”

He leaned forward, looking down at Ren with a manic smile on his face. “I have no intention of killing your parents or Takamaki. You should die, knowing that. Dying is much too easy for them. Your parents will live on, not knowing if their son is dead or alive. You see, your suicide will just be reported as 'the Leader of the Phantom Thieves' killed himself. Not your name. They will struggle on for years, living in mounting debt and despair and hoping you'll reappear. Until they fade and collapse, just like that pathetic inn.”

Ren clenched his teeth. “You…”

“And Takamaki? I have to say, I’m a little upset at that contractor for stealing my lines. While Kaneshiro is out of the picture, we do have contacts who have uses for women like that. And I’ll make sure that she hears you _ might _ be alive, and she _ might _ see you, so long as she tries her very best in her videos, and fucks every stranger she’s told to with all the enthusiasm she uses with you--”

Ren lunged forward at Akechi with a feral yell.

A single precision gunshot through his mouth blew out his brainstem; Ren collapsed onto the table. Blood spread across the metal surface.

Akechi shrugged. “And I was going to ask if you had any last words. Not that you’d have had anything interesting to say anyhow.”

The Left Hand unscrewed the silencer with his gloved hands before placing the pistol in Ren’s limp fingers.

With a quiet chuckle, Akechi left the room. The world felt balanced again. He stepped into the elevator, ascending to the surface. He took out his phone.

“Ah. Shido-san…”

>>>

Sae sat in an empty office in the basement, watching the events unfold on Ren’s phone. The Phantom Thief known as Alibaba was transmitting the sequence of events in the interrogation room to Sae - somehow, she had reception in the basement. Akechi’s remote only turned off the red LEDs, thanks to Futaba’s interference - the cameras were still recording.

The prosecutor watched in mute horror as the contents of the video were shown to her as well. She nearly bolted from her seat to help Amamiya, except for Alibaba’s reminder that Akechi was armed and likely insane. The Phantom Thief also assured her that somehow, none of the events were truly coming to pass.

She stared at the screen as Amamiya collapsed forward onto the table and Akechi left.

“Now. Go _ now _!” Alibaba said, over the phone’s speaker.

Sae stood, running down the hall. She barely noticed the brief chill as she passed into the corridor where the interrogation room was. She drew to a halt, seeing the uniformed guard outside - the one she had watched Akechi murder in cold blood.

“Er… ...what are you doing back here?”

Sae paused, recalling the audio clip Alibaba had played for her.

_ ‘...We’ll have to eliminate the guard afterwards to make the story plausible. Ensure that it’s someone expendable.’ _

Sae eyed the guard carefully. He was young, anxious-looking. It seemed like he wasn’t quite sure of what he had gotten himself into. The prosecutor gambled.

“Akechi-kun called me. He has been summoned to more urgent matters. Something else to ‘clean up’. I’ll be taking care of things here.” Sae said, with the coldest expression she could muster.

“...W...what? I haven’t heard--”

“Why would any of us tell _ you _ anything?” Sae said, haughtily. “Give me your gun and leave. I would suggest you disappear, or you’ll be next on Akechi’s list.”

“...! Oh, shit. I knew this was a mistake. I knew…”

“Just go.”

“Yes. Yes, thank you!” He turned over his pistol, leaving.

Sae opened the door.

Ren looked up. He stood slowly, stretching, his mind feeling clear of the truth serum’s influence. He raised his eyebrow.

“Aren’t you a little short for a psychopathic detective slash assassin?”

>>>

Sae anxiously led Ren out into the underground parking garage of the SID. The boy was moving slowly, despite his bravado. Each step was laborious; he seemed ready to keel over any second.

“...Ah… fuck, this hurts.”

“What does?”

“Everything. Makes me miss the truth serum…” Ren groaned. “I can barely remember what I was saying, but I remember that it didn’t hurt.”

Sae’s face turned slightly red as she recalled some particular details Ren shared. “...Some of it wasn’t important. This is going to be a problem. I didn’t drive here today, and cab drivers aren’t known for their discretion--”

Ren froze in place as a familiar figure stepped out from behind a column in the parking lot.

Rui Tachibana stood in front of the pair. She was unusually tall; in her modest heels, she even had an inch or three on Ren. Sae felt a chill down her spine. The woman standing in front of her had a military bearing. Sae was armed, but the pistol she tucked into her waistband at the small of her back felt like it was a thousand kilometres away.

She approached them quickly, decisively. Her hand reached out… and gently took Ren’s arm. “Come on, Niijima-san. The car’s this way.”

Sae blinked. “R...right.” As she helped Ren to the waiting town car, Sae shook her head, glad that this was somehow an ally. “We need to split up. There’s hostages. Ann Takamaki, and the Amamiya family in Kamakura. Get on your phone--”

The town car’s rear passenger door opened.

A missile with blonde twin-tails caromed into Ren. Ann threw her arms around him, sobbing in relief. “Ren… Ren!”

“Ah! Ouch... “ Ren hissed, nearly knocked off his feet. Fortunately, Tachibana was able to support them both. “H...hey, Songbird. Don’t be mad.”

Ann nodded rapidly, her face still pressed against his shirt. “I won’t. I won’t, ever.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, either.” Ren said, softly. He gently stroked her hair.

The front passenger window rolled down, revealing Haru Okumura. “Uhm… Ann-chan, Ren-kun. I hate to interrupt the reunion, but we should go. Takemi-sensei is expecting us.”

They got into the car. Sae stared blankly at Ann, who was fussing over Ren.

“You… You’re Takamaki. I saw that video. You…”

Ann blinked, looking up. “Oh. That. Well…”

>>>

The men pulled Ann out of the van. The instant the girl was brought into the vehicle, she seemed to stop struggling.

The lead contractor smirked. _ ‘Must be scared out of her mind. Good. After the employer gives us the go-ahead, I’ll enjoy that…’ _

The van stopped a short distance away; the second one that had blocked off Ann’s escape into the alleyway kept driving, heading off to have its VIN filed off and otherwise disposed of. The remaining four men in the van escorted the bound girl into the abandoned warehouse.

As they reached the appointed spot, spotlights abruptly turned on, blinding them. Two men instinctively raised their weapons - taser darts took them down with short, strangled screams. They flopped like fish. The remaining two dropped to their knees, raising their hands.

Munehisa Iwai stepped forward, a lollipop stick protruding from his mouth. Several of his ‘friends’ were with him, menacing looking yakuza with tasers and blunt weapons.

“Hey. The fuck are you doing with one of my best customers?”

>>>

Ann smiled. “The man in the video was a friend of ours.”

Ren shook his head. “He was a _ little _ crass…”

“He apologized right after, Wildcard. He said he wanted to make it believable, especially if your life was on the line.”

“Right.” Ren winced as Tachibana drove over a bump in the road. “How are my parents, Tachibana-san?”

“They’re well. Your father lost a tooth and got tased, and your mom was slapped a bit. But she gave far more than she got.”

>>>

“Don’t sign a god damned thing, Ren! Don’t you dare! Don’t worry about your mom and old man, we’re-- Aaaauugh, _ fuck _!” His body convulsed and flopped as the electrical current ran through him.

“That’s all we need.” One mercenary said, shrugging. He shut the camera off. “Anything valuable, boys?”

“Some stuff. Mostly sentimental shit, though.” Another said, grimacing. “Fuck. My nose still hurts. That bitch hits like a truck.”

“She does. Pretty cute, though. Hey. When the boss tells us to leave, what’s stopping us from having a little _ fun _ first? I mean, we just have to not kill her--”

The door to the family quarters opened.

The men raised their weapons - stun batons and riot guns, still. They hadn’t seen the need to bring anything lethal, given their mission parameters. And their employer hadn’t provided them with anything better anyhow.

“...Oh. Tachibana.” The leader said, nodding respectfully. The tall woman was intimidating, and her reputation preceded her. “Checking up on us? This bastard here was easy enough, but the woman was a challenge. Used that fucking naginata on us.”

“Mm.” Tachibana said, nodding. She walked over, picking up the naginata. She hefted it briefly. “Interesting. This woman, here?”

“Yeah. Took out three of my boys. I was thinking after, we could…” He trailed off, watching as Tachibana squatted down in front of Inoue. The woman had righted herself, to her knees. The two women exchanged glances.

Tachibana reached out, deftly slashing the zip tie binding Inoue’s wrists with the knife she had up her sleeve. She handed her the naginata; the petite matriarch of the Amamiya family stood up slowly, rolling her shoulders.

The mercenary leader ran forward, his hand reaching for the wooden weapon. “Shit! What are you--”

He let out a high-pitched shriek of pain as Tachibana caught his wrist with her left before promptly pivoting and uppercutting the back of his arm with her right, just above the point of his outstretched elbow. It promptly dislocated and fractured, bending ninety degrees the _ wrong way _.

Inoue smiled - the usual charming, beautiful expression was frightening, now. She brought the naginata to bear.

“My, my. What a mess you’ve made in my home…”

>>>

“That mother of yours is impressive, Amamiya-kun. By the way. She sends her regards, Takamaki-san. She’s wondering if you’re enjoying the album.”

Ren frowned. “Album? What album--”

“So, we’re almost at the hospital?” Ann asked.

Haru shook her head. “Not a hospital. Takemi-sensei’s clinic. Shi-chan’s there too, and I’ve brought in some extra supplies. Don’t worry, Ann-chan. Ren-kun will be well taken care of. We have time to recover, now.”

Ann sighed. Ren was looking a little worse, now completely feeling the brunt of his beating. “...Time that you paid for, Wildcard…” She kissed his cheek. “Hang in there.”

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

The Phantom Thieves gathered in Leblanc, with the addition of Sae, Sojiro, and Shiho. At this point, it seemed silly to be concerned with Shiho’s plausible deniability, given the degree of corruption in the police department and SID. And, Sae was present when Ren was brought into Takemi’s clinic, anyhow.

Sojiro sighed, his arms crossed as he leaned against the bar. “God… I can’t keep up with any of this. Metaverse, Shadows, Palaces… It sounds like some ridiculous video game or anime. Why are teenagers being entrusted with this kind of power?! And a talking cat that only YOU can understand?”

“And he turns into a bus.” Ren said, nodding.

“...This must be what going insane feels like.”

Morgana meowed. “Seriously. I thought we put that joke to rest by now!”

“...Did he just say something?”

Futaba nodded. “He said, _ Sojiro’s stuuuupid _.”

“I did not!” Mona yowled.

Sae sighed, sitting in the booth beside Makoto. “...Can we please just go over how you managed to outwit a bloodthirsty assassin and almost the entirety of the Special Assault Team…?”

“...Ah. Well. We have to go back a bit for that.” Ren said. He sat beside Ann, across from Makoto and Sae.

“...Just… don’t mention anything about legs.” Sae said, shaking her head.

“Why would I?” Ren said, confused. “Anyway. Yusuke, you should probably start.”

>>>

September 26, 20xx 

“Yes. Of course.” Yusuke said. “Without going into details, Yuuki… I should not have made the shot. And yet, I did.”

“Bro. That’s still bothering you?” Ryuji asked, shaking his head. “We got lucky. That’s okay too, y’know? You saved our butts in there! It was a great shot, one in a million.”

Yusuke frowned. “I would prefer that my role not involve so much luck, Ryuji. All of you were depending on me - and will continue to depend on me. I was certain that I missed the shot, and I need to know why I was wrong.”

Ryuji put down Makoto’s Detective Special and walked over to Yusuke. “Can I have a look?”

Yusuke nodded. He handed the sketchbook over to Ryuji, who started flipping through Yusuke’s various sketches of the fight against the landship.

“Ah. Yusuke, can I get your opinion on a few of these pictures? I tried a few different things. More shots from around the city, not just picturesque parks and trails…” Mishima said, handing his camera over.

Yusuke nodded. “Of course.”

He started going through the pictures, nodding approvingly. “Ah. I see. Urban cityscapes, as well? I must say, you’re becoming quite adept with the long lens…”

Ryuji and Yusuke’s phones buzzed a moment later.

**FS: Got the intel ready. Meet up at Ren’s place this evening. He’s still asleep right now.**

“Ah. We have some time, then.” Yusuke said, continuing to look through the pictures.

“...H...hey. Yusuke.” Ryuji mumbled, looking over Yusuke’s diagrams.

“Hm?”

“You’re right. There’s no way you should have made this.” Ryuji said, shaking his head. “Even if you account for wind, your fall, everything. The rifle I gave you is too powerful. The bullet’s moving too fast to luck into the right vector and the distance is too short for wind to matter. The shot would have just impacted on the surface.”

“...I see. Then, this is concerning. I am not inclined to believe we have a guardian angel. Though perhaps, not an angel at all, but a devil…” Yusuke said, as he turned the page. His keen eye spotted a familiar figure in the background of one picture, near the Okumura Foods building. “Yuuki. This is Okumura Foods, is it not?”

“Yes…?”

“We should show this picture to Ren, post-haste.”

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

Sae frowned. “You’re telling me that something as simple as an impossible sniper angle and an unfocused picture made you suspect Akechi?”

She looked over the photograph. A blurred figure in the background had been circled; the person in question wore a white short-sleeved shirt and uniform pants, and appeared to be standing near a CCTV camera in the area. If she squinted, she _ might _ believe it was Akechi.

“No.” Ren said. “It wasn’t enough. But it made me think. With all the unsettling uproar around the Phantom Thieves, the idea of a conspiracy was a little more prominent in my mind than it might have been. So, I asked a friend for help.”

>>>

September 30, 20xx 

Yutaro, Yuuki Mishima’s father, stood up to leave.

Ren nodded. “You know, these are really good, Yuuki. Yusuke mentioned I should have a look at some of the ones still on your SLR, too?”

“Ah, right. That…” Yuuki said. “Father, do you mind if I stay awhile longer with Ren?”

“Sure, Yuu-kun. Just don’t stay out too late.”

“Yessir!” Yuuki waved. He then reached into his bag, taking out another photograph. “It’s not on my SLR anymore, Ren. I printed out a copy for you. Here… Look familiar?”

Ren looked at the circled figure. He frowned. “If I stare for long enough, I might convince myself that it’s Akechi…”

Yuuki nodded. “Right. So… are you going to confront him?! Beat him up?!”

Ren laughed. “No. No… I can’t be sure it’s him… ...But hey. I have an idea. Do you know where all the CCTV cameras are in that area?”

Mishima nodded. “I looked into it when Yusuke mentioned what he was worried about.”

“Good. So, if you can, I’d really like you to work on your urban photography in this area. Focus on the spots the CCTV is pointing at…”

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

“And, that’s how we got these, onee-san. These photos were taken on the day we took down Kunikazu Okumura’s Palace.” Makoto said, putting more photographs on the table. They were images of not only the Phantom Thieves leaving the Metaverse, but _ Akechi _ leaving. “Obviously, these still could have been consistent with a story of being relatively new to the Metaverse, and didn’t mean he was the culprit, necessarily…”

“That’s right.” Ren nodded. “So from the beginning of October, we knew that Akechi knew about the Metaverse. But we didn’t have any opportunity to see if he was the ‘black mask’ that Madarame and Kaneshiro’s Shadows told us about. It was great intel, but hard to use without tipping our hand. We needed.. …”

Ren frowned, unsure of how to phrase this.

Haru spoke up from her seat at the counter. “It’s fine, Ren-kun. We needed an opening. And that was provided by my father’s murder.”

>>>

October 13, 20xx 

“Shut up. Just shut up. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of that kind smile, the way you try to take care of everyone like you know what you’re doing. You don’t. None of us did, and now my father’s gone! Get out. Get OUT!” She screamed in a tired, broken voice. She shoved him.

Ren stumbled as he backed up. He turned and left hastily. He strode quickly past Tachibana; he nearly bowled Futaba and Ann over in the hallway.

Haru panted. She was as shocked as Ren was by her outburst.

After a few moments, a pit formed in her stomach as she realized what she had said.

_ ‘...Oh. Oh, Ren…’ _

She dashed for the door, nearly running into Futaba.

“Futaba-ch--”

“Sssh!” Futaba hissed. She held up her phone, pointing at it. Haru stared, wide eyed. Futaba had typed out a message on a word processing app.

**Hospital room is bugged. I installed an app to detect them after we got those pictures of Akechi following us.**

Haru nodded. She motioned at Tachibana; the woman walked over, reading the phone. She nodded once and stepped into the hospital room.

“Ojou-sama, we should be going. It’s late.” Tachibana said, speaking in casual tones as she started to search the room.

Haru understood immediately. “Of course, Tachibana-san. Just let me gather the remainder of my father’s things.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Tachibana knelt down, finding it - a small metal disc glued to the bed, meant to look like a bolt. She looked up at Futaba, who was holding out her phone.

**Hacked the signal. Will feed him typical hospital sounds after you say you and Haru are leaving.**

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

“After that, we all had a reasonable suspicion that Akechi knew who we were. But we weren’t sure who he was anymore.” Ren said.

Sae looked at Ren curiously. “What do you mean?”

“It didn’t make sense for him to plant a bug in Kunikazu Okumura’s room. He already had evidence of us leaving the Metaverse. And based on the fact that it was from CCTV, he probably had video as well. Why bug a dying man’s room? He could have just turned us over to the police based on the pictures alone. My guess was that he was already looking for a place to infiltrate. A divide in the team he could exploit. He wanted something from us beyond arresting us.”

Haru nodded. “And so, we had to trap him. We had to find a way to get him to reveal his actual motives, to see if we could catch him in a lie. And… and so…”

The heiress frowned, wringing her hands. She looked up, at Ren’s gentle voice.

“And so Haru made the biggest sacrifice of all of us. She put aside her own feelings to pretend to work alongside the person who likely killed her father, and put her friends and my family in danger.”

>>>

October 20, 20xx 

“So we know he bugged Haru’s dad’s room already.” Ryuji said. “Isn’t that as good as guilty?! What kind of sick bastard does that?”

Ren frowned. “It’s true. Even at the best of times, Akechi is a creep who doesn’t know the meaning of personal boundaries. But that doesn’t make him a serial killer, Ryuji.”

“...Yeah. I guess. I mean… we’ve all learned we shouldn’t just rush into these things…” He mumbled.

There was a heavy silence in the room as they each wondered if there was anything they could have done to prevent the fate of Kunikazu Okumura. If they had been more cohesive as a team… If they hadn’t been distracted by the uproar and excitement about the Phantom Thieves.

Ren summarized.

“So, right now, what we _ know _ is that Akechi knows who we are. He’s entered the Metaverse. And now he’s performing active surveillance on at _ least _ Haru. That leaves us with two possibilities, in my mind: Either he’s trying to create an ironclad case against us, or trying to divide and manipulate us. If it’s the second thing, then the chances of him being the true culprit go up. Not 100%, but it’s the best lead we have.”

Haru spoke up. “I think I have a suggestion. We invite him to the school festival. Ren-kun, from what you’ve told me about him, I suspect that he will do one of two things: if he is trying to build a case against us, he won’t confront us. He’ll simply observe us and wait for us to slip up. If he’s planning to use us, he’ll likely confront us with the evidence and try to blackmail us while we’re all together.”

“So we’re all in agreement?” Ren asked, his grey eyes surveying the group. They all nodded, or gave a quiet affirmation. Ryuji hesitated.

“Tch… ...Yeah. Fine.” The blonde boy muttered.

Ren nodded, turning finally to Haru.

“Haru?”

“...Yes. I’m certain.” Haru nodded, firmly.

Makoto sighed. She rolled her shoulders, feeling a small degree of tension bleed away at having at least made a decision. “Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll contact Akechi, and ask him to be the guest at the cultural festival.”

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

“So, he ended up confronting us. He told us a story about how he was nearly killed by the man in the black mask, and how the Metaverse was new to him…”

Mona meowed. “It was how he reacted to me in the PE faculty office that tipped me off. It made me remember the TV studio in the summer…”

Ann smiled at Mona, translating. “Mona says that Akechi slipped up because of pancakes. Basically, we had confirmation that Akechi could understand Mona _ months _ ago, which told us that everything he was saying was a complete lie. He was pretending he was ignorant about the Metaverse. By that point, we were pretty sure he was going to try and trap us.”

“We just didn’t know how.” Haru said before smiling slightly at Ren. “At least, we weren’t completely sure. But I had an _ idea _, based on what Ren-kun could tell me about Akechi’s personality. He demonstrates several traits of narcissism - especially a type of arrogance that drives him to elevate himself by diminishing or degrading someone else, using any means necessary. For whatever reason, he seemed to have fixated on Ren-kun. Based on his stalking and his visit to Kamakura.”

Haru paused, looking thoughtful.

“He might have actually done fairly well in the business world, had he gone that way. He is utterly focused and without remorse. I am uncertain if he is the way he is naturally, or if something happened. Unfortunately, Tachibana-san was only able to discover that he ended up at an orphanage briefly when he was around ten years old; she wasn’t able to discover the circumstances.”

Ren continued. “It was actually Haru that came up with the idea to double-cross Akechi before he could do the same to us…”

>>>

October 28, 20xx 

“No, Haru. We can’t ask you to do this. It’s too much!” Ren said, in the attic of Leblanc. He was standing, leaning forward over the card table.

Haru remained seated. She shook her head slightly. “You didn’t ask, Ren-kun. I offered. We don’t have any other choice. You said it yourself - we don’t know what Akechi’s going to try to do. So we need someone on the ‘inside’. We already know that was likely the reason he bugged my father’s hospital room - and it’s likely the reason why Tachibana-san has noticed him trailing me. He really is quite arrogant. He believes he’s the only shark in the water…”

Ryuji shook his head. “Can you really pull something like that off? I mean… You don’t really hate RenRen, do you?”

Haru glanced at Ren, thinking of how she felt. It was a mixed up mess. Some part of her did regret getting involved with the Phantom Thieves, that was true. After all, she had regained her father, only to tragically lose him. It might have been easier to stay detached. But then… she never would have had the chance to speak to her mother again. She never would have remembered the father she loved. Her own memories might have become twisted, terrible.

Ren nodded at Haru, giving her the usual kind, warm smile he reserved for his friends.

Haru looked away quickly, not able to meet his eyes so directly. And she never would have gotten to feel _ this _ way.

“No. I don’t.” Haru said, shaking her head. “Not at all. But I think I can pull it off. As I said, and as Ren-kun’s described to me, Akechi is unfailingly arrogant. He truly believes that no one could be a step ahead of him. And I would only be acting the way he expects me to act. Duplicitous, angry, and vengeful.”

Ann sighed. “...Really. Something terrible must have happened to him, to make him like that.”

Yusuke looked up, thoughtfully. “That may be so. But as I’ve learned personally, there are reasons for things - I had reasons to try to blackmail you, Ann. And reasons to be spiteful to you, Ren. But reasons are not _ excuses _. We cannot stand idly by.”

Mona flicked his tail. “It’s a bold plan… I think we should go with it. All of you will need to act accordingly, though. If Akechi suspects anything, the police or worse will show up at our doors.”

Makoto glanced at the time. “We should be heading downstairs. He’ll be arriving soon.”

>>>

November 21, 20xx 

“So, we were right. Akechi was eager to lay out the perfect trap to capture and humiliate me - what better way than to turn a member of my team against me? He was so eager that he walked right into ours.” Ren said.

Sae stared at the teenagers in amazement. “This is sounding more like a spy novel, now…”

Futaba grinned. “Ehehe. You don’t know the half of it.” She produced her phone, bringing up a text log from the _ real _ group chat, the one that was both secured against surveillance and excluded Akechi. They weren’t sure how much they were being watched, so they tried to keep large group gatherings to a minimum.

**HO: And so for the part of the plan in the Metaverse, he wants to swap the real Treasure for a false one, and keep the Palace from collapsing. Then in the ensuing chaos, he will signal the police’s Special Assault Team to surround the casino. He’s planning to bring them into the Metaverse a full day ahead of time to have them lie in wait.**

**RS: thats insane. cops? hes gonna bring cops into the metaverse?! we can’t even fight them. if we do, we’d kill them!**

**MN: Yes. That’s off-limits. At the end of the day, they’re just trying to do their jobs.**

**AT: He’s also already planning to kidnap Ren’s family… ...and me, for that matter.**

**YK: This is terrible. We have remained a step ahead, only to find that we are in an impossible scenario.**

**FS: Yeah… we got Kobayashi Maru’d…**

**RA: ** **I don’t believe in no-win scenarios, Gremlin. Here’s what I’m thinking… If the game’s unfair - let’s change the rules.**

“...I see.” Sae said, as she read the rest of the conversation. “You all came up with not only the phone idea, but also the idea to hand-pick the contractors hired to go after the Amamiya family and Takamaki-san… Risky.”

Haru frowned, looking concerned. Even guilty.

“It was necessary.” Ren said, coldly. At least, cold until his face fell slightly, thinking of the beating his parents received and the terror Ann felt - even if all three of them knew what was coming. “By using Tachibana-san’s contacts, we were able to pick contractors that would act predictably. Both groups were more criminals than ex-soldiers, used to easy targets.”

Sojiro shook his head. He went back around the counter, busying his hands and settling his anxiety by polishing the wooden counter. “It’s crazy. Kids playing around with ex-soldiers and mercenaries. Futaba casually stealing an assassin’s phone. I can’t believe it. And if Sae’s ‘Palace’ or whatever is _ her _ cognitions, how did you even get the Ren in there to behave the way you wanted him to?”

“Eeeasy-peasy.” Futaba chirped. “Just had to make some modifications to the simulation program that me and Mona came up with. And since Sae already believed Ren was in the interrogation room, it was even easier. It’s harder to create a cognitive projection from scratch than it is to hijack one. Hence the outfit changes to casino-appropriate clothing. All I had to do after that was be in the Metaverse somewhere above ground to play the videos when Akechi wanted them. Al Azif’s increased range really helped with that.”

“Speaking of the casino. If it was as heavily guarded as it was, how did you even escape?” Sae asked.

“Ah. Well. That part was interesting.” Ren replied.

>>>

November 19, 20xx 

The safe room on the high roller floor corresponded to a mailroom in the courthouse. The furniture in the room occasionally blurred or glitched, revealing stacks of parcels and boxes of documents. In the Metaverse, it was a small smoking lounge.

The vent grating on the wall clattered to the floor.

Ren slid out, landing lightly on the floor. It was the same safe room that he and Ann had snuck off to during the heist - the one that Akechi thought the two had snuck off to to have sex.

_ ‘Well. He was half-right.’ _Ren thought, wryly. He reached underneath one of the sofas in the room, pulling out a wrapped parcel. He tore it open, revealing a bullet proof vest. He took off his coat and strapped the vest on, seeing underneath it twin MAC-10 submachine guns, along with a note.

_ ‘Wildcard, _

_ Stay safe. If anyone can survive this, it’s you. Take these - it’s going to be dangerous on your own. _

_ -Your Songbird’ _

He smiled; Ann had kissed the note to finish it, leaving an imprint of her lipstick.

He heard muffled voices just outside the safe room door. Ren glanced briefly at the vent. He certainly could have chosen to sneak out that way - but his main objective was to see his friends to safety, only to fall prey to Akechi. That meant he had to make it look good. And he had to make it noisy.

Ren picked up the twin SMGs. He charged forward, kicking the door open - it impacted a guard, sending him stumbling back onto his ass. The loud chatter of Ren’s automatic weapons made sure he wouldn’t get up.

>>>

A booming shotgun blast opened the door to the security office that Futaba had previously hacked, obviating the need to waste any time with a lockpick. Ren then spun, firing multiple shots from Ryuji’s old SPAS-12 shotgun down the hallway, taking out his pursuers.

Ren heard a distant explosion as a proximity sticky-bomb, one of Ryuji’s other ‘gifts’, was triggered, causing yet more damage to the high-roller floor.

“Joker! Are you alright?!” Futaba’s voice asked, over the radio.

“Roger, Oracle.” Joker said. He dropped the empty shotgun. He felt underneath the computer desk. He grinned, taking the USB drive that had been taped there. The masking tape had Alibaba’s trademark ‘chomper’ drawn on it. “Your ‘power up’ is right where you said it would be.”

“Ehehe. Of course. Let ‘er rip, boss! ...And take care of yourself. I... I don't want to have to be okay without you around, you know?"

"I'll do my best, Gremlin."

Joker plugged in the USB - the security cameras and guards’ radios in the casino went haywire; doors locked and unlocked in a seemingly random sequence that stymied and disrupted the security forces’ attempts to coordinate. In truth, there was a clear pattern. It funneled the guards back into the high roller floor, and away from his friends.

“That should open the way for you guys. See you on the other side!” Joker said, for Akechi’s benefit.

_ ‘Son of a bitch is probably smirking away, right now…’ _ Ren thought. _ ‘...Then again, so am I.’ _

Ren charged out of the security room. He winced, taking a bullet in his chest. The ballistic vest helped him not _ die _, of course, but didn’t stop all the pain. Faith and Vengeance in hand, Ren took on multiple guards, acquiring targets before whirling, and dodging fluidly from the returning spells and gunfire.

He paused, near a certain slot machine. He kicked it - hard.

From between the machines, Yusuke’s original Steyr AUG assault rifle (with a few modifications) dropped out. Ren caught the gun under his toe, deftly flipping it up into the air and into his hands. He turned, facing down a horde of guards. Several of them laughed as their forms started to twist and change. It was an assault rifle, true. But still not enough firepower to be concerned about with the number of Shadows he faced down.

Ren smiled. “Surt.”

The fire Persona appeared behind Ren. It blazed with flame. The Shadows still advanced; some of them were immune to flame, after all.

Ren’s smile widened as he moved his hand to the trigger of the GL40 grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of the assault rifle.

>>>

Ren paused by the control room. _ ‘Nearly to the end…’ _

“He isn’t alone, but we can’t find the others! They… they might already be out. We had to pull guards away from the exits to go after the one in black.”

“What?! All of them? He’s just one intruder!”

“You don’t understand, sir! He’s armed to the teeth. On the high roller floor, he had an assault rifle and shotgun. He was firing grenades like they were going out of style. It’s a complete war zone up here!”

“Well, he’s gone dark on the first floor… Send everyone that’s left down here. If we can’t get his friends, we’ll at least get him!”

Ren waited for an agent to turn his back before moving quickly by the room. He breathed a faint sigh of relief. _ ‘At least they got away… Just need to save my own skin, now.’ _

“Joker, head up the stairs.”

_ ‘Just head up the stairs. Out the window.. ...and then Ann gets kidnapped, and my parents get tied up. If we fuck this up…’ _

He shook his head.

“Roger.”

>>>

November 21, 20xx

“Who _ are _ you?” Sae said, staring incredulously at Ren. “I’ll accept that you’re not a criminal. I’ll even believe this insane story you’ve told me, simply because there’s no other explanation that fits. But how does a _ teenager _ know all of this? How does a highschool student act like a criminal mastermind in one moment, and then a commando?”

Ren gave Sae a wan smile. “Like I keep saying. I was an honest, stupid boxer before all of this. Then Masayoshi Shido happened, and everything turned over on its head. I went to prison and did nothing but read. I went to school, and turned into a criminal to survive. I lost my friends…”

He looked over at Ann, squeezing her hand. “But I found a family.”

Sae frowned. “And to think you didn’t even truly collapse my Palace, or change my heart…”

“...Actually, we did. We learned some weeks earlier that if there’s a personal connection, it’s possible to do it without stealing a thing.” Ren said, thinking of his encounter with Mishima’s Shadow. “In a way, Makoto was one of the most critical parts of the operation. If she hadn’t gotten through to your Shadow, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get through to you.”

“You had that much faith in my ability to change my own heart?” Sae asked. “Hard to believe a wrongly convicted teenager would believe in a prosecutor.”

“He didn’t. I sure didn’t. But, I have faith in Makoto.” Ryuji said, grinning.

Makoto started to return his warm smile, but quickly coughed, hiding it as her sister looked at the two of them with more than casual curiosity.

“Uh, Anyway. That name you mentioned, Ren.” Ryuji said. “Shido. Isn’t that the name of the guy Akechi was talking to on the phone? The guy that he was reporting to after he thought he killed you?”

Sojiro frowned. “...Shido.” His eyes widened. “W-wait. You don’t mean _ the _ Masayoshi Shido, do you?! That guy, I remember him from when I worked for the government. He isn’t a guy you want to mess with…”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Ren.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath.

“...Yeah. Masayoshi Shido. He’s the man who ruined my life.”

Ren paused.

“And he has a Palace.”

>>>

Everyone left for home to consider the revelation that their enemy was potentially the most powerful man in Japan - certainly in the shadows, and possibly publicly as well, if elected. Sae and Sojiro were able to fill in the blanks: Masayoshi Shido was intelligent, ruthless, and almost pathologically ambitious. He would stop at nothing to attain his goals. Sae also found clues - or rather, clues of clues - that linked Shido to research on cognitive psience. After the Phantom Thieves pooled their knowledge with Sae and Sojiro, they gained an idea of what they were up against.

Shido stood at the top of a vast conspiracy. The criminal cell comprised of Kamoshida, Kobayakawa, Kaneshiro, Madarame, and Okumura was only one of many. It was all set to firmly seat the United Future Party at the top of Japan. The party was a far-right splinter group that was rapidly increasing in appeal - the public, manipulated into fearing for their safety and way of life through disasters and tragedies caused by key mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks, were flocking into the UFP’s arms. They promised safety and security - in exchange for giving up some.. _ minor _freedoms.

And the Phantom Thieves had been set up as a terrorist group, giving the public something to fear and hate.

Ren sighed, slowly lowering himself onto the mattress in the attic. The medications and treatment he had received from Takemi were gradually wearing off. He stared at the ceiling, trying his best to stay still, to concentrate on taking the full, deep breaths Takemi wanted him to. He had several cracked ribs, and it was important to prevent atelectasis and pneumonia.

_ ‘Ugh. Good thing Mona’s out for the night to do some scouting. I wouldn’t want him to see me like this…’ _

Ren heard some muffled noises from downstairs. He sat up slowly. _ ‘...Shit. Did they find there wasn’t a body? Sae said that they already signed off and accepted the death certificate. She must have been wrong.’ _

He suppressed a groan, getting up. He picked up a utility knife from his work table before turning off all the lights in the attic, leaving only a slash of light from the streetlamp outside. He waited at the top of the stairs, concealing himself in the blind corner to the right of the steps. He waited until his assailant slowly made their way up - they were purposely keeping their steps light and quiet. They carried something in their right hand.

Ren stepped forward to disarm and detain them. However, his injuries made him uncoordinated. He pulled the intruder off balance but fell backwards, pulling them on top of himself. His knife clattered to the floor. They fell into the light from the window.

Ren stared up at a very surprised Ann Takamaki.

“What the hell?!” Ann exclaimed.

“Oh. Uh, hey, Songbird.” Ren said, wincing.

Ann gasped. She got off him quickly, carefully helping Ren up. She glanced at the knife, rolling her eyes before going to lock the door again. “Did you really think you could fight someone off in your condition? Alone? Where’s Mona?”

“Out. Wanted to scout out the Diet ahead of our meeting tomorrow, to make sure it would be safe for me to go there in my condition.” Ren said.

“And you let him go. Leaving you alone.” Ann said, glaring at him.

“Well, I just wanted to sleep…”

Ann eyed him up and down. “In your uniform.”

“…It’s comfortable?” Ren offered.

Ann’s expression softened. “…You can’t get it off, can you?”

Ren didn’t answer the question. “I’m fine, honestly. You didn’t have to come all the way back here, Songbird.” 

Ann shook her head. “I never left Yongen, Wildcard. I was at Takemi’s, getting more medication and some instructions from her and Shiho. Come on, let’s get you to bed…” 

Ren saw that the item she was carrying was a bag full of bandages and other related supplies, plus a few bottles he recognized from Takemi’s clinic. He looked at Ann. She looked utterly exhausted.

“Seriously, Ann, I’m fine. You don’t need to play nurse—”

She rounded on him, angry tears glistening in those entrancing eyes. “I’m not playing. You’re hurt, and you’re being a pigheaded moron by not asking for more treatment from Takemi-sensei. And since you were too stubborn to go over to her clinic, you’re getting _ me _.”

“I can’t be seen outside. If I limp, people will stare, and--...”

Ren fell silent, more at her expression than her words. He cooperated quietly as she helped him out of his blazer; it was challenging. His arm that had been wrenched behind him during his arrest had stiffened up painfully. She sat him down on the edge of his bed, carefully tugging off his turtleneck, cursing whenever the form fitting sweater got stuck or caused Ren some pain.

Ann stopped for a moment, staring at the bruises all over Ren’s torso. They were of varying color, suggesting that he had been beaten repeatedly at different times. Her angry resolve seemed to fade for a moment, before shaking her head and speaking.

“And your legs. I saw you limping.” She said. She didn’t even blush.

Coughing, Ren nodded. He stripped down to his boxers, revealing the nasty contusion just above his left knee, where the interrogator stomped on his leg. There was a faint impression of a boot print. Ren looked down at it, wincing at the drug-addled memory. He wished he had caught that man’s name. Normally he wasn’t one for acts of revenge, but…  
A slender hand appeared in his vision, holding one of Takemi’s medicines.

“Pain killer.” Ann said.

“I’m fine—”

“If you don’t take it, I’m going to hold you down and pour it down your throat.” Ann said, matter of factly.

“…Yes ma’am.” Ren obediently took the medicine. It was in liquid form; Ann already considered how comically bad he was with pills. He took it, staring at Ann with a carefully composed face. _ ‘If I weren’t in so much pain, I’d find that pretty hot… Yeah. Probably developing a complex.’ _

Ann nodded. She let Ren stay sitting up as she started treating his contusions and abrasions. Her nimble fingers gently massaged the older bruises and spasming muscle until Ren was able to relax his back and shoulder. She sat down beside him when she was done.

“Thanks, Ann…” Ren said. The medication had gradually taken effect; he felt his back especially start to loosen up, giving him hope that he might sleep after all.

“Mm.” Ann said, acknowledging him. She glared at him. “I’m going to be staying here tonight. To make sure you actually sleep, and don’t do something stupid like try to make lockpicks.” 

She started to go off on another rant about his general pigheadedness until she saw the gentle smile on Ren’s face.

“Ann.” He said, to interrupt her. He saw under her apparent anger and irritation a deep, cold fear.

“Yeah?” Ann said, trying to maintain her air of irritated concern.

“…I’m sorry I worried you.” His hand reached over, resting on hers. She only realized then that she was clasping them together tightly.

Ann glanced down, then over at him again. Her angry façade crumbled. She started crying quietly. When Ren gingerly put an arm around her, kissing her hair, it tipped her over the edge into sobbing helplessly.

“I… I know it was part of the plan, but for a few hours, we didn’t know. I didn’t know.” Ann buried her face against his neck and shoulder. “Whether it worked or not, the news was going to report it the same way. With your ‘suicide’.”

Ann paused to take a breath, but the tears still flowed.

“We all had to act like it was real, Ren, and when I did, it felt real. I had to acknowledge the possibility. And then you show up like this, beaten up, drugged… They were going to _ kill _ you. They were going to take you from me. They’re _ still _ going to try to take you from me!” She said, brokenly. She was too young for this, unready to face the prospect of their life together being taken from them. Neither of them were ready for it.

Eventually, she quieted. She laid down beside Ren, snuggled against him, careful not to lean too hard against his battered body. She took hold of the ring he wore around his neck. “...You didn’t tell Sae everything, I noticed. How we decided to move forward with this plan.”

“It didn’t seem necessary, Songbird…” Ren said, letting his head sink back into his pillow. “And even if it was, there’s some things that I just don’t want to share with anyone, except you.”

>>>

November 12, 20xx 

Haru returned to the attic after seeing Akechi off.

Shiho looked up. “So. The Russian takoyaki got rid of the creep?”

“Indeed, Shi-chan. You should--”

“Oh, Blondie. I got you these noise-cancelling headphones for your birthday. I think I’ll just head downstairs and try them out ahead of you.” Shiho said. She put the headphones on, already humming some catchy top-40 tune.

Haru sighed, looking at the other Phantom Thieves. “I can’t wait for this to be over. It’s hard to act this way, especially with the person who’s likely my father’s killer.”

Ren nodded. “You’re doing great, Haru… We’re almost there. So what’s the verdict?”

Haru bit her lip. “...There’s no other way. We have to make him think he’s won…”

>>>

Later in the evening, it was only Ren and Ann left in the attic. Ren was cleaning up. He tied up a garbage bag, placing it at the top of the stairs. He looked over at Ann, sitting on his bed. She seemed pensive, staring at the floorboards.

“Hey, Songbird? Are you alright? You’ve been quiet since Mona stepped out--”

“You knew, didn’t you?” Ann said, suddenly. She stood, walking over to him. “You knew that this was going to be the only way.”

“What do you mean? We didn’t get confirmation until--” Ren said, glancing away.

“Ren.”

“...Yes. I had a pretty good idea.” Ren said. “He’s a pathological narcissist. He’s put together what he believes is an infallible plan. If it doesn’t end the way he wants - with my capture and ‘suicide’ - he’s going to respond with excessive force and irrational rage. We have to make him think he’s won if we want to buy time to figure out what’s really happening.”

Ann shook her head. “I don’t like it. I don’t…”

“Neither do I, Ann.” Ren said, pulling her into his arms.

She hugged him tightly, burying her face against the fabric of his shirt. After a moment, she pulled back a little, letting him go, but staying in his arms. She toyed with Ren’s birthday gift to her - a silver ring with a stylized songbird etched into it. 

After a moment of silence, Ren spoke up. “Ann… If the worst happens, you need to run.”

“...What?”

“You need to run. Call your parents, tell them everything. Get out of the country.”

“You… you want me to just abandon everyone?” Ann said. “That… that’s not like you at all.”

Ren shook his head. “I can’t think straight when it comes to you, Ann. You know this. You know I’d do anything to see you safe… ...Even if I’m not… I mean, even if I’m not around--”

Ann pushed herself away. “...I need some time, Wildcard. I need some time to think about all of this.”

She kissed his cheek. “Let’s… Let’s talk again, just you and me, on the 18th?”

>>>

November 18, 20xx 

“...Hey, Wildcard. Let’s switch.” Ann said, suddenly. They were in her bedroom, late in the evening. She had led Ren there to give him an impromptu gift. No occasion, for no reason, she said, in a voice that told Ren there _ was _ a reason. It was just too much to talk about.

“...Sorry?” Ren said, confused. He held the ring Ann had just given him in his hand, just about to put it on. It was a men’s ring, with the four card suits etched beautifully into the smooth surface. 

“I mean, let’s switch rings. D-don’t get me wrong! I love it. I really do. But… I want to wear yours. And you should wear mine. We’re just borrowing, though, okay? So… so that way, you have to return it to me later. And I have to return it to you.” Ann mumbled, looking down. She had already taken her own ring off, holding it in her slender fingers.

“...Right. Of course, Ann. That’s a good idea.” Ren said, understanding immediately. They were both going to be in very real danger, without the benefit of their Personas or array of weaponry. He handed his ring to Ann; she threaded it onto a silver chain, a twin to the one that hers was on.

She smiled up at him. “Here. Let me…”

She put her arms over his shoulders. She leaned against him, clasping the delicate silver chain around Ren’s neck. “Th--... there…” She murmured. Her face was only inches away from Ren’s. She paused there, a faint blush rising to her delicate cheeks.

They were used to being close to each other, by now. But the air was different tonight. Tomorrow, they were off to battle - a battle they intended to lose.

She stood up on her toes, her lips gently pressing against his. Her eyes closed as Ren embraced her, returning the kiss with an equal tenderness. So many times before in her bedroom, their kisses were passionate, lustful. Full of love, certainly, but full of want and desire. Tonight, things were different. More tentative. Full of unspoken fear and fragile hope.

Ann turned away from Ren. “...Can you put yours on me?”

Her hair was already down, so she lifted her blonde tresses, pulling them aside for him. She closed her eyes, just _ feeling _. The sensation of the cool metal against her skin; the weight of the ring against her chest. She gasped quietly, feeling him kiss the nape of her neck. She turned into him again. Kissed him again. More tender, soft kisses. Gentle touches. Clothes carefully slid off and dropped to the floor. He turned the lights off, leaving them together, close in the darkness.

Ann straddled his lap. He was seated on the side of her bed. Skin to skin, sharing their heat. She kissed him, feeling him start to lay her onto her back. She shook her head, putting a hand on his chest. 

“...Ann?”

She kissed him again. “I want to hold you… I want you to hold me.”

He nodded. He kissed her lips; kissed her slender and graceful neck. He felt her run her hands through his hair, cradle his head as his lips touched her chest, the ring suspended on the chain just above her breasts. His arms were around her; he carefully lifted her, shifted his hips…

She bit back a gasp at their connection. She pressed her forehead to his, her voice breathy, soft. “Mm. Yes… Like this, Wildcard. Just like this…” She murmured, as they started to move together.

They lost themselves to each other. Not in the physical pleasure - that was there, of course. But it was far different from the times they ‘had fun’ or ‘slept over’. It wasn’t the goal. It was simply a means of communication; a way of telling each other the depths of their feelings. It was like making love for the first time again, with the added gravity of the relationship they had forged together over the past several months.

Of the life they hoped to share together going forward.

Of the shared future that now hung by a thread.

“Ann... Ann. I love you.”

“Ah.. Ren. I love you too…”

>>>

Much later, Ann laid in bed with Ren, her head on his shoulder. She played with the ring - her ring - as it rested on his chest.

“Hey, Wildcard?”

“Mm?”

“I’m not going to run. Even if… you know. I can’t leave everyone behind. They’re too important to both of us.”

Ren sighed. “I know. Rather, I knew you’d say that.”

Ann nodded, kissing his jaw. “Let’s skip school tomorrow, okay? Let’s just spend the day together. Before… before we have to go.”

She felt him shift slightly; she tilted her head to receive the kiss she knew was coming. She was so close against him that she felt his deep voice reverberating into her own body.

“Yeah, Songbird. Let’s do that. A day just for us…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The interrogation: Shout out to this comic I found once of Ren blathering on about EVERYTHING to Sae. Literally, "So then I learned about Emperor Nero. And then Ann said something funny. And then Ryuji wanted to go running, so I said..." It fit in well with the idea of the truth serum being Pentothal. Makes people loose-tongued and uninhibited.
> 
> Inoue Amamiya: Readers may recall that a while back, around the time where Ren finds out the inn's lost its license due to Shido being a dick, Inoue gets a job helping out at Shinji Takeda's gym. She wasn't just stitching up uniforms. She's a naginataka, not a boxer. So she 'just' does strength and conditioning :D
> 
> Kenji Amamiya: No formal trainer, but one tough SOB
> 
> The album: See Sports Day chapter, Mama-miya's visit to Shujin. Album given to Ann with Ren's elementary/middle school pictures.
> 
> Takoyaki: Yes, these were intentionally made by Shiho for this purpose. Asked for by Ren. Tactical takoyaki. Tactikoyaki.
> 
> Haru: So, the big comment. Some readers might wonder, 'What did you do with the kind/nice/calm Haru from canon?! This is terrible!' Part of the reason I went this direction is, as I said, the reaction to her father dying. In this case, getting her father back (or imagining a life where she actually has a relationship with him) - only to have him taken away from her, right when she thinks that things are going to work out. I don't care how nice you are - that's horrible, terrible pain. And because the author is a jerk, in GtD she had to make the call to shut off the ventilator. You don't get out of that without a darker world view.
> 
> Also as I've established, she's the heir to a major corporation. She knows at least some of the basics - in particular, taught by her parents that people will try to use her, try to cheat her. She had to grow up suspicious/cynical of people's intentions (part of the reason why she loves the PT family as much as she does - they sincerely want to be her friends).
> 
> I don't think I've gone too far off base with her. In Mementos, canon Haru has shown a darker side.
> 
> Plot in general: The hard thing I've found with an AU fic is when do I go completely off (Okumura) and when do I just try to explain canon plot holes/adjust them to fit the story better? (Sae) I think I did a reasonable job. I wanted to explain how Akechi had police in there (arrived a day earlier). I wanted to explain why Akechi wouldn't be surprised that despite the Treasure being stolen, the Palace didn't collapse (Because he's seen at least Madarame and Okumura's Palaces collapse). I also wanted to give Mishima a bigger role than the petition at the end. And, I wanted to make signing the confession actually mean something. I was disappointed when the protag in the game just caves, despite seeing his bravery the entire game up to that point. This was all fun to write - but boy, do I need a break, haha.
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading!


	36. Punch Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _‘Punch eye’, not to be confused with a black eye, refers to a condition wherein the boxer persistently flinches back or averts his eyes from an incoming punch. Part of this is natural, and can be ‘trained out’ (see ‘flinch reflex’, discussed previously). However, a well-trained boxer with a fully suppressed flinch reflex may still go on to develop ‘punch eye’ after a particularly traumatic match against a difficult opponent. This may actually be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, rather than a boxing-specific condition.  
Either way, developing a fear of being punched in the sport of boxing is crippling. If the fighter steps back into the ring without properly overcoming this fear, the result can be tragic. The fear of being punched can lead to poor decision-making and ironically, getting hit more frequently and much harder.___

November 21, 20xx

The roof of Leblanc was quite sturdy.

The cafe withstood every windstorm, downpour, typhoon, or freak snowstorm that mother nature cared to throw at the little shop. Obviously, the taller buildings around the little alleyway in Yongen-Jaya afforded some protection by bearing the brunt of any inclement weather, but that didn’t change the fact that Leblanc was well-built. Thick wooden beams and sturdy joists helped to support the ceiling. Small imperfections in the color and grain gave the building texture and character.

And it gave a certain boxer something to study during his bout of insomnia.

_ ‘Probably made of cypress.’  _ Ren thought.  _ ‘...And that’s officially the last thing I can possibly think about this ceiling.’ _

Ren sighed  _ very _ quietly, mindful of the blonde girl nestled against his side. Despite his assurances that he’d be fine, she insisted on staying the night. As usual, she stole the black long-sleeved shirt he used as sleepwear. It was loose on  _ him _ ; on her, she could hide her hands inside the sleeves and wear the shirt like an off-shoulder dress, tempting Ren with her wonderfully kissable neck. She usually didn’t bother wearing pants with it either, with how long the hem was on her. Her stealing the shirt to sleep bottomless - and leaving him topless - usually led to the two of them doing something that involved a pleasant compromise between their states of partial undress.

But that was the furthest thing from his mind tonight. He stared at the beam over his head again, seeing if he could focus his eyes enough to count the individual lines in the grain. He felt sleep start to take him. His eyelids started to fall. His mind grew hazy. His arms were heavy.

Hazy, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate. Like the drugs were still in his system. Heavy, like he was being held down--

Ren’s eyes snapped open again. This had been the story of the past couple of hours. Each time he was about to fall asleep, he felt himself returning to the interrogation room. Internally, he raged - at himself. His spirit seethed with the humiliation and indignity of it.

_ ‘This is ridiculous. I’m fine. It’s fine. It’s not like I’ve never taken a punch before. Nothing bad happened to my parents. Nothing bad happened to Ann. I’m fine. Everything’s fine. ...But it was close. If they injected me with just a little more, I would be— No. No.’ _

He bit his lip, trying to quiet his thoughts in the same way he did prior to a fight. He imagined himself in the ring, the place where he always felt comfortable in his own skin, always in control. His internal monologue was relegated to the darkness outside the ring, like murmurs of the crowd. Finally - silence. He sighed, relieved. Once again, the physical and mental fatigue started to take his battered body. He let his guard down, let the ring in his mind dissipate into darkness.

A rough hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed his hair. His head was wrenched back for inspection, like he was livestock awaiting slaughter. He  _ heard _ the sneer in the man’s voice, even if all he could see was the blinding light of a tactical flashlight being shoved in his face.

_ ‘You should know. You were sold out.’ _

Laughter. Smiles. A job well done. That was all it was to them. They didn’t know, couldn’t know that it wasn’t just Ren’s life that teetered on the precipice. Soon it would be Ann and his parents. So many things had to go  _ right _ for them to just barely get away with this _ .  _ And yet he was gambling anyway, with the ones most important to him. He had to go all-in. It was his fault. Even if things went perfectly, it was all his fault for being in this situation in the first place. If he had been a little more attentive, a little smarter, a little more careful—

“Ren…?”

Ren’s internal monologue halted. She hadn’t moved, but he could tell that she was as awake as he was. Even in the darkness of the attic, he could see that her eyes were open, looking at him.

“I thought you were asleep.”

She shook her head. She stroked his cheek, his jaw. Her voice was a soothing murmur in the darkness. “I’ve been awake. I could tell you were trying to sleep.”

And now he felt guilty about this, too. He spoke quickly. “You should sleep. You have to go to school tomorrow. I’ll be fine. Just… just some nerves, I guess. It’s stupid. I’ve been hit before, so I shouldn’t be like this. I mean, I’ve taken harder punches in the ring, too--”

“No. It’s different, Ren.” Ann said, softly.

“I’m fine, Songbird. Really. Just need a good night’s sleep.”

He felt the soft touch of her lips at the side of his neck, where his pulse thrummed. Feather-light. And then her hand, sliding over his chest, over his heart. As she paused for a moment, Ren realized she was feeling his heart beat through her palm, his blood pulse under her lips. She shook her head again.

“No, Wildcard. I can see right through you, remember?” She murmured, with a gentleness that made Ren’s promises that he was ‘fine’ die on his lips.

He swallowed air as he held on. Held on for no reason other than the fact that he was supposed to be the brave leader, that nothing bad had really happened, that people needed him to hold it together. Ren took a breath, speaking in a clipped, brittle voice.

“I… it was just… frustrating. To not be able to be able to fight back. It was the first time where I was…”

_ ‘Helpless.’  _ He finished, in his own mind. To say it out loud was to open the floodgates. He was powerless during his show trial in Kamakura, true. But that was different - it hadn’t come to blows. The one thing Ren Amamiya had always been sure of was his physical prowess. Even when Shido ruined his life and he couldn’t box officially anymore, he  _ knew _ \- his fists were still there.

In the interrogation, none of that mattered. They pushed him around like he was nothing. Beat him like he was nothing. All of the years of training, of having faith in the fists gifted to him by his beloved coach… it amounted to nothing.

For a short time, they stymied his identity as a fighter _ . _ If they hadn’t needed his hands to sign that confession, they would have broken them to steal it away forever. The secondary interrogator had read about Ren’s past. Before the first injection, he grabbed Ren’s wrist, pinning it to the table. He took the uniformed guard’s truncheon, preparing to break every bone in his hand. The primary interrogator stopped him.

_ ‘We need his hands. Everything else is fair game, though. But if this piece of shit pisses us off, well… accidents happen.’ _

It was equal parts terrifying and enraging. He started to fall back into the gibbering pit of his mind, full of guilt for everything, anger for letting them do that to him, and then self-loathing and irritation for feeling guilty and angry even though he  _ knew _ no one blamed him and he  _ knew  _ that he didn’t ‘let’ anyone do anything to him. He anxiously thought in circles until Ann touched his face again, drawing his attention to her.

“You couldn’t fight back, Ren. You had to do the harder thing: You had to be hold on and have faith, even though you didn’t know what was happening. The only thing you could do was hope that your parents would be okay, and that I would be okay.”

Her voice was tinged with grief. Grief for him, he realized. It was nearly enough. Nearly enough to convince him to finally let go. 

She moved, drawing his head to her chest. She felt him tense up; she cradled him, held him close. She kissed the crown of his head before pressing her face against his unruly hair. Her voice now was full of pride and gentle affection.

“You kept your promise and came home to me. It’s okay, Ren. We’re all safe. We’re all okay, because of you, and Haru, and the entire team. We’re safe, and so are you.”

She gently stroked his back as his shoulders started to shake. She felt him bury his face in the fabric of the shirt she wore, muffling his own voice, blotting his eyes against the cloth.

“Ssh… it’s okay, Ren. You don’t have to be brave anymore. Not tonight. You’re safe here, with me. I promise.”

>>>

Elsewhere in the city, there was still business being conducted despite the late hour.

Nagata-chō, a district of the Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo, housed the National Diet of Japan as well as the associated offices responsible for running the day to day activities of the Japanese governments. Intermingled with the government buildings were offices for several foreign firms. This of course was no accident - while telecommunications and the internet had largely replaced written correspondence, there were still distinct advantages to having quick access to key members of the ruling party. Key business deals, changes to foreign policy, and ‘gentle persuasion’ (bribery) were still best done in person.

Masayoshi Shido, seated in his office in the headquarters of the United Future Party, stared contemptuously down at the mix of government buildings and foreign interests. In his eyes - in the UFP’s eyes -  _ gaijin _ were brazenly shoving their greedy fingers into Japanese affairs on a daily basis. Giving little, but trying to take everything that wasn’t nailed down.

_ ‘And we just let these parasites take what they want. And we smile, and we  _ ** _thank_ ** _ them for it.’  _ Shido thought, turning back to his desk. He dropped a document into a pile of papers to be shredded. The report just crossed his desk that morning: It concerned the thousands of US soldiers stationed in Japan. A prominent American official apparently felt that Japan should provide financial compensation to the United States for ‘taking advantage of their brave soldiers, who defend Japanese soil with their lives’.

Shido scoffed. There hadn’t been an armed conflict of note involving Japan in decades - this was simply yet another blustering idiot out of the decadent West, either hoping to use Japan as a convenient punching bag to drum up support for his re-election from xenophobic Americans, or hoping to bully Japan into yet more trade concessions.

And the current government did  _ nothing.  _ Said  _ nothing _ in response.

Shido wasn’t surprised in the slightest. The country he loved was corrupt and weak beyond any hope, a process that had started with the end of the Second World War and continued to this very day. They were terrified of offending their ‘allies’, terrified of losing what little scraps power they were allowed to have.

It was abundantly clear to Shido, as it had been for years, that he was the only one who could restore the nationalistic pride that had made Japan a country to be feared. And he would do it by any means necessary.

The door to his office opened as Goro Akechi showed himself in. Shido regarded the young man with cool detachment, nodding once.

“Good.  _ Now _ you may report.”

Akechi stood in front of the man’s desk - there were no chairs here for visitors. He hid his irritation behind his bland and sanitized smile. After his assassination of Amamiya, he had called Shido to report - only to be scolded like the dog that Shido probably thought of him as.

_ ‘Ah, Shido-san…’ _

_ ‘I told you to  _ ** _never_ ** _ use my name on the phone, ingrate.’ _

_ ‘...Of course. I apologize. It’s done. The Leader of the Phantom Thieves is dead--’ _

_ ‘Enough! I won’t discuss this on the phone. Meet me tomorrow evening in my office.’ _

“Of course, Shido-san. As I said, it is done. The leader of the Phantom Thieves is dead. The news is already reporting his suicide.”

“Good.” Shido smiled behind his intertwined fingers, his elbows on his desk. “And the others?”

“Some minor complications, I must admit.” Akechi said. He then quickly continued, as Shido’s expression started to change. “It seems that Haru Okumura had second thoughts about continuing to detain the hostages we took. They are no longer under our control. I will--”

“No. It’s unnecessary.” Shido said. “At this time, the public is already completely focused on the election and the polls have us firmly ahead. I don’t want to waste time addressing another mental shutdown, psychotic break, or whatever other tragedy you have planned for them.”

Akechi frowned. It bothered him that they had gotten away. Even if he was dead, he still had every intention of following through on his last words to Amamiya. “I can be discreet. I do not think we should--”

“We’ve been over this. I don’t want you to  _ think _ . I want you to do what you’re  _ told. _ ” Shido snapped, pointing a finger at Akechi. After a tense moment, he smiled again, looking almost kindly. “You  _ have _ done well though, Akechi-kun. If it’s important to you, you can do whatever you want after the election is over. In fact, I encourage it. You’re the only one I want with the ability to manipulate the Metaverse.”

“Indeed. Although the rest of them are hopeless without their leader, it would be best if the remainder of their group met with unfortunate accidents or otherwise disappeared. I will take care of it after the election, as you say.” Akechi replied.

“I’m glad you agree.” Shido said, nodding. “Then, I’ll have you perform the next task, as we discussed.”

“Already done.” Akechi replied. He paused as he chose his words, his smile becoming cruel. “Director Arai has been working terribly hard, lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was simply the tension and stress of the ongoing investigation that’s kept him on his feet. At his age, he could have a heart attack, or a stroke…”

“Indeed.” Shido said. “It seems my faith in you is well-deserved. When I am Prime Minister, you can name whatever reward you desire.”

“Ah. The case of the Phantom Thieves has already pushed my fame and popularity far beyond my expectations, Shido-san. With you in power to strengthen this country, and me being recognized as the ‘Detective Prince’ who stopped the monstrous Phantom Thieves, what more could I want?” Akechi said, smiling.

“Indeed. What more could you possibly want?” Shido said, with a little smile. “I encourage you to think about it, Akechi-kun. I demand the best, but I like to think I reward my contributors appropriately.”

“Thank you, Shido-san.” Akechi bowed politely to hide his amused smile. “I’ll certainly make sure that I think about what I want from you.”

>>>

November 22, 20xx

Ann picked at the lunch Ren prepared for her. It was Leblanc’s curry, kept hot in an insulated bento box. It wasn’t that it tasted bad - as usual, his cooking was delicious. It was just the circumstances in which she received the bento. By the time she woke up, he was already downstairs in Leblanc, packing it up for her. He looked like he had been awake for at least an hour. 

_ ‘Ren…? Why are you up so early?’ _

_ ‘Well. Can’t let you go hungry at lunch, can I?’ _

He had jumped at the sound of her voice initially, but quickly smiled at her. There were shadows under his eyes and he was a little pale. She knew he slept, but it was clear he hadn’t slept  _ well _ . Ann heard him mumble in his sleep; he would have tossed and turned if she hadn’t been holding him. In the morning, he moved like he was at least three times his age, still stiff and sore. Still, he sent her off with a smile and a hug. He wasn’t trying to hide how beat up he was, physically and mentally - but he didn’t want to worry her.

_ ‘I’ll be here waiting for you after school, Songbird. Go on.’ _

“How’s the champ?”

Ann looked up at Shiho, sitting across from her in the cafeteria area across from the school’s co-op. Ryuji, Makoto, and Haru were also sitting with her, and each of them were looking at Ann with varying degrees of concern. Ren’s absence thankfully wasn’t a huge topic of discussion among the general population - Ann had explained  _ some _ of the situation to Kawakami, who in turn didn’t hesitate to inform the class that Ren had been called home to Kamakura to deal with some family issues. However, the Phantom Thieves’ leader and lynchpin’s presence was sorely missed by their group.

“He’s recovering… He’s not sleeping well, though. I’m not sure he’ll be ready to go today.” Ann sighed, grumbling. “I’ll probably have to sit on him to keep him from wanting to rush back into action.”

Shiho shrugged. “Well, if it comes to sitting on him, you should be up to the task-- Ow!”

Ann was standing up from her chair, grinding her knuckles into the top of Shiho’s head.

“Really? He looked like he could barely move…” Haru said, suppressing a laugh at Shiho’s discomfort.

Ryuji shook his head. “In the Metaverse, our injuries out in the real world don’t seem to have as big of an effect. I mean, my leg is getting better every day out here, but there it was fine from the first day. But even if that wasn’t a factor, RenRen would push himself to get in there.”

Haru looked thoughtful. “His main concern is all of our safety, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.” Makoto said, nodding firmly. “During the entire plan for my sister’s Palace, his priority was securing an escape route for the rest of us.”

“Then it should be pretty easy.” Haru said. “We just need to present him recovering properly as being the best thing for the group. How if he isn’t fully there mentally or physically yet, it just puts the rest of us in danger.”

“Heh. Combination of guilt with his sense of family and friends. You haven’t been around us long, Haru-chan, but you seem to have figured the guy out.” Shiho said, finally fending Ann off.

Haru coughed. “He  _ is _ our leader. It’s… ...It’s important to get to know him.”

Ann glanced at Haru curiously, but said nothing.

“Hm. You know, I’ve been wondering. If RenRen knew about Shido’s Palace from the start, why didn’t he tell us sooner?” Ryuji asked.

“Probably for all the reasons we talked about in other situations.” Makoto said, sighing. “Having one doesn’t mean you’re evil, like with Futaba and my sister. And he probably felt like it would be selfish to say anything, like me.”

Ann nodded. “Yeah… And I know how badly he’d take it if any one of us got hurt trying to help him settle a grudge. It’s good we actually have a reason to go in, now.”

“Still, it’s amazing. I can’t believe he stayed focused enough to do as well as he does at school…” Ryuji said.

“I think it’s amazing that you haven’t flunked anything in months, RyuRyu.” Shiho said, laughing. “I’ll bet your mom’s freaking out.”

Ryuji smiled modestly, scratching the nape of his neck. “Aheh… I didn’t do anything except for what Makoto told me.”

“You never give yourself enough credit where it counts, Ryuji.” Makoto said, smiling with a faint blush on her pale cheeks.

“No, really! Ma even wants to have you over to say thanks.” Ryuji said, nodding enthusiastically.

The group fell into silence as four teenagers registered exactly what Ryuji said. The bottle blonde’s energetic grin faded as he sensed the mounting tension. His eyes snapped over to Makoto. Her face was turning redder; her eyes were wide with shock and a small amount of fear.

The silence broke into bedlam as four voices spoke up all at once.

“Oh! Makoto, you’re going to need something to wear if you’re meeting his mom!”

“Look at you, RyuRyu, all grown up. Taking the girlfriend to meet your mother.”

“Oh, my. I knew you two were dating, but I didn’t think it was that serious yet.”

“How much did you tell her, Ryuji?!” Makoto finished, her voice bordering on shrill.

Ryuji raised his hands defensively. “I didn’t tell her  _ anything _ ! She just knows that I’ve been studying with a friend. It’s fine, she still thinks I’m hung up on Hifumi!”

Ann and Shiho winced.

“Oh, man. That’s a rookie move.” Shiho said, shaking her head.

Ann nodded. “You hate to see it.”

Makoto’s eye twitched in irritation - for multiple reasons, but mostly, irrationally, the fact that someone thought Ryuji was still into Hifumi Togo, when really, he belonged to-- Makoto coughed, clearing her throat (and her thoughts). “When does she want me to come over?”

“...This… weekend…? Saturday, after class.” Ryuji said, weakly. “Should I tell her you’re coming…?”

“That…  _ this _ weekend?!” Makoto shouted. “That’s way too soon! Who are you even going to introduce me as?! She doesn’t even know we’re…  _ dating _ .” She finished in a hushed whisper, mindful of the people around them.

“You’re right...” Ryuji nodded. “I’ll tell her we have to cancel, and--”

“No! That would be  _ rude _ !” Makoto jabbed a finger at Ryuji. “Didn’t you say your mother works  _ two  _ jobs? If she’s made the time for me to visit, I have to go!”

“Then you’re coming…?” Ryuji asked, cautiously. He had no idea where this was going, anymore.

“Yes! No!” Makoto groaned, burying her face in her hands. Apparently, she didn’t know where this was going either.

Shiho snickered. “This is hilarious. She usually seems so capable and together, but when it comes to RyuRyu, she really is  _ Mako-chan _ . Look! She’s this weird mix of flustered and happy and mortified…”

“This isn’t funny, Shiho!” Makoto snapped. “And why would you think I’m happy?!”

“You’re smiling a little.” Ann said, laughing as Makoto quickly reverted back to an angry pout. “And isn’t this a good thing, in a way? If you meet Ryuji’s mom and make a good impression, it means you won’t have to sneak around as much or worry about going over to his place.”

“Oh.” Makoto said. While the student council president was normally quite capable, in these matters she was still a relative beginner. “I suppose that would be alright.”

Shiho nodded sagely. “Yeah. And since she works a lot, if you get comfortable going over there, you can  _ really _ get comfortable over there. If you know what I mean.”

It only took Shiho’s salacious grin and a few seconds for both Ryuji and Makoto to understand  _ exactly _ what she meant. Makoto looked even more mortified, turning a new shade of crimson. Ryuji blushed, but looked somewhat thoughtful. 

“...Well, that would be okay-- Ow! Ow ow ow!”

>>>

“Dude. Your ear’s really red. You sure you don’t want an ice pack?” Ren asked. He flipped the sign to ‘closed’ at Leblanc before returning to the booth to join Ryuji. The blonde boy was the first to arrive for the team meeting. They weren’t sure if they were being watched, so they made arrangements to arrive at Leblanc separately.

“Is it really that red?” Ryuji asked, rubbing the lobe with a wince. “Makoto was really mad.”

“Well, from what you told me, I’m not that surprised. This is all really new to her.” Ren said, shrugging. “Though, I would have thought that after she kissed you at the park, she’d be a  _ little _ less shy.”

Ryuji coughed. “Er… about that. She uh,  _ missed _ .”

“...Wait, what?” Ren said, raising his eyebrow.”

“Well, after I kissed her cheek, she leaned on me and went for it. She closed her eyes, I closed mine. She.. .. got me here?” Ryuji said, his hand going from his ear to his chin.

“...And since then?” Ren asked, pursing his lips together with an amused twinkle in his grey eyes.

“We hold hands.” Ryuji said. Seeing the quirk at the corner of his best friend’s lips, he quickly continued defensively. “Like, a  _ lot _ ! Sometimes in public!”

“You two are so sweet that I think I’m going to go into a diabetic coma just listening to this.” Ren said, deadpan. “So what did you learn?”

“...That it’s probably too early to even joke about sex?” Ryuji said, sighing.

“No.” Ren paused, thoughtfully. “...Actually, yes. But even simpler. Eyes open until lips make contact.  _ Then _ close them, buddy. Oh. Heads up - incoming Niijimas.”

Ren nodded politely to Sae as she pushed the door open, followed closely by her sister. Makoto smiled, nodding back to Ren; as her eyes made contact with Ryuji, she coughed, hiding her slightly pink face behind her hand - before purposely taking a seat across from the booth, at the bar. Essentially, as far away from Ryuji she could possibly be. Ren suppressed his laugh at Makoto’s obvious attempt to hide her relationship from her sister. The discussion earlier in the day coupled with Sae and Ryuji’s simultaneous close proximity was throwing the normally level-headed girl off-balance.

Sae frowned thoughtfully, before shaking her head slightly, refocusing on Ren as she sat beside Makoto. “Amamiya-kun, how are you?”

“Everything’s a bit sore, but I’ll manage.” Ren said, shrugging - and then wincing at the gesture. “The ribs are probably the worst.”

The bell above the door rang. Ann glared at Ren accusingly as she walked in, trailed by the remaining Phantom Thieves. “If your ribs are bothering you, why are you wearing your apron? You were working!”

Ren raised his hands defensively as he stood up to greet everyone. “Hey, come on, Songbird. Shiho and Takemi-sensei both said that I’d be better off if I got up a bit. Can’t just lie in bed.”

Sojiro smirked, leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen. “Heh. In trouble with the wife?”

Ann’s jaw dropped mid-scold, her finger still poking into Ren’s sternum. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t fantasized - and she had even joked with Ren about it when they were alone after the cultural festival. But they were alone at the time. This was in front of their friends, including Ren’s guardian, and Makoto’s older sister. Sojiro was smirking at them both; and for some reason, Sae’s eyes flickered down to Ann’s legs.

The older Niijima coughed, looking away awkwardly from Ann as she recalled Ren’s  _ extremely _ detailed retelling of his life since his arrival in Tokyo.

Ren just chuckled. He sat back down at the booth, looking at Sae.

“All of you are rested up?” Sae paused, sighing. She then grimaced, her eyes settling on Ryuji. “...I still can’t believe that I’m about to deliver a legal briefing to a pack of teenagers. And how does Shujin even allow you to wear that as a uniform? Sakamoto-kun, isn’t it?”

“...What? I’ve got the blazer on and everything!” Ryuji protested. He glanced down at his bright yellow ‘zomg’ t-shirt. He looked like he was about to say more, until he caught Makoto’s warning glance.

Sae frowned, catching the silent exchange. She recalled how Ren denied dating Makoto during the interrogation, but let on that her younger sister did indeed have a boyfriend.  _ ‘...Is he… No. Not a boy like that. Makoto has too much sense.’ _

“Anyway, it’s unimportant.” Sae said. “I should bring you all up to speed on what I was working on to this point, and what I’ve managed to dig up on Shido…”

Sae took the floor, explaining to the Phantom Thieves the investigation thus far - how her work at the SID had first found evidence linking Kamoshida, Kobayakawa, Kaneshiro, Madarame, and Okumura. All of this was corroborated by what the Phantom Thieves themselves had discovered in the Metaverse, as well as what Makoto had turned up in her investigation of Takabe Academy several months prior.

Haru looked crestfallen. “To think my father fell so far to associate with criminal elements like that… He always taught me that a certain degree of ruthlessness was necessary to succeed in the corporate world, as well as a need to  _ bend _ rules. He never taught me to discard morality like this…”

Ann reached across the table, touching Haru’s hand. “He wasn’t himself, Haru. Remember? He became completely twisted by his grief.”

Haru nodded tightly; she turned her hand to squeeze Ann’s in gratitude before looking at Sae. “Sorry for the interruption, Sae-san. Please, continue.”

“So, we managed to outline the rough structure of the criminal ‘cell’ your targets comprised. Where the SID was wrong - rather, where  _ I _ was wrong…”

Sae explained her role - and regret - in compiling the circumstantial evidence that laid everything at the feet of the Phantom Thieves.

“I… I should have seen it.” Sae said, shaking her head. “I presented the theory to Director Arai. It was all circumstantial at first, but then  _ conveniently _ , everything just fell into place. Every other previous target dies before they can give us any more information. Haru’s father dies after receiving a calling card, and then another calling card  _ happens _ to show up in Kobayakawa’s office, well after the initial investigation and searches relating to his death… It was too perfect. But all I wanted was an arrest and conviction.”

“And how does Masayoshi Shido fit into this, Sae-san?” Yusuke asked, rubbing his chin. “The only time we heard his name was after Akechi called to report in…”

“That’s just it.” Sae said, gesturing helplessly with one hand. “There  _ isn’t _ any evidence. If it hadn’t been for the trap you all laid out with Amamiya-kun as bait, we’d never have known.”

Ren, silent until now, spoke up. “...In a way, the complete lack of evidence is a clue. Gremlin?”

Futaba nodded, turning her laptop to show everyone. “RenRen had me track Shido’s political career against every mental shutdown and psychotic break I could find in the news. I looked at debates, polls, interviews, everything.”

“Shido’s rise to power was nothing short of meteoric. Every time something bad happened, he took the perfect stance and gained support. Like he knew what was going to happen, and planned his statements and actions in advance.” Ren said. “He gave people what they wanted. An angry, loud voice that promised to  _ do _ something to get their safety back. Even if no one understood why these things were happening, Shido was the only one promising action. And then, we showed up just in time to give him something concrete for everyone to be afraid of. He took a small hit to his popularity right around when we went to Hawaii - when we were at our peak - and after Okumura, he’s become the ‘sure thing’ candidate for Prime Minister. He and Akechi were the only ones to publicly denounce us despite our popularity.”

“To think he actually pulled it off…” Sojiro muttered.

Everyone turned to Leblanc’s owner. Sojiro sighed.

“I used to be in politics - I was in the same party as Shido for around a year. He was like every other young politician. More ambitious than smart.” Sojiro said, frowning. “And he paid for it. He got caught up in a minor scandal, took the blame for some power-grab by another politician. Not enough to get him booted, but enough to hurt his career. After it happened… he changed. He became colder, more obsessed. Told everyone he’d become Prime Minister and ‘fix the corruption’ that nearly ended his career. And sure enough, all the perpetrators of the scandal were either let go or resigned seemingly of their own choice… He’s always been like that. Nobody crossed him without payback, and no one could ever trace it back to him.”

Ryuji looked at Ren, eyes wide. “Do you think the reason he went after you and your family--”

“Anyway…” Ren interrupted. He spoke determinedly. “It sounds like we have a dangerous target. But we didn’t pick him. He picked  _ us _ . And we’re going to make him regret it.”

Ann shifted; gently, she placed a hand over his cracked and bruised ribs. “I think you won’t be able to make anyone regret anything in your state, Wildcard. You need to recover. I know in the Metaverse, you’ll probably move better, but we’ll…”

Ren nodded. “You all should start the investigation without me. I need to rest up a little, I think. I’ve known about his Palace for months. Truthfully, I already have the keywords, too. I haven’t been inside, though… Here. It’s the National Diet, and he sees it as a ship. He tends to use the metaphor a lot in his interviews.”

Ren stood up. “...Keep in touch. Stay safe. Let me know how it goes.”

The team watched, flabbergasted, as Ren quietly left, heading up the stairs carefully.

Ryuji shrugged. “Welp. That was easy. I thought we’d have to tie him up. Hey, so, let’s go check this Palace out!”

The team stood, heading for the door. Ann paused, glancing back at the stairs.

_ ‘That’s not like him at all…’ _

>>>

November 25, 20xx

**MN: So, we got confirmation from Shido’s cognition of Ooe that Kobayakawa was definitely involved in the conspiracy. But he was basically ‘middle management’... No one important enough to actually pick out targets for mental shutdowns. In fact, the ones that leaked Kobayakawa’s involvement in covering up Kamoshida was the conspiracy itself. It’s true he was a loose end and they would have probably taken him out anyway...**

**HO: But they provoked him into going to the police, timing it perfectly with a mental shutdown. They wanted to make it look like he was going to reveal something about the Phantom Thieves, only for them to kill him to conceal it.**

**YK: Truly heinous. He uses his own people as fodder…**

**RS: the more i learn about this shido guy, the more pissed off i get… sorry, renren. you must be going off your rocker**

Ren turned off the screen and put his phone down, plunging him back into darkness. It was late, just before midnight; the text conversation actually happened a few hours ago. The leader of the Phantom Thieves was still having trouble sleeping. But, it wasn’t the injuries - if anything, he was feeling better by the hour. While he wouldn’t be able to train the way he wanted to for a while, at least he’d be able to walk without a limp now.

What was keeping him up now - and what made him want to avoid the Metaverse - was his most recent visit to the Velvet Room.

>>>

“What is this, Igor?” Ren asked, standing in the center of a dilapidated boxing ring. He wore his signature Phantom Thief costume rather than any boxing gear.

Most of the ropes were gone - the few that remained were tattered and hung without tension. Lights on the ceiling illuminated primarily the ring, but also the surrounding gym. Altogether, the effect was unsettling. The Velvet Room has changed forms before, it was true. But this was different. In all of the previous incarnations of the Velvet Room, the surroundings felt somewhat like the masks the Shadows in the Metaverse wore: elaborate, detailed veneer, but still a veneer nonetheless.

Now, as Ren regarded the torn up heavy bags, the rusted weights, the broken glass littering the floor… there was a certain heaviness to the air. A feeling that if he were to step outside the ring and pull the ‘mask’ off his surroundings, he wouldn’t find a true form. He would only find rust, decay, and regret. He looked up as Igor spoke, the long-nosed man’s deep resonating across the abandoned ring.

“As always, Trickster, it is your heart. As you can see, try as you might to separate your ‘selves’, even you know that convenient lie must come to an end.” Igor swept a gloved hand in the air, gesturing at the gym. “Do you not recognize this place?”

Ren did. It was the reason why the air was so stifling; why the setting was so disturbing.

“Coach Takeda’s gym…”

It was the one place that Ren truly held sacred. He loved his parents; he loved his home. But Takeda’s was different. It was a refuge forged by thousands of hours of hard work, determination, and tough love. It was a place where he could  _ be _ . It was the place where he inherited his second father’s fists.

Hot rage boiled through Ren’s heart. His mouth opened to snarl curses at Igor for the desecration. The venom faded before it left his tongue. His eyes widened; he felt sick to his stomach.

This was his own doing.

Igor’s mocking smile widened. “Ah, no recriminations? Accusations? Finally, the prisoner understands the consequences of his choices. You chose the power of the Black Wing. Arsene’s very nature is curse and corruption, Trickster. You forged ahead despite this, telling yourself that it was  _ Joker _ , not  _ Ren Amamiya _ who chose. But you’ve learned that it isn’t so simple.”

Ren closed his eyes, his jaw clenched. It was true. No matter how much he tried to separate himself from Joker’s violence, the consequences were still imprinted onto Ren Amamiya. Because of his choices and actions as a Phantom Thief, people died, even if he wasn’t the killer. Ann and his parents could have been killed, or worse. Haru’s father was stolen from her just as she learned to love him again.

“And now, you will soon face down the man that started all of this. You’ve known about his Palace for quite some time, Trickster. You and I both know the real reason you’ve avoided telling your team.”

Ren let out a slow breath. He nodded slightly.

Igor chuckled. “Fear doesn’t become you, Trickster. Are you afraid of who will strike the finishing blow? Joker, out of clean justice? Or Ren Amamiya, out of enraged vengeance? Or is it simply that you’re worried about how you will react to  _ why _ he ruined your life?”

Yes. All of those things. Worse yet… what if there was  _ no _ reason? What if it was out of simple spite that Shido trampled all over him? His family?

The possibility made him nauseous with rage. There had to be something more. Something that would explain the gravity of the punishment. There had to be.

Igor gestured at the gym again. “This is what has become of your heart from simply using a fraction of what Arsene is capable of. You’ve also felt the physical toll as his power grows. What will become of you when you draw on what’s needed to face Masayoshi Shido? Okumura was aware of his Palace, and was stronger for it. I assure you… He pales in comparison to Shido.”

Even in the Velvet Room, Ren could still feel the weight of Ann’s ring on his chest, still on the chain around his neck.

_ ‘I mean, let’s switch rings. D-don’t get me wrong! I love it. I really do. But… I want to wear yours. And you should wear mine. We’re just borrowing, though, okay? So… so that way, you have to return it to me later. And I have to return it to you.’ _

Neither of them had brought up returning the rings to each other. The danger was still real. They still wanted a promise… rather, a  _ hope _ between them.

Ren knew he would do anything to keep that hope alive. He looked at Igor, resolute.

“Then… what can I do?”

Igor’s smile was sinister, as always.

“I can provide you with alternative strength, Trickster.”

>>>

Ren turned into his side, looking at Mona. The tuxedo cat was fast asleep beside the small space heater they set up in the attic.

_ ‘At least this way, I won’t worry Mona as much.’ _

The alternative strength’ that Igor suggested had come in the form of new Personas - hopefully powerful enough that he wouldn’t need to use the Black Wing as much, if at all. During the day, Mona brought up the subject of Ren’s mysterious power.

_ ‘Hey, Ren? I’ve been meaning to tell you… I still can’t remember very much, but there’s something significant about how your eyes changed color in that fight against Tachibana. I think Arsene was trying to have his Second Awakening. Since we can’t go to school, I’ve had more time to think about it. I think… I think there’s something different about your Second Awakening. I don’t think it’s safe.’ _

Ren glanced at his phone again, reviewing the rest of the conversation once again. The Phantom Thieves were able to get the first letter of introduction from Ooe, but were unable to get much further. Shido’s Palace was considerably challenging; the Shadows were powerful and the cognitions were more effective soldiers than nearly anyone in Okumura’s Palace. He hoped the new Personas would be enough; the team was depending on him. He had to get back into action.

_ ‘Yoshitsune, Alice, Ishtar…’  _ Ren mused, thinking of the three Justine and Caroline had helped him create. The two wardens were unusually quiet during the process; even the ever-irascible Caroline had kept her scoffs and sneers to a minimum. Instead, the two seemed…  _ concerned _ . Unsettled. It was similar to how they acted in August when Igor gave Ren the opportunity to sacrifice Arsene as fuel for a more powerful Persona.

_ ‘Arsene… aren’t you  _ ** _me?_ ** _ Isn’t avoiding your strength just compartmentalizing in a different way? How does it really solve anything?’ _ Ren waited in the darkness for an answer. He knew that in the real world, Arsene couldn’t speak to him - and even in the Metaverse, the spectral thief wasn’t incredibly talkative.

He felt his other self’s presence in his heart. Alien, but familiar. He was just another part of Ren Amamiya, after all. Supposedly.

From Arsene - and perhaps from himself - Ren felt only uncertainty. He supposed that was appropriate. All of his Personas could only experience the world through Ren’s eyes, after all.

_ ‘At times like these… I used to just go to Takeda’s and box. Whenever I was worried, or uncertain, or hesitant…’ _

He shivered as the recollection of Takeda’s, decayed and broken in the Velvet Room, returned to his mind. Even the thought of his sanctuary was little comfort.

Ren glanced at his phone again.  _ ‘...It’s late. I need to sleep. Worrying about this doesn’t change what we all need to do.’ _

He smiled, wryly.  _ ‘...What we need to do  _ ** _after_ ** _ tomorrow, anyway. I bet I’m not the only one losing sleep right now.’ _

>>>

November 26, 20xx

“Wow, Mako-chan. You look  _ terrible _ .” Shiho said, regarding Makoto with benign interest, like she was a zoo animal. In fairness, the student council president had shadows around her eyes, making her look somewhat like a sleep-deprived panda.

“Shiho!” Ann said, approaching the front door to her family’s suite. It was after school on Saturday. Ann, Haru, and Shiho were already there, waiting to help Makoto get ready to meet Ryuji and his mother for dinner. “If you’re going to be horrible, at least let her in-- whoa.”

Ann gawked at Makoto. “Makoto… did you sleep at  _ all _ ?!”

“...A  _ little _ .” Makoto said, stumbling in. “The student council meeting was terrible, too. Things are still in disarray with Kobayakawa gone.”

Although Kobayakawa certainly didn’t have the students’ interests as his first priority, the man was at least a somewhat competent administrator. Acting Principal Matsui was clearly in over his head, delegating more tasks than appropriate to the student council.

Haru quickly approached, a mug of tea in hand for her friend. “Here, Mako-chan!” She led the girl over to the sofa in the living room while Ann took care of the brunette’s bags. “It’s sweet that you’re so worried about meeting Ryuji’s mother…”

Makoto groaned, holding the mug in both hands as she drank. “It doesn’t make sense. I frequently speak with other students’ parents in my role as the student council president…”

“It makes plenty of sense, Makoto.” Ann said, patting her shoulder as she sat on the back of the sofa, sifting through the shopping bag Makoto brought along to inspect her chosen outfit. “I was nervous when I met Ren’s mother in person, too. Even though she’s super-nice. ...Oh. And if  _ this _ is what you plan to wear, you have every right to be anxious.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m going to wear?” Makoto asked, startled.

Ann withdrew Makoto’s black turtleneck sweater and black pants from the bag. She gestured at Makoto’s turquoise coat. “Are you planning to wear your coat the whole time?”

“...No. Why?”

“When you take off the coat, you’re one beret away from looking like a beat poet. Or if I get creative with your makeup, a mime.” Ann said, cheerfully. “But don’t worry! I can totally fix this. Come on!”

Ann started dragging Makoto towards her room.

“W-wait. How do you have anything in my size?!”

“I thought this might happen.” Ann chirped. “I did some shopping.”

Makoto turned, wide-eyed. She thrust an arm out toward Shiho and Haru for help, just before she was dragged into Ann’s room. The door closed behind her.

Shiho shrugged. “Nice knowing her.”

Haru giggled. After a moment, she sighed. “...This, this is nice. To have us all relax, and focus on something that isn’t Phantom Thief related.”

Shiho nodded. “...Guess I’m pretty far beyond plausible deniability, now. Hell, the star prosecutor of the SID knows I’m involved. But, yeah. It’s nice, for now. Blondie’s pretty worried about Ren.”

“Me too.” Haru said, quietly. “I haven’t known him as long as the rest of you, but he wasn’t acting like himself the other day.”

Makoto’s startled voice was audible through the door. “W-w-what is this?! Why would you buy underwear, too?! How did you even know my size?”

“Well, you can’t wear just  _ anything _ under this dress. And it’ll make you feel more confident! Let’s just get this off~”

“!! I can do it! I can do it myself!”

Shiho took a sip of her tea, chuckling at the muffled sounds of the struggle. She then looked over at Haru again.

“Mm. Yeah. The champ was off, for sure. From what Ann tells me, he’s been showing some signs of PTSD… Hypervigilance and sleep disturbance, especially. At least he isn’t just trying to hide it, like he might have a few months ago. He’s actually talking to Ann, and to the Doc occasionally. Takemi-sensei actually suggested he try to do something ‘normal’ rather than focusing on Shido every minute. So right now he’s over helping RyuRyu out. Ann insisted on helping Mako-chan with this dinner for similar reasons. Partly to take her mind off of things, and also as a break for us, too. Gremlin’s coming as well. She wanted to challenge herself by going out alone to get snacks for us. If we weren’t doing this, Blondie would be driving herself crazy with worry.”

“She really loves him, doesn’t she…?” Haru said, quietly.

“She does.” Shiho said. She smiled gently at Haru. “...And she’s worried about you too, you know.”

Haru blinked. “...Me?”

Shiho nodded. “You. She already considers you a close friend. She told me that she can’t imagine what you’ve gone through. What you’re still going through. She thinks you’re one of the strongest people she’s met.”

The two girls were quiet for a moment. Shiho looked up at a knock on the door.

“Ah. Ann must have buzzed Futaba in…” Shiho let the orange-haired girl in. Futaba grinned proudly, putting a plastic shopping bag down on the kitchen island.

“Snacks acquired!” Futaba crowed. She started pulling out bowls of instant ramen.

“...Gremlin. All you bought was  _ ramen _ . The ramen you eat  _ every _ day.” Shiho said, raising an eyebrow.

“...yeah! It’s my staple food, remember?” Futaba said.

“I swear to God, I’m going to hold you down and force-feed you protein and calcium.” Shiho said, laughing. “Seriously.”

The door to Ann’s room opened; the blonde girl was forcibly pushed out, the door slamming shut behind her.

Ann grinned sheepishly at the curious looks from Haru, Futaba, and Shiho. “I got her hair and makeup done. She’s insisting on doing the rest herself.”

“Blondie, I’m pretty sure she can get dressed.” Shiho said, smirking. “Didn’t think you’d get that handsy with someone other than the champ.”

“Har har.” Ann said. Her phone buzzed. “Oh. Speaking of…”

Ann blinked, reading the text. Then, with a giddy little smile she reserved for Ren, she started to reply… Until Shiho snatched the phone from her. Gasping, Ann lurched toward her friend, who nimbly dodged.

“Let’s see…” Shiho said, reading. “Aw, how cute. ‘Hey, Songbird. Ryuji’s mom left him to do the cooking because something came up at her work, and she’s going to barely be on time. It’s a disaster. Do you mind if I help?’ Is he  _ seriously _ asking if you’re okay with him cooking for someone else? He’s already made me a bento before, for Sports Day!”

“Please. You’re like a sister to both of us by now. An  _ annoying _ sister-- What are you texting him?!”

“Nothing big. ‘Hey, sexy. You can cook whatever you want for them, just make sure you have something hot and spicy for me later..’ “ Shiho mumbled. “Aaaannnd  _ sent. _ ”

“Oh, you’re going to suffer for that, Suzui.” Ann muttered, finally grabbing her phone back. She made a show of looking annoyed, despite the fact that what Shiho sent was remarkably close to what she was planning to text Ren anyways. The four girls looked up as the door to Ann’s bedroom opened, revealing Makoto.

“...I look weird, don’t I…?” Makoto said, uncertain.

“...Holy. Blondie, you’re a miracle worker.”

>>>

“RenRen, you’re a lifesaver!” Ryuji said, grinning. He looked over Ren’s shoulder as the leader of the Phantom Thieves quickly whipped up a batch of Leblanc’s curry. “Thanks!”

“Happy to do it, buddy.” Ren said, smiling. “How are you doing with all of this?”

“Fine.” Ryuji said, shrugging. He grinned. “I’m not too worried about this. Ma’s already over the moon about my grades. When she finds out I’m dating the girl who ‘straightened me out’, she’s going to freak. In the good way.”

Ren nodded. He reached over to the beef that Ryuji had over-cooked earlier, taking a sharp knife and slicing the meat as thin as possible before adding it to the curry. “That’s good. Makoto’s pretty worried, though?”

“Yeah…” Ryuji said, shrugging. “She’s so  _ together _ in every other part of her life, but when it comes to this stuff… ...heh. Well. Don’t tell her I said this, but she’s really cute when she gets worked up about this stuff, y’know?”

Ren smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that’s  _ exactly _ the kind of thing you should tell her?

Ryuji blinked, and then grinned. “...Heh. You’re probably right. Hey, RenRen. Can I ask your advice?”

“Shoot.” Ren said, dipping a tasting spoon into the curry. “Pass me the cumin?”

“You know how Makoto and I missed, at Destinyland? How was it for you and Ann?” Ryuji said, passing the cumin.

He and Ren glanced at each other awkwardly for a moment, before Ren refocused on the curry, and Ryuji became very interested in the soccer highlights playing on the TV in the living room, visible from the kitchen. After a brief pause, Ren spoke. He wasn’t used to kissing and telling, but his best friend was reaching out.

“Sudden.” Ren said, shaking his head. “It happened right after the first time we went into Madarame’s Palace.”

“For real?! That early?!” Ryuji asked, shocked. “That… that was like,  _ weeks _ before you two started dating.”

“Like I said, Ryuji. We did everything out of order. There’s just something about her. Something about  _ us _ . Sometimes I wonder how things would have gone if Kamoshida hadn’t driven up and interrupted us that morning.” Ren paused, laughing helplessly. “In another life, I might have just asked her out right then and there.”

“So… what should  _ I _ do, then?”

“Same thing as always, buddy. Just be you. It’s what got you the girl in the first place. Sure, we set up the opportunity in Hawaii… But no one made you run to check on Makoto. And no one made you flake on Hifumi to run to Makoto in Shinjuku, either.” Ren said. “Your heart’s in the right place.”

“Thanks, man.” Ryui grinned, but his smile faded after a moment. “...And how are you? When you were in the bathroom, Mona mentioned you haven’t been sleeping well before he took off.”

Ren sighed. “...I’ll be back in action with you all tomorrow. I won’t lie, Ryuji. I’m not 100%, for various reasons. But we don’t have a choice. From what you all told me, this is the toughest Palace we’ve faced yet. December 18th isn’t  _ that _ far away…”

“It’ll be good to have you back, man. But don’t worry. We’re all right there with you. You’ve helped all of us settle up our problems in the Metaverse. This is our chance to pay you back.” Ryuji said, nodding firmly.

Ren affected a smile.  _ ‘Nice sentiment… But I can’t let any of you guys get hurt for my benefit.’ _

“We’re just missing dessert.” Ren said, frowning.

“Oh. We’ve got that covered. Makoto didn’t want to show up empty-handed, so she’s going to Ma’s favorite bakery. They make this matcha Swiss roll cake that Ma goes crazy for.”

>>>

Tsubaki Sakamoto, Ryuji’s mother, walked at a brisk pace from the bus stop closest to the flat she shared with her son. She took out her phone to check the time, sighing in relief. She’d barely make it on time to get changed. The meeting at her primary job, a secretary at a small import/export business, had gone on a little longer than she expected.

_ ‘I hope Ryu-chan managed alright with dinner… I’d hate to have to order delivery food for his senpai.’ _

Right on cue, her phone chimed.

**RS: hey ma! dinner’s all taken care of! ** (triumphant porcupine, thumbs up)

**TS: Really? So the steak came out alright? **

Tsubaki was a little worried about it. The steaks were a gift from a friend at her other job, part-timing at a convenience store. It was normally out of their price range, so Tsubaki had only a rough idea of how to prepare it. And she was quite sure that her son had  _ no _ idea how to prepare them. Her anxiety increased as she saw the ellipsis signifying that Ryuji was writing a response. And then deleting it. And then re-writing it.

**RS: i uh, overcooked them. but don’t worry! i managed to salvage it. sliced super thin, and then put into a curry. it’s great**

Tsubaki smirked, her fingers flying over the screen.

**TS: Sounds good, Ryu-chan! Tell Ren-kun I said thanks.**

**RS: how did you know!?**

**TS: I’m your mother, silly.**

Tsubaki rounded the corner, heading to the local bakery.  _ ‘Just enough time to pick up dessert…’ _

“I’m  _ not _ alone! I’m going to meet my boyfriend!”

Tsubaki blinked at the scene in front of her. A pale, pretty girl in a navy blue dress with a white Peter Pan collar stood in front of the bakery. She was almost certainly a teenager, but her makeup and dark brown hair looked almost professionally done. In the conservative dress, teal coat, and sensible shoes, she was the very picture of a demure Japanese girl going out on an innocent date with the boy she liked.

It would have been adorable, if it weren’t for the two boys blocking the girl’s path into the bakery. Also teenagers, judging by how terrible their pick-up lines were.

“Come  _ on _ , baby. You’re alone  _ now _ , aren’t you? We can go in here together, buy something sweet together…”

Tsubaki rolled her eyes. She stepped forward, smiling widely and waving at the girl as she pretended to know her. “Ah! Ritsuka-chan! What are you doing here? You’re going to be late!”

The girl turned to face Tsubaki, wide-eyed.

Up close, Tsubaki was briefly caught off-guard. This girl really  _ was _ pretty. Her almond-shaped eyes had an almost reddish hue to the brown irises; her make-up had been done in such a way to not be terribly obvious, instead just enhancing what was there. Whoever the boyfriend was, he was going to be floored.

_ ‘Nice to be young… A girl like this is way out of Ryu-chan’s league, though.’ _

The girl caught on quickly. “Ah. Sorry,  _ Mother _ .”

_ ‘Oh. She’s smart, too…’ _

The two women walked in past the boys. Tsubaki waved a hand in that polite gesture of dismissive modesty as the pretty girl in the dress bowed deeply to her to thank you.

“Thank you, ma’am.” She said. “That sort of thing hasn’t really happened to me before. I didn’t really know what to do when they wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Ah. Don’t worry about it.” Tsubaki said, smiling. “Though, it’s hard to believe you don’t get any attention from the boys.”

The girl blinked, blushing. She rattled off several quick denials, utterly flustered by the remark.

_ ‘Really cute.’ _ Tsubaki thought, amused. She bowed in return to the girl before heading to the counter to order.  _ ‘Let’s see… Swiss roll, Swiss roll…’ _

Makoto watched Tsubaki head to the counter before adjusting her coat, sighing. She really had been caught off-guard by the random solicitation. The closest thing to that she experienced before was the time she wandered into Shinjuku alone, and that was different - it was a sleazy host. This was two seemingly normal high school boys.

_ ‘I thought they just wanted directions…’  _ Makoto groused, heading to the counter as well. She adjusted her dress, glancing at the hem that ended an inch above her knees.  _ ‘This is completely impractical. If that had turned into a fight, I wouldn’t have been able to kick.’ _

That was why the student council president insisted on wearing leggings, even in the summer. It made delivering a  _ mawashi geri _ in a skirt feasible.

She reached the counter. The woman who had come to her rescue was already being helped by one employee. A second one caught Makoto’s attention.

“Welcome! How can I help you?”

Makoto smiled politely. “One matcha Swiss roll, please.”

The first employee and Tsubaki paused, turning to look at Makoto.

“Ah…! I’m so sorry, miss. This lady just purchased the last one.”

“Oh…” Makoto mumbled. She started looking at the rest of the cakes, wondering if anything else would work. She was disappointed, though. Ryuji had been uncharacteristically specific about his mother’s penchant for this particular bakery’s Swiss roll cake. It was hard to hide her disappointment as she chewed on her lip, thinking.

A rustle of paper caught Makoto’s attention as one of the bakery’s shopping bags was slide sideways across the counter to her. Blinking, she looked up at the woman who rescued her. She was smiling at her, with kindly brown eyes. The expression was oddly familiar and comforting. Makoto’s eyes widened as she looked down at the cake again. She couldn’t be…

“You should take it, sweetie.” Tsubaki said, smiling. “You’re obviously going on a date, or something to do with a boy~”

“I.. it’s…!” Makoto stammered, turning red as the employees behind the counter started to giggle and smile knowingly.

Tsubaki waved a hand, laughing. “It’s fine! It’s totally fine. Take it, I don’t get to play matchmaker very much, you know?”

Makoto, thoroughly embarrassed, mumbled a thank you. She paid, and left the store.

“Oh? You’re heading this way, too?” Tsubaki asked, curiously.

“Ah…” Makoto checked her phone. “I think so. My … ...my boyfriend said it’s this way.”

Tsubaki beamed. “Great! You can keep an old woman company, then.”

“You’re  _ hardly _ old, ma’am.” Makoto replied, smiling.

“Careful. You’ll make me blush.”

They walked on in silence for a moment before Tsubaki eyed Makoto sidelong, unable to contain her curiosity. “So? Is he handsome? Kind? He must be, to deserve this kind of effort.”

Makoto shook her head. “No… It’s not just that. I’m meeting his family today, too.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a big deal!” Tsubaki said. “I’m sure they’ll love you. So. Gossip a little with me, make me feel like a high schooler again. What do you like about him?”

Makoto hesitated - she was only just starting to get comfortable doing the ‘girl talk’ thing with Ann, Shiho, and Haru. This was some stranger, albeit a kind one. But still - there was something in the woman’s earnest, friendly expression that made the brunette feel at ease. She found herself happy to talk to her.

“I think… I think the best thing about him is his heart.” Makoto said, smiling a little as she looked ahead. They were getting close to the Sakamoto residence.

“His heart? That’s an odd answer for a girl your age.”

“I suppose it is.” Makoto chuckled. “But it’s really the best thing about him. He’s scatterbrained, sometimes. And sometimes he’ll say things or do things that drive me up the wall. But his heart is always in the right place. He’s courageous and kind… But he thinks so little of himself, even though he wants to dedicate his life to becoming a teacher and making sure his students have a safe place to learn and grow.”

“He sounds wonderful.” Tsubaki said, smiling. “If only my son would shape up like that. He’s a second year high school student and he still hasn’t figured out what he wants to do with his life. Can you believe that?”

“Oh? You have a son? What school does he go to?” Makoto asked, somewhat distractedly. The apartment complex was just ahead, on the right.

“Shujin Academy, in Aoyama-Itchome.”

Makoto almost walked into a telephone pole. “R-r-really?! You don’t say!”

The brunette put it all together in that moment. The bakery. The Swiss roll cake. The familiar smile and expression. The reason why she felt so comfortable around this woman so quickly. Why wouldn’t she, when she resembled her son so much?

This was Ryuji’s mother. And Makoto had just poured her heart out, professing her feelings about her only son to her without either of them realizing it. Makoto’s hands turned white as she clutched the paper handles of the shopping bag that contained the cake.

_ ‘If there is a God, the ground will open up in front of me and swallow me up.’ _

“Mmhm! In fact, that’s why I wanted this cake, too. We’re having his senpai over as a ‘thank you’. She really helped him turn his grades around. She sounds like a nice girl. Ah, this is my stop.” Tsubaki pushed the gate open to the complex, laughing. “Really, though, I’d take any excuse to buy this cake. It’s…”

_ ‘It’s her favorite. Matcha Swiss roll, from the bakery down the street. I mean, if you bring that over, you could tell her that you’re the leader of an all-girl delinquent gang, and she’d still love you!’ _

Makoto cringed at the memory. She couldn’t even blame Ryuji for this - she was the one that asked if there was anything in particular she should bring.

Tsubaki looked up the front door to her home on the third floor of the complex, sighing in relief. “No smoke, at least. That’s a good sign. Anyway, have a good day. Good luck meeting the parents!--”

“Sakamoto-san!” Makoto almost shouted.

“...Oh? I didn’t tell you my…” Tsubaki turned back to Makoto, trailing off.

Makoto held the bag with the cake out, her body inclined in a bow. “It’s… it’s nice to meet you. I’m Makoto Niijima. Your son’s senpai. ...And.. …”

She barely squeaked out the last word.

“...girlfriend.”

Tsubaki’s hand went to her mouth. “...Oh. Oh, my.”

>>>

After that disaster of an introduction, the rest of the evening didn’t seem nearly as daunting. Tsubaki was genuinely grateful to Makoto for helping Ryuji with his studies. It was also the first time she had heard of Ryuji’s plan to become a teacher, and Tsubaki was thrilled.

Makoto finished her slice of the Swiss roll cake, now considerably more relaxed. “You’re right, Tsubaki-san. This cake is amazing.”

“Right?” Tsubaki said, beaming. She then waved her hands frantically as Makoto started to gather the dishes. “No! No, no no. Let me and Ryu-chan deal with those. I can’t have you staining that dress!”

“Ah, Ma? Can’t we just deal with the dishes later--”

“No. Kitchen. Now.” Tsubaki said, pleasantly.

Bewildered, Ryuji gathered the plates. He cast a confused glance at Makoto, shrugging once before following his mother into the kitchen.

Makoto watched curiously. Fortunately for her, Tsubaki’s whispering wasn’t as quiet as the woman thought - apparently, Ryuji’s inability to be discreet about anything was genetic. Makoto felt her face burn as she caught several key snippets of the harshly whispered conversation. Things like, ‘how did you trick a girl like that into dating you?!’ and ‘you should have heard the things she was saying about you on the way here!’ and finally, ‘don’t you DARE screw this up! She’s perfect!’

Tsubaki reappeared, pushing Ryuji ahead of herself with a hand on his shoulder. She was the picture of a serene mother again, smiling fondly at Ryuji and Makoto. “Thank you so much for coming over, Niijima-san.”

“Ah… Makoto is fine, Tsubaki-san.” Makoto said, coughing.

“Makoto-chan, then! Anyway, it’s getting late, and I’m working tomorrow.” Tsubaki said, seemingly apologetically. “Ryuji should walk you home.”

“Really? It’s not that far, and--”

Tsubaki ‘whispered’ again. “Don’t get in your own way, Ryu-chan.”

>>>

Ryuji walked alongside Makoto, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Heh. Well, that was something, huh?”

“Mm.” Makoto said. She had been quiet for most of the walk home. Ryuji and his mother also lived in Setagaya, so it was only ten minutes to the apartment she shared with Sae.

“...Hey, Makoto? Are you alright? You’ve been really quiet.” Ryuji said. “I mean, I know the introduction wasn’t exactly standard, but the rest of it went really well, didn’t it?”

Makoto frowned. “...I hope so… ...Uhm, Ryuji…”

“Yeah?”

“...Did she tell you what I said? Before I knew who she was, and while we were walking here.” Makoto asked. 

Ryuji shook his head. “Uh… No. Not really. She said I ‘should have heard it’, followed by ‘don’t screw up’...?”

Makoto suppressed a little laugh as they reached her building, relieved that Tsubaki hadn’t gotten into any further details with her son. Makoto might have died. “It wasn’t anything earth-shattering. I just told her how important you are to me. I’m really glad she likes me.”

“Of course she does!” Ryuji said, nodding. “I told you she’d love you.”

Makoto shook her head. “What made you so sure?”

“Because  _ I _ do.” Ryuji said, reflexively. He was startled by his own words; his eyes widening. “Uh.. .. I mean…”

Makoto had her hands clasped in front of her. Her pale cheeks were rosy pink, now, and not from the cool weather. She eyed the ground in front of Ryuji’s feet, stealing a glance up at him - and then quickly looking down again when he caught her.

“...You look really cute, you know.” Ryuji blurted out.

Makoto looked up. “W-what?!”

Ryuji laughed. “Aheh. Sorry… I was just saying to Ren earlier that when you get like this, when you let down your guard and show how you’re really feeling - you’re really cute. It makes me happy that you’re comfortable around me.”

Makoto nodded, biting her lip nervously as she looked down at the ground again.

Ryuji frowned.  _ ‘Maybe that was the wrong move…?’ _

“Ryuji? Remember Destinyland?”

“How could I forget?” Ryuji said, smiling at the memory.

Makoto looked up at him. She smiled, still looking nervous, but seeming as though she had come to a decision. She took a step closer to him. “...Remember how I ‘missed’...?”

>>>

At Crossroads, Ren sat at his usual place at the piano. Ann was beside him, in  _ her _ usual place, when she accompanied him. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder as he played the soft melody to the Norah Jones arrangement of ‘The Nearness of You’. Ren glanced at his phone; the screen lit up with a text message.

Ann reached over, showing Ren the text so he wouldn’t have to stop playing.

**RS: bro. bro, thank you! dinner went great! and we made up for the ‘miss’!**

Ann raised an eyebrow curiously. “Miss?”

Ren just smiled, continuing to play. “Not my story to tell, Songbird.”

“Mm. Alright.” Ann said, shrugging. “I guess it means things went well?”

“Really well.” Ren said. “I think between your makeover and my curry, those two are well on the way.”

“Heh. Just a couple of cupids, you and I.” Ann said, giggling. She sighed, looking at the time on his phone. “Shouldn’t we get going, soon? You still need to rest.”

“Just one more song after this one, Ann.” Ren said, smiling. “I can’t train right now, so this is my second favorite way to relax… ...Well, third favorite.”

“What rounds out the top three, if boxing and piano are the other two?”

Ren finished the song, taking his phone back during the brief break. He smirked a little as he scrolled through the texts before showing his phone to Ann again.

**AT: Hey, sexy. You can cook whatever you want for them, just make sure you have something hot and spicy for me later..**

Scandalized, Ann started smacking Ren’s arm. “I told you, Shiho sent that! And aren’t you too injured for  _ that _ , anyway?!”

“Getting better. Is that a no, then?” He asked, his voice low, smoky. His smirk softened into a little smile; his grey eyes twinkled with the reflection of the candles that Lala used as decor.

“...I… I hate how that always works.” Ann murmured, her eyes drifting from his eyes and down to the vintage-cut suit he wore for this job. She made a note to leave Lala a tip for having the outfit tailored to fit Ren’s broad shoulders better. It made it easier for Ann to imagine what they looked like under the suit, under the shirt. It made it  _ much _ easier to recall how they felt under her hands as he--

“Do you  _ really _ hate it?” Ren asked, smirking again. He had her at ‘is that a no, then?’ and he knew it.

“...I… have distinctly mixed feelings about it. Mixed enough that you should come over tonight and help me sort it out.” Ann said, leaning against him again.

Ren gave a short laugh. “Of course.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Wildcard. But I want to make sure I get to spend a long time trying to figure that out.” Ann sighed. “Things… things are really going to pick up after tonight, aren’t they?”

“They are.” Ren said. “But we’ll find a way.”

Ann nodded. She played with Ren’s ring, the one she still wore around on a chain. Idly, she looked around. “...There aren’t many people here tonight, are there?”

“Hm? Pretty much par for the course, for Crossroads. I don’t know how Lala-chan keeps this place afloat.”

“You’re lucky you’re pretty, Miyaya! That was rude!” Lala scolded, from the bar. She waved a cocktail strainer at Ren threateningly, but then smiled ‘prettily’ at him. “Maybe if you sing for everyone here tonight, I’ll let you off the hook.”

“Not a chance.” Ren said, flatly. “Besides, my singing voice belongs to this girl right here, remember?”

“Ah, right.” Lala said. She smirked. “...then, Ann-chan. Can Miyaya sing for everyone here tonight?”

Ann blinked, and then looked thoughtful rather than rejecting the proposal outright.

“H-hey! Songbird?!”

Ann smiled. “...Let’s do it, Ren. It’ll be fun.”

“No. No way. You know I-- ...wait. ‘Let’s’?” Ren asked, curious.

Ann nodded. She leaned over, whispering the song and arrangement in Ren’s ear.

“...Oh.” Ren laughed, smiling. “Strange way to honor the budding romance of our friends.”

“...It’s more for us.” Ann said, shaking her head. “...Something else to put into the universe, just like these rings.”

Ren leaned over, kissing Ann’s cheek. “Alright, Songbird… I’ll start us off, then.”

The boxer slash recreational jazz pianist started playing the opening of a duet. He glanced at Ann, who gave him a reassuring smile and a kiss returned to his own cheek. Ren took a breath, starting to sing.

“Don’t take your love… away from me. Don’t you leave my heart in misery...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The duet at the end is the Peter Cincotti/Renee Olstead version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" - no, no break up impending. As Ann said, just putting something out into the universe. Because what else can they do?
> 
> We are barreling towards a conclusion to the P5 main story, here. Hence the reason for posting this chapter solo (don't stay up late hoping for a double/triple update). The chapters following this one will probably be written 'together', maybe 3-4 in total. Ish. I dunno. I keep underestimating. The final two Palaces will go a little faster, as I don't think much needs to be changed vs the canon. But I don't really think anyone wants me to re-write the whole mouse dungeon.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	37. Hanuman Thayarn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The ‘hanuman thayarn’ or flying knee strike, is a devastating blow used in professional MMA. Adapted from Muay Thai, this strike is capable of providing tremendous knockout power. It is a spectacular move and crowd-pleaser, responsible for dozens of highlight-reel knockouts in the octagon. This strike is most often used against an off-balance fighter recovering from a previous strike, but can also be devastating as the first strike of a match against an overconfident or unsuspecting opponent._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two terms to know ahead of reading, I think. Kotatsu = heated table, meant to sit around it on the floor. Tends to make you sleepy. And comfy. Not so good for productivity.
> 
> The other one - thundershirt. Product meant to help calm pets down when overstimulated/thunderstorm etc.
> 
> Apologies for any typos/etc. Lately I've been in a situation where I basically have to sneak away to write this even when I'm at home.

December 3, 20xx 

“Okay, Mika-chan! It’s your turn! Complete the following idiom: even a dog won’t eat…” The peppy game show hostess in the silver mini dress smiled vapidly at Mika, waiting for her answer.

Mika looked at the camera, a carefully formed ‘television smile’ on her pretty face. “...durian?”

The audience both tittered and groaned.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mika-chan! Mamoru-san, it’s your chance to steal!”

The pro boxer blinked, looking somewhat drowsily at the camera. He was apparently doodling on a napkin in front of him. “...Eh? Sorry, what was that, Yuna-chan?”

The hostess giggled, waving a hand at the pro-boxer. “Oh, Mamoru-san~ I keep having to repeat these for you! And you’re so familiar with my name already~”

“...You _ asked _ me to call you Yuna-chan.” Yamanaka said, looking confused.

“Oh, you. Complete the following idiom: even a dog won’t eat…”

“Even a dog won’t eat a married couple’s quarrel.” The lightweight world champion returned to his doodling.

“That’s right! That’s _ another _ steal for Yamanaka-san! Looks like his counterpunch applies to quiz bowl, too! Megu-tan, what _ is _he drawing, anyway?”

Megumi Ito, Yamanaka’s partner for the game show, laughed. She nudged Yamanaka. The champ blinked, and then held up his doodle. It was an incredibly badly drawn stick-figure boxing match. The audience laughed again.

“Haha! Looks like the champ really does have a boxing glove for a brain! But even so, Team MeguMamo is beating the snot out of Team Mikechi! Stay tuned, everyone! Will MeguMamo continue dominating?! Will Mikechi finally score a point?! Find out on Celebrity Tag-Team Quiz Parade, after the break!”

Mika’s smile evaporated as she turned to glare at her partner. “Ugh. I only agreed to waste a Saturday night on this because I was told my partner would actually be good at this and it was a chance to beat Takamaki. Instead I find that she flaked, _ and _ that my partner’s useless.”

Akechi continued to smile placidly. His eyebrow twitched slightly, though. “Asakura-san… Are you having a little trouble with these idioms? Perhaps I could run a few by you during the break, in case she asks you more.”

“I’m fine.” Mika scoffed. “I haven’t missed that many.”

“You’ve missed three, Asakura-san.” Akechi said, his smile becoming increasingly strained. “And you misremembered third-grade level kanji…”

“Right. Because _ you’ve _been pulling your weight.” Mika replied, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I’ve certainly been--”

“_ Bouzu ga byoubi ni jouzu ni bouzu no e wo kaita.” _ Mika shot back, the tongue-twister flowiing smoothly from her lips.

Akechi felt hot under his collar. “That was just one--”

_ “Akamakigami, kimakigami, aomakigami.” _

“That was a steal! That didn’t result in us losing a question of our own, and besides, it’s not that I can’t say them, I--”

“_ Kono takegaki ni take tatekaketa no wa take tatekaketakatta kara, take tatekaketa. _If you’re so damn confident, say it. Or are you scared?” Mika said, scowling at Akechi.

“Fine! Fine… ..Kono takegaki ni take takaka.. k-kate ta ta… ke.. … …” Akechi turned bright red as Mika started to snicker. “That one’s just _ completely _unreasonable! Who could possibly remember that one, let alone speak it?! It’s a completely useless skill anyway!” Akechi shot back, his smile finally fading. This was utterly humiliating. Mamoru Yamanaka, who was barely paying attention, was cleaning the floor with ‘Team Mikechi’. 

Mika rolled her eyes. “I never would have thought that the Detective Prince responsible for taking down the Phantom Thieves would have a crippling inability to recite tongue-twisters. This is humiliating. I came here to one up Takamaki, but it turns out that if she _ was _ here, it would have been way worse. Having Megumi Ito kick my ass is _ slightly _ more acceptable.”

Akechi felt slightly smug at Ann not being there, his smile returning. _ ‘Probably too busy mourning the loss of her precious ‘Wildcard’... She’ll join him soon enough, though.’ _

He turned his attention back to Yamanaka, frowning. It seemed that boxing had become an unwanted recurring theme in Akechi’s life.

“Annnnd we’re back! Akechi-kun! This is your question! Please explain the significance of the _ Kobayashi Maru _ incident!”

Akechi blinked, surprised. He then smiled confidently. “Funny enough, someone asked me that recently! The _ Kobayashi Maru _was a Japanese steamship on which a group of people from British India attempted to emigrate to Canada in 1914. The incident highlighted the prejudice against minorities in Canadian immigration laws at the time.”

Akechi smiled for the camera. The smile slowly faded as he noticed the incredulous stares from the audience, the quiet murmurs.

“...That’s not it, right?”

“He sounds so confident…”

Yuna glanced at her tablet. “Er… Sorry, Akechi-kun. That’s uh.. ..no. It’s not even close. The judges are telling me that you’re probably thinking of the ** _Komagata_ ** _ Maru _. Megu-tan? Your chance to steal!”

Megumi grinned. “The _ Kobayashi Maru _ is actually a fictional training exercise from _ Star Trek _! The idea is that it’s supposed to be a no-win scenario, designed to test how cadets respond to the extreme stress of being faced with certain destruction. It’s significant because instead of just giving up, Captain Kirk reprogrammed the computer so that it would be possible to win. When questioned about it, he said ‘I don’t believe in no-win scenarios’. Some computer security educators now use this as an example of ‘stepping outside the rules’ in order to get ahead of black-hat hackers.”

“Wow, Megu-tan! That’s completely correct! Are you… a Trekkie!?”

Megumi giggled. The pretty model turned to the camera - instead of flashing a ‘V’ sign, she instead made the Vulcan salute - likely winning the hearts of science-fiction fans everywhere. “Live long and prosper, everyone!”

The crowd laughed and clapped as yet more points were added to Team MeguMamo. Mika rolled her eyes visibly, unable to help herself despite the fact that they were live.

“Even _ I _ knew that it was some nerd thing. God… Why did I get the _ worst _ possible partner? This is unbelievable. I thought you were some kind of genius. I need to talk to my agent...”

“A no-win scenario…” Akechi mumbled, ignoring Mika. He thought back to the last time he heard the term ‘_ Kobayashi Maru’. _

_ ‘A ‘no-win’ scenario…?’ _

_ ‘Indeed.’ _

_ ‘...Have you heard of the Kobayashi Maru?’ _

_ ‘...The Japanese steamship? The one that carried 376 passengers from British India to Vancouver, Canada?’ _

_ ‘...Yes. Exactly. Thank you - that’s been bothering me since the exam. Goodnight, Akechi.’ _

Akechi frowned thoughtfully. He remembered just in time to plaster a smile on his face as the camera turned back to him. But he was unable to shake the unsettling feeling from his mind. Had Amamiya said _ Kobayashi Maru _ , or _ Komagata Maru _…?

>>>

Skull frowned, looking down through the door into the large ballroom ahead of them. “Bro. Are you sure that little gadget you cooked up with Oracle’s gonna work?”

“I’m _ paws _itive.” Ren said, nodding.

Futaba sighed. “You promised you’d _ stop _, Joker!”

Yusuke frowned. “Indeed, Joker. You told Oracle you’d quit it with the mouse puns. The fact that you’re persisting isn’t very _ mice _.”

The entire group groaned, with the except of Ren and Yusuke. They had spent the last several days working through the Cruiser of Pride, making reasonable progress. They had two letters of introduction already - the first from Ooe, obtained when Ren was still recovering from his interrogation and brief imprisonment. The second just yesterday, from the perverted former nobleman. They had been working their way through mice mazes, Shadows, and cognitions of elite security forces slowly, but surely. Ren had managed to avoid using the Black Wing, relying primarily on Yoshitsune and Alice to carry his offense, Ishtar for healing.

But none of them could help with the obstacle ahead of them, now.

The ballroom they faced was another ‘mouse’ section of the cruiser, but with no way to shut off the statue in the massive room. There was no maze, either. And no Shadows. Just cognitions - of _ cats _.

Ren frowned, looking ahead. “This has to work. Everyone ready? I’ll throw this, and then we need to move quickly and quietly. Not a _ squeak _ out of any of us. We’ll really have to _ cheese _ it. ...Songbird? Why are you staring?”

Ann shook her head. “I’m having one of those rare moments where I’m deciding if I love you enough to make up for the bad puns.”

“And?”

“It’s not looking good.”

“Oh. _ Rats _.” Ren said, his expression nonchalant.

“...Just throw the damn doohickey, Wildcard.” Ann said, suppressing a laugh. She kissed his cheek.

Ren grinned - he threw the spherical device into the room. It bounced once, and then rolled to a stop. The clowder of cats turned curiously to face it. The item was made out of clear plastic; inside, there was a metallic mechanism. It whirred and clicked, starting to whine.

“...Joker… You didn’t make a _ bomb _ to kill those poor cats, did you?” Haru asked, frowning.

“Hardly. Wait for it…”

Suddenly, the device activated. A multitude of harmless lasers shot out from the sphere, green and red dots moving rapidly on the walls around the ballroom.

“Now! Move it!” Ren said, darting into the room.

“Oh, come on. This couldn’t possibly work--... Oh my God.” Makoto breathed, eyes wide. The cognitive cats were chasing the dots, jumping at the walls, completely ignoring Ren. “Let’s go! Follow Joker!”

The Phantom Thieves ran across the ballroom quickly, turning into their human forms on the other side.

Ren sighed, with a relieved grin. “Looks like we all made it-- ...Mona, no! Look away from the light!”

The littlest Phantom Thief was walking back towards the ballroom, entranced by the moving dots. “...Wha? Oh, sure, Joker. Just… hold on a sec. I need to catch that red dot over there…”

The laser device clicked off.

Mona blinked. “Er.. ...what was I…” He fell silent.

Ryuji grinned at Mona. “_ Cat _ got your tongue, Mona?”

“Shut it, Ryuji! You saw _ nothing! _”

“Oh, I saw plenty. I know what to get you for Christmas now, buddy--”

Makoto put her hand on Ryuji’s shoulder. “Now isn’t the time for joking, Skull. The entertainment hall’s right ahead.”

Ryuji nearly jumped out of his skin at the contact, looking over at Makoto. “R-r-right! Let’s go!”

Ann looked at the boy with the bleached hair, a little surprised as he seemed to be hiding a _ blush _. The team moved ahead. Ann hung back with Ren, exchanging glances with him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Mm. I see it too, Wildcard. Skull’s been acting jumpy around Queen since… ...well, since that night where he texted you.” Ann said, thoughtfully. “The other day at school, he dropped his entire bento when she made eye contact with him. But it’s not like he’s avoiding her. He keeps staring at her with this weirdly hopeful look. Like he wants her to be close to him, but isn’t sure what to do when she actually gets there.”

“Makes you wonder what happened.” Ren said, a wry smile on his face. “Skull acting like a blushing maiden is pretty funny, but I can’t imagine what might have caused it.”

Ann shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll ask you about it. You seem to be his go-to for romantic advice.”

“Heh. Not just him, it seems.” Ren mused.

“What do you mean?” Ann asked. They started walking to catch up with the other Phantom Thieves.

“Well, Queen asked me for some ‘research’ material. And I happened to have some things that belong to Kana-chan… ...Ah. I’ll tell you more later. This is the entertainment hall.”

>>>

“A letter of introduction? But you’re so obviously a child.”

“I am Haru Okumura, the head of Okumura Foods.” Haru replied, confidently. “We are one of your biggest sponsors.”

“Oh. You’re her? That’s true, I suppose. We are quite indebted to Okumura Foods… Unfortunately, it seems as though your father got somewhat carried away. We did everything we could to paint him in a good light despite his exploitative policies… But your father’s greed was beyond salvation, heh.”

Haru clenched her fists, keeping her face passive. The TV station president continued speaking, oblivious.

“The damage almost reached Shido-sensei himself! Can you believe it?! At the end of the day, your father had to be cut off. But Shido-sensei was brilliant. He used your father to trap the Phantom Thieves. Truly a brilliant move. Shido-sensei killed two birds with one stone…”

“Er… ...yes. Shido-_ sensei _ is indeed a brilliant tactician. Anyway, if you please. If you give me a letter of introduction, I can make arrangements so that Okumura Foods will continue sponsoring your TV station.”

“Ah. Of course. I am in your father’s debt, nonetheless…”

The grey-haired man in the mask reached into his coat, handing Haru an envelope. “Ah. Better that a younger, fresher mind take over the company, anyhow. Your father… he was useful, but ultimately just a fool. He could have lived a life of luxury if he’d just been a little more patient… I’m glad you seem to be taking a more _ philosophical _ view of your father’s death. After all. You’ve gone from marriageable bargaining chip to head of the company!”

Haru grit her teeth, turning away. She had the letter. It wasn’t worth turning this into a fight.

“You know, I’m the one who broadcast the moment of his mental shutdown. It’s incredible! Our ratings were higher than ever! Looks like I owe him for that, too, haha!” He continued to laugh derisively alongside his underlings. “You know, you’re pretty cute! Maybe we can shoot a documentary about how you’re struggling to raise the company back up in the aftermath of your father’s death! It’ll raise your profile and win you sympathetic investors!”

To Haru’s credit, she remained poised, walking to rejoin the rest of the Phantom Thieves. She handed the letter to Ren.

“Let’s… Let’s just go.”

Ren shook his head. “We’re not leaving that bastard alone like that.”

Haru frowned. “He’s just a cognition. It’s not like attacking him will change anything.”

“No. But it’ll make you feel a hell of a lot better. Shit. It’ll make _ me _ feel better. Come on, Noir.” Ren gave Haru a roguish smile.

Haru coughed, averting her eyes from Joker’s expression. “...Right.” She turned back to the TV station president. “Excuse me? Sir?”

“Yes, what--Shit!” The president stared down the barrel of Haru’s Milkor MGL.

“It’s useless to resist.” Haru said, smiling pleasantly. “Thanks again for the letter.”

The explosion from Haru’s grenade launcher took out the entire bank of slot machines, sending the TV station president and his henchmen flying.

>>>

December 4, 20xx 

Haru smiled, feeling light on her feet as she stepped out of the car near Leblanc. She nodded at Tachibana as the woman removed Haru’s bags from the trunk, handing them over to the heiress.

“Thanks, Rui-san. I should be fine from here.”

“Yes, Haru-sama. I’ll be nearby. Let me know when you’re ready to go.”

“You don’t need to hang around me all the time, you know? Thanks to you, I can protect myself.”

Rui quirked a slight smile, her eyes concealed by her ever-present sunglasses. “Maybe. Remember, ojou-sama. I taught you everything you know. I didn’t teach you everything _ I _ know.”

Haru chuckled, turning away with a wave. She headed into the alley and pushed open the coffee shop door. It was busy today. Strange for the small cafe. Sojiro looked up at Haru, annoyance briefly crossing his features until he realized that it was Haru and not just another customer.

“Ah, Haru-chan. Good to see you.”

Haru nodded, stepping closer to the bar. “Oh, my. It’s rather busy today, isn’t it?”

Sojiro rolled his eyes. “Ann-chan was interviewed for the latest edition of _ Vague _. She mentioned Leblanc was her favorite coffee shop… I think she underestimated how many fans she already has.”

Haru giggled. “That sounds like her. She’s basically a celebrity by now, but reality hasn’t caught up to her. I’m not sure it ever will, actually. She’s far too humble.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Sojiro muttered. He dropped his voice in volume, glancing around. “...Hey, look. I know you’re here to see him, but just wait a second. Let me clear people out of here. You don’t want anyone wondering why you’re going upstairs, right?”

Haru frowned. “How are you going to do that? It seems terribly rude.”

“Heh. Yeah, you’re right. It usually takes me a bit. Heh. You know, he and I used to joke that maybe if he just stood awkwardly beside the booths and eavesdropped on conversations, people would eventually get fed up and leave. I never let him try it, though.” Sojiro said, referring to Ren.

“Would you be willing to let someone try it now?” Haru asked, taking out her phone.

“....Sure? These aren’t my regulars, anyway.”

Within a few moments, Rui Tachibana walked in the door, 180 centimetres of intimidation in a business suit. Sojiro watched with growing admiration as the cafe emptied out in short order. The woman had a certain _ presence _ to her.

Rui paused, looking at Haru with a faint smile, clearly amused. “Is that all, Haru-sama?”

“Yes. Thank you, Rui-san.”

Rui nodded. She paused, giving Sojiro a polite bow as well before leaving.

Haru smiled slightly at Sojiro. “There. I hope that wasn’t too… …?” She trailed off at the curious expression on Sojiro’s face.

Sojiro broke off his stare at the departing Tachibana, jumping slightly as he looked at Haru. “Oh! Uh, she-- I mean that was fine. Totally fine.” He coughed. “Er, anyway. What’s in the bag?”

Haru eyed Sojiro with mild amusement before putting one of her bags on the counter. “Vegetables that Ren-kun helped me grow on the school roof. I heard from Ann-chan that he’s still recovering, so I thought maybe…”

Sojiro looked thoughtful, inspecting a carrot. “That’s not a bad idea. Why don’t you let me cook something up with these? You can head upstairs and check on him.” The cafe owner sighed worriedly. “I haven’t been able to duck upstairs to see how he’s doing; it’s been crazy the entire day. A couple of large parcels came in this morning for him. I heard the sound of a drill, and some thumping… Futaba went up earlier and it was loud for a bit, but since then…”

It was indeed unusually quiet. Usually when Futaba visited Ren, there was laughter, or the sound of video games, or _ something _.

Haru frowned, nodding. “I’ll make sure they’re alright. Let me know if you need a hand with the vegetables, Sojiro-san.”

The auburn-haired girl walked up the stairs. The door to the attic was slightly ajar. The sound of a creaking chain was audible, as well as the faintly muffled sound of music playing on headphones. It was almost eerie.

_ ‘...Ren. Futaba… I hope they’re alright. … ….oh my God. I hope I’m not interrupting something…! There’s no way. He wouldn’t cheat on Ann! He and Futaba don’t have that kind of relationship ...right?’ _

She pushed the door open slowly.

The sound of Futaba’s faint snoring became audible, as well as light rustling as Ren shifted in his sleep… ...around the new _ kotatsu _ , set up where the card table had once been. Ren was on one side of the heated table, sleeping on the floor with his legs underneath the warm cloth from the waist down. Before falling victim to the _ kotatsu _, he had apparently been working on another laser-device or something similar; clear spheres were arranged on his side of the table. Futaba sat kitty-corner to him with her legs crossed under the table; she had shoved aside her laptop and was sleeping sitting up, her arms serving as a pillow. Mona wasn’t immune either, with just his tail and a single hind paw sticking out from under the cloth draped around the edges of the table.

Haru clamped a hand over her mouth, suppressing a giggle at how _ cute _ the scene was. 

Ren stirred, seemingly awoken by the faint noise. He slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Haru.

Haru nearly gasped, starting to explain herself, until the boy put a finger over his lips, glancing in Futaba’s direction. He carefully extricated himself from the table. Haru watched as he fondly draped a blanket over Futaba’s shoulders, before gesturing towards the stairs.

>>>

Sojiro chuckled. “Ah, of course. Victims of the _ kotatsu _.”

Ren smiled sheepishly. “Heh. Yeah… Sorry for just vanishing, Sojiro. The other parcel was a heavy bag. I’m feeling better, but since it’s too dangerous to go to my usual gym to train…”

“Right. That isn’t a problem. Anyway, here. The _ vegetables _ of your labor.” Sojiro put a bowl in front of Ren with a wry smile at his dad joke. “It’s ratatouille, made with the produce that you’ve been helping Haru-chan grow.”

Ren nodded gratefully. “_ Itadakimasu. _ Thanks, you two.”

He took a bite - Haru felt unusually nervous, sitting across from Ren in the booth. He was eating the food that she had provided. Inwardly, she kicked herself. _ ‘Didn’t I say I was past this? He’s my _ ** _friend_ ** _ . Moreover, so is Ann.’ _

“How… how is it?”

“Good. Slightly bitter, but oddly energizing?”

Sojiro nodded. “That’s what I thought, too. It’s a little medicinal, like ginseng…”

Haru perked up. “That would make sense. I used the soil where I was growing ginseng previously to see if I could get other vegetables to pick up the notes.”

“Oh. That’s impressive, Haru-chan. That’s how single-origin coffee growers make their unique beans as well. Coffee plants will tend to pick up notes from whatever crop was grown on the land previously. One of my favorites actually tastes faintly like cacao.”

“You know, speaking of coffee… did you know that Okumura Foods started as a little coffee shop?” Haru said, sipping at the cup Sojiro had given to her.

“Is that so?” Sojiro asked. He gave Ren a little stare as the boy started to put his spoon down. Ren rolled his eyes, but picked his spoon back up to finish eating his vegetables.

“Mmhm!” Haru said, trying not to laugh at Ren. “It was my grandfather’s shop.”

Sojiro blinked as his phone rang. “Ah. Sorry, that’s one of my suppliers…” He politely excused himself, leaving Haru alone with Ren.

She glanced shyly at him across the table as he finished eating. Ren looked at Haru expectantly.

“...Ren-kun?”

Ren smiled. “Weren’t you talking about your grandfather’s shop? I’d like to hear it.”

“R-right… ...Anyway. My grandfather’s coffee shop was small and well-loved by the locals. He never really cared too much about profits; he was more focused on just putting food on the table for the family, and providing good, affordable food and drink to the community.” Haru said. She sighed. “...An admirable, attainable goal at first. But as the world changed around him, it became impossible. He couldn’t compete with the larger chains, and eventually he had to close the place down. On the last day, people lined up around the block to say goodbye…”

“It’s hard to believe that Okumura Foods had such humble roots.” Ren said, idly fidgeting with his spoon in the now empty bowl.

“Yes, exactly.” Haru said, thoughtfully. “It really just shows how our company really lost its way.”

“Well. It’s _ your _ company now, Haru. You could change the direction your father took.” Ren said.

Haru sighed. “...I’ve thought about it. It’s not so simple, though. Even with my father, he couldn’t just unilaterally make decisions. I have to convince the board and have an actionable business plan. My father… well. He was intimidating, and he appealed to the board’s greed. And his enemies had a tendency to disappear, as we’ve learned. With me, there’s no such fear factor. To them my position is simply a product of nepotism.”

“I don’t know, Haru. You can be pretty strong-willed when you want to be…” Ren said, thinking of their brief confrontation at the hospital, and then how the heiress had outwitted Akechi.

“...I… I still feel like I haven’t apologized enough for that, Ren-kun.” Haru said, thinking of the same incident. “I was lashing out, and--”

“No. You’re wrong, Haru. I deserved it. We had confirmation of that yesterday. The TV station president said it himself. It was Shido that ordered the hit on your father. If I had mentioned Shido to the Phantom Thieves when I learned about his Palace, if we had taken him down right away, your father would still be alive. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

“I disagree, Ren-kun.” Haru shook her head. “There’s no way we could know that. You learned about Shido at the beginning of August, didn’t you? You’ve seen his Palace. Right now, we’re barely able to handle it. In August, were the team’s abilities this well-developed?”

“They weren’t.” Ren said, sighing. “...Yeah. You’re probably right.”

“...That was easy.” Haru said, surprised. “I thought you would take at least a few more minutes to be convinced that not everything is your fault.”

Ren laughed. “My tendency to try to martyr myself for the people I care about is pretty well-documented. I’ve been working on it.”

“Really?”

“Mm. I promised Ann.” Ren said, smiling slightly. “A long time ago. I promised I’d try…”

Haru stared down at her empty coffee cup. The particular smile he had as he mentioned Ann’s name was bittersweet to Haru. She wasn’t so inexperienced that she couldn’t recognize the particular level of devotion between her two friends. She was both happy for them and disappointed for herself. “You promised you’d try what, exactly…?”

“That I’d try to live for my own sake. According to her, that means not just taking on everyone’s burdens all the time, and actually caring about what happens to me.”

Haru blinked, looking up at Ren in surprise. He smiled apologetically. 

“Sorry. That got a little heavy, didn’t it? Anyway, Haru. I’m sure you’ll decide on the right course of action. What is it that you want to do? Without considering the difficulty, without thinking about the board.”

“...I want to rebuild. I want to show the world that the name Okumura means more than cheap food with a high profit margin.” Haru said. “I want to do what my grandfather did, but adapted for a modern world. Something lasting, something I can be proud of.”

Ren nodded. “I believe in you. And I think you should, too.”

Haru smiled. “Thanks, Ren-kun. But like I said, I don’t think it’s feasible. The board wants something different. They just want to keep making money. What I’m thinking of isn’t the easiest way to get there.”

“...So _ make _ them want what you want.”

Haru blinked, looking up at Ren, half-expecting that cocksure smirk. Instead, he seemed startlingly earnest and warm. It wasn’t the smile he reserved for Ann, but it still made her heart turn over in her chest, still brought this feeling that she accomplish _ exactly _ what he said, just as simple as that.

She started laughing.

“...I was serious!” Ren said, grinning sheepishly.

“I know. I know. I’m just envious of you. You’re so direct, sometimes. I wish things were that simple.” Haru said, looking down at her coffee cup. She thought of what Sojiro said, about the coffee beans taking on characteristics of the soil. She blinked. “...The soil. You know, Ren-kun. I might just be able to come up with something.”

“Cool. What?”

“I’ll tell you if it’s successful.” Haru said, smiling slightly.

An odd series of thuds from upstairs caught their attention.

“Oh. Gremlin must be awake…”

They both headed upstairs.

“FALCON PUUUUNCH!” Futaba yelled, winding up her right arm. Her fist, covered in a violet and white colored MMA-style fighting mitt, careened towards the new heavy bag that Ren had hung from one of the rafters in the attic.

“Gremlin, no! Not a full power swing--”

Too late. She struck the bag; it swung wildly away from her.

“See? I’m totally fine! It’s--oof!”

The heavy bag caught Futaba on the backswing, launching her onto Ren’s bed. Dazed, but otherwise unharmed.

Ren sighed. “How can you be so smart, and then… Where did you get those gloves, anyway?”

Haru helped Futaba up, glancing at Ren. “Ah. Those are mine, actually. I’ve been training with Rui-san.”

“...Tachibana-san? The one who’s former _ Tokushusakusengun _special forces…?”

“Yes?”

“What is she teaching you, exactly?” Ren asked. His eyes were eager; he was already moving to grab his handwraps. “Can you show me?”

>>>

Ann, Makoto, and Shiho gathered in Makoto’s apartment. Apparently, both Ann and Shiho needed help with their homework. In reality, it was because the two of them were conspiring to get an update from Makoto and to solve the mystery of Ryuji’s behavior. Ann wanted to make sure her friends were getting along alright. Shiho wanted entertainment. But in their excitement, they had completely forgotten about Makoto’s Spartan study habits. They had already studied for a solid two hours without a single opportunity to question the brunette.

Ann’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen.

**RA: Hey, Songbird. How’s things? I’m hanging out with Gremlin and Haru. Turns out she’s been doing some self-defense training with Tachibana! This is gonna be ** ** _awesome_ **

Ann frowned. Ren was still recovering, even if he was spry enough in the Metaverse. She reached for her phone.

Makoto’s hand lashed out, lightning quick. She slapped Ann’s wrist and snatched the phone away. “No. Bad!”

“Ow! Jeez, Makoto.” Ann protested. “I just want to make sure that Ren doesn’t overdo it.”

“Weren’t you the one who asked for help? You should follow Shiho’s example.” Makoto admonished, gesturing at the black-haired girl.

In truth, Shiho was nearly _ vibrating _ in her seat, keeping an eye on the clock. She looked up, smiling. “Say, Mako-chan. Isn’t it time for a break?”

“Hm? Oh. You’re right. Alright, you two. You can put your books down for a little while.”

Makoto set a timer for precisely fifteen minutes.

Ann sighed. “So, Makoto. How are things going with Ryuji?”

“Good.” Makoto said, shrugging. “His grades have really improved.”

“...No. I mean, with _ dating _ him. Meeting his mother!”

“Ah. Tsubaki-san is quite nice--”

“Mako-chan! Why is Ryuji alternating between looking at you like a salivating wolf and then startling like a chihuahua on methamphetamines when you actually get close to initiating contact with him?!” Shiho snapped, standing up from the dining table and slamming her palms down on the polished wood.

“Shiho!” Ann exclaimed, surprised.

“Sorry, Blondie. We don’t have time for subtle questioning. You saw the timer! We’ve paid for this information in blood and tears. I know more about Admiral Perry and the black ships than I ever _ wanted _ to. This is my candy! Shi-chan wants _ details!” _Shiho was nearly salivating.

“I knew something was suspicious when you both approached me out of the blue for help. I must admit, that’s why I made you two work so hard. I figured one of you would confess what your real motivation was.” Makoto said, smirking. She then blushed faintly, but continued. She did want to share her happiness with her friends. “If you _ must _ know, all we did was kiss briefly after he walked me home the other day.”

“...that’s it?” Ann said, frowning. “I’d expect him to be happy, not _ weird _-happy…”

Makoto shrugged. “True. He is acting a bit strange. I don’t quite understand it myself. It isn’t consistent with all the research I did.”

Shiho perked up. “Research?”

“Ren did mention that he lent you his manga.” Ann said. She paused, as if expecting something. “...right. He’s not here.”

Reflexively, all three girls spoke in unison, rolling their eyes: “_ Kana-chan’s _manga.”

“Ah. Yes. They’re not like the sports or battle manga that Ryuji favors at all. Much slower paced. Some of them were rather frustrating to read, so I just skipped to the end.”

“Oh.” Shiho said. She then blinked, exchanging glances with Ann as they both realized the same thing. “...wait.”

“...so you’re saying you modeled your first kiss after the kisses that happen at the _ end _ of shoujo and josei manga?” Ann asked, slowly. “Not the ones that happen at the start, or in the middle?”

“Yes. It seemed the most efficient.” Makoto said, confused at Ann’s concerned expression and Shiho’s increasing glee. “It was also consistent with what I found when I did an internet search on how to give the best possible kiss.”

Under the table, Shiho gripped Ann’s knee to contain her own excitement. She spoke calmly, pleasantly. “Mako-chan… what _ exactly _ happened?”

>>>

November 26, 20xx 

“Ryuji? Remember Destinyland?”

_ ‘So I guess this is what RenRen meant when he said that cliches exist for a reason.’ _Ryuji thought, looking at Makoto as she stood shyly in front of him in the narrow cone of light under the streetlamp. The dress she wore in combination with her teal coat wasn’t revealing, or sexy, or hot. It was something practical, well-fitted, and well-suited to ‘meeting the parents’. But, it was undeniably feminine in a way that snuck into and captured Ryuji’s heart.

She wasn’t the kind of girl he thought he’d fall for. She didn’t need protecting - not in the way he had once thought that a ‘proper’ girl did. But as she stood there, anxiously biting her lip, he could see her vulnerability. Around him, Makoto let her guard down. She shared a precious truth with the former delinquent: for all her intelligence, reliability, and maturity, Makoto Niijima _ felt _ , and _ wanted _ , and _ hoped. _ She had fears and insecurities. Such a simple, obvious thing. But something that people somehow assumed was beneath - or above - the star student. So no, it wasn’t a physical vulnerability or a need to be protected. It was a vulnerability of _ being _ . Of _ self _. Of having wishes and desires that were so fragile that they could only be whispered.

And Ryuji Sakamoto was the one she had chosen to whisper them to. He realized then the gravity of it all. The terrifying, exhilarating, and beautiful feeling of being allowed into someone’s heart.

In that moment, under the streetlight in the quiet night, the former delinquent had a cliche thought that matched the perfectly cliche setting. And he didn’t mind one bit. He smiled softly.

_ ‘She… … she’s the most beautiful girl in the world, isn’t she?’ _

“How could I forget?”

She looked up at him. She still looked nervous; a pretty blush played across her cheeks as she took a step closer to him. “...Remember how I ‘missed’...?”

Ryuji nodded slowly. Another thing he couldn’t forget. “Y-yeah. It’s fine, though, Makoto. I.. …”

He trailed off as she took yet another step closer. He took a slow breath as she reached up with a trembling, pale hand. He caught her, gently, his fingers closing around hers. His other arm slid around her slender waist as her free hand slipped to the back of his neck. She tilted her chin up…

_ ‘Make contact first, _ ** _then_ ** _ close my eyes. Make contact first, _ ** _then_ ** _ close my eyes. Make contact first, _ ** _then_ ** _ close my eyes. Make contact first, _ ** _then_ ** _ close my eyes. Make contact first, _ ** _then_ ** _ close my eyes.’ _ Ryuji thought, repeatedly. It was all he _ could _ think. And then, he couldn’t think anything.

Makoto stood up on her toes as they pressed their lips softly against each other. She bit back a light gasp at the sensation of cold fire down her spine, the mix of elation and relief as he kissed back.

_ ‘...How… how is it that this feels so safe, but so…’ _

Her mind tried to find the correct word to fill in the gap as she allowed herself to be held by the boy who was technically her _ kouhai. _ Exciting? Soft? Beautiful? 

She nearly lost herself in the moment. So much, that she almost forgot the results of her research.

_ ‘...! Right. Right, I’m supposed to…’ _

They paused for a moment, faces still centimetres away from each other, faces flushed in the dim light of the street lamp. Makoto stared up at Ryuji in quiet wonder, looking at his gentle brown eyes. His pupils were dilated; he seemed to be trying to catch his breath. He smiled at her.

“You sure didn’t miss that time--mmh..”

Makoto stood up on her toes, kissing him again. She let go of his hand to slip her other arm over his shoulders, caressing the back of his neck, just like she had read in Ren’s Kaname’s manga. She waited for the inevitable feel of his arms around her waist.

_ ‘...And now, I…’ _

Ryuji closed his eyes again, with a sigh of satisfaction. This was nice… ...No. This was amazing. This was perfect. A beautiful girl in his arms, one who probably loved him. One who thought he was more worthwhile than he himself believed. While she wasn’t the damsel in distress type he thought he wanted, she was still so reserved and graceful in her own way. So proper--

His eyes widened, feeling her lips move against his. Feeling her tongue lightly lick against his closed lips. He startled slightly, his arms stiffening around her waist in shock, his mouth opening a little in order to gasp.

The corner of Makoto’s mouth quirked in a very slight smile of satisfaction. He was responding; he was holding her tighter! He was parting his own lips in invitation! Her heart was going haywire in her chest with the trepidation and thrill. This was exactly like she researched. So she continued.

She deepened the kiss, thoroughly _ exploring _. She made an involuntary sound that some small part of her analyzed. It was something like a breath, or a sigh, or…

_ ‘A moan.’ _The same small part of her mind offered parsimoniously. She was moaning softly in response to the pleasure of feeling her tongue slip against Ryuji’s. In response to the heat and the excitement and the rush of oxytocin and dopamine that were surely flooding through her system.

They slowly broke the kiss. Makoto looked shyly at the ground. “...Well. Goodnight, Ryuji. See you at school.”

She quickly stepped around him, heading into the apartment. She didn’t turn back, moving quickly to the elevator.

Ryuji didn’t turn around to watch her. He stood there, frozen in place, eyes saucer-wide. His jacket was disheveled; his mouth was still wide open in shock. He knew what had just happened, of course. The demure student council president, who still might ‘fail a test at love’ had shoved her tongue in his mouth, and taken her sweet time in enjoying it.

_ ‘...wh… ...wha… …?’ _

He took a few slow steps forward with wide open, unseeing eyes. He walked headlong into the lamp post with a loud -_ clang- _. He stared up at the lamp post, surprised to see it in front of him. Slowly he started to smile. Stupidly wide.

He took out his phone to text Ren, stumbling home.

>>>

December 4, 20xx 

“So then I went upstairs and had a shower.” Makoto said. She shrugged. “I had to make the water a lot colder than usual for some reason.”

Ann and Shiho stared at Makoto, with matching expressions of dropped jaws and pink cheeks.

“You… Ryuji… ...You did _ what?! _ Have you ever kissed a guy before?!” Ann exclaimed. “Or even _ thought _ about it?!”

Makoto frowned. “No, of course not. Why do you think I did so much research?”

Shiho shook with a mix of suppressed laughter and general glee. “Oh. Oh man, this is amazing. This is _ far better _ than I could have dreamed of. I don’t know whether to give RyuRyu a Thundershirt for the overstimulation or a condom for the next step…”

Makoto looked at Shiho, aghast. “A _ what _? Honestly, Shiho, that’s just inappropriate.”

Shiho shook her head slowly. “Hey, Blondie? Can you tell Makoto what _ your _ first kiss with the champ was like? Just as a point of comparison.”

“Mm? Well, a little like that, actually.”

“See? So what’s the problem—“

“Look at Blondie, Mako-chan.”

Ann had a curious expression on her face.

She thought back to Shinoda’s gym. The moment of Ren’s vulnerability; the way her heart broke at seeing the boy she was already in love with feel so completely alone. The way it felt so natural to press her mouth to his; to part her lips. To claim him; to invite him to claim her. The feeling of pain/pleasure when he sucked a bruise onto her neck. The way he pulled her onto his lap, where she straddled him, her body pressed against his, her hips already starting to move instinctively. She wondered for a moment how far they might have gone if they hadn’t--

“Helllooo? Earth to Blondie.”

Ann blinked.

“I think your expression answered my next question. But for Mako-chan’s sake...” Shiho said, wryly. “How long exactly did it take you to go from _ that kind _ of kiss to thinking about jumping him?”

“...Like, thirty seconds? _ If _ that?” Ann admitted, crumbling under Shiho’s hard stare. “In fact, the next day when we were alone in the classroom, he--... ...Nevermind.” Ann said, turning another shade redder. 

Shiho looked at Makoto. “So. Do you understand why RyuRyu might have his wires crossed a bit right now?”

It was Makoto’s turn to look shocked. “...N-No. That’s silly. I did the research. It was just a really good first kiss. I mean…”

“Oh, neither of us are saying it wasn’t good. It sounds like it was _ good _. But you skipped over all the first kisses in the manga. You went right to the end game, Mako-chan.” Shiho said, grinning.

“...He can’t be expecting… ...No. No way.”

“Right. Because no teenage boy in the world has ever thought about sex after a hot, passionate, saliva-exchanging kiss done in the dim light of a streetlamp.”

>>>

December 5, 20xx 

“Well. That went well. I think we’ve got the _ thrust _of it now.”

Ryuji choked on his mocha at Ren’s choice of words. The team (plus Shiho) was debriefing at Leblanc’s after their latest foray into the Shido’s Palace. They had just taken down Shido’s cognition of the IT company president, obtaining the penultimate letter of introduction. Shiho nodded, her face all business as she re-wrapped Ren’s wrist with an elastic bandage. She and Ren sat at the bar together opposite the booth.

“It sounds like things were really _ hard _ in there.” Shiho said. “Like you guys got into a few _ tight _spots.”

Makoto squeaked. She shifted in her seat in the booth. She sat beside Ryuji. At least she had initially. Now, she was nearly falling off the bench as she moved to sit as far away from him as possible.

“It’s true.” Ren said. “We’re nearly at the _ climax _ of the operation, though. Just one last _ hard push _ to the end, and we’ll be alright.”

Mercifully, Ann spoke up. “_ Anyways. _We all did really well today, didn’t we?” She beamed, sitting beside Haru on the bench across from Ryuji and Makoto. The two of them looked at Ann with gratitude as the uncomfortable puns came to a close. 

“Indeed.” Yusuke said, nodding from his own place at the bar with Mona. “We’re all growing in power.”

“And Ryuji’s upgrades really put us over the edge!” Mona meowed, nodding in approval to Ryuji. He then grinned as much as a cat could. Even though he considered himself a gentleman, he couldn't resist needling Ryuji a little. “I mean, my slingshot _ penetrates _ really well now.”

Ryuji nearly performed a spit take, spluttering and coughing. The bottle-blonde in charge of their weaponry had given all of them armor-piercing bullets and increased stopping power in response to Shido’s defenses. The politician’s security forces took the shape of the police’s Special Assault Teams. They were all armed with at _ least _ submachine guns, and all of them wore body armor.

Haru slid a napkin over to Ryuji, and then shook her head slowly. “The arrogance of Masayoshi Shido is frightening, to say the least. He perceives even the most elite units of the police to be his disposable pawns. But yes, I agree with Yusuke-kun. We’re really working well as a team!”

Haru was elated. It was the first time in her life where she really felt she was included as part of a team - where she had comrades and friends who wanted her for _ her _, and not just her name or wealth.

“And what’s a team without a little celebration from time to time?” Ann said, smiling. She looked past Ren, where Sojiro was stepping out of the kitchen with a cake. “Happy Birthday, Haru!”

Haru’s gasped, her hands over her mouth as the team broke out into song. As they finished, she looked at Ann, eyes wide. “How did you know?!”

“Makoto mentioned it the other day.”

“But Ann was the one who said we should at least have a cake.” Makoto said, smiling. “Rather insistently, despite everything going on.”

“Aheh… Well…” Ann said, her hand on her cheek. “I thought it was the least I could do. I mean, Haru… I… Rather, Ren and I haven’t really had the chance to thank you for everything you did.”

“...Everything I did…?” Haru said, blinking.

“Haru, if it wasn’t for you and Tachibana-san, things might have been very different in November.” Ren said, seriously. “I had an idea that Akechi would stoop to going after Ann and my parents, but without you, we wouldn’t have known _ how _, and we wouldn’t have been able to turn it to our advantage.”

Haru shook her head. “No, please. We all played a part. I just--”

“You pulled off a double-cross of an assassin slash mass-murderer, organized my extraction out of a heavily-guarded building, and did this while still mourning the death of your father, Haru. Just… thank you.”

Haru blushed. “...Any time, Ren-kun. Not that I hope you get captured again to need me to do all of that again. I’m just happy I was able to help you and Ann-chan.”

>>>

Elsewhere in Tokyo, Akechi paused, ducking into a rare quiet corner of Shibuya station to answer a call. He took out his phone, glancing at the number.

_ ‘Unlisted… probably Shido. That’s odd. He told me he wanted to limit our contact right now.’ _

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Ah. Of course. Might I say congratulations, sir? Most of the mainstream media is already projecting a landslide victory for you.”

“Mm. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you. Thank you.”

Akechi didn’t realize it, but he smiled faintly at hearing this scrap of approval.

“Ah… I’m honored, sir.”

“Now, then. I have some orders for you.”

“Orders…?”

“Yes. I want you to begin the next phase of your operations.”

Akechi was unable to mask his surprise, nearly dropping his phone. The next phase of his ‘operations’ as the Left Hand of the UFP meant ruthlessly pruning the tree of the conspiracy. It meant delving into Palaces and Mementos in order to cause mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks of anyone who might be liable to expose Shido. Or, it meant assassinating people in the real world if it would be suspicious for them to have a mental shutdown or psychotic break. Either way, it meant more blood - lots of it.

“S-sir?! But the election’s right around the corner. I thought you wanted to keep things quiet until after that. Has… has something changed?”

“No. But I’ve decided that I want a clean start. I want to take out all the trash before my inauguration as this country’s future.”

“Shido-san… ...are you anxious about something? Is there something I should know--”

“I _ told _ you to _ never _ use my name over the phone! And who the fuck are you to inquire about my mental state?! Do you need to be reminded of what happens to those who don’t fall in line? Just do as I ask.”

The line went dead. Akechi didn’t bother to call back to press for more details - he knew that Shido favored using burner phones when calling him and the number would already be useless. Akechi leaned against the wall of the subway station, his brow furrowed.

“...This is too soon. This isn’t a good move. Something’s happened to Shido...”

_ ‘Have you heard of the Kobayashi Maru?’ _ Ren had asked him that one time in Leblanc, a little smirk on his face.

“...It couldn’t be.” Akechi growled, clenching his phone.

>>>

Ann helped Ren clean up after the impromptu birthday party. The two simply enjoyed each other’s company as they washed dishes - Ren washing, Ann drying. At his insistence, in fact, as the boxer pointed out that it was probably more important for Ann to have pristine hands than it was for him, based on their professions.

Playfully, Ann leaned over, bumping Ren’s side with her shoulder.

Ren smirked slightly. “Yes, Songbird?”

“You know, Wildcard. I want you to have smooth hands, too.” She winked, with a suggestive little smile.

“Oh? Whatever for?” Ren asked, innocently.

“Mm, ‘whatever for?’” Ann mimicked mockingly. “You just like making me say embarrassing things.”

“Guilty, as charged.”

Ann smirked. She glanced at Ren’s hands, occupied by dishes and suds. She took the opening to smack his butt affectionately.

“Hey!” Ren protested half-heartedly. He started to say something, when they heard a noise from upstairs. His eyes darted to the bar - Mona was still asleep on one of the stools. He and Ann exchanged glances; Ren put the plate down, drying his hands. He crept towards the stairs; Ann followed him, a heavy cast-iron pan in her hands.

As they reached the top, paused outside the door. He silently counted to three with his fingers, motioning to Ann.

On the three count, he slammed the door open, bursting into the attic with his fists raised. Ann was right by his side, wielding the cast-iron pan like a two-handed mace.

“Uwah!?!” Futaba shouted, reaching under the bed and pulling out the nearest object she could get her hands on in order to shield herself.

“Futaba-chan!?” Ann exclaimed, dropping the pan with a heavy thud. “What are you doing here?! I thought you went home!”

“I did! But I couldn’t sleep, so I came back.”

“We didn’t notice you come in, Gremlin.” Ren said, gently. He approached her, carefully extricating <strike>his</strike> Kana-chan’s copy of the tenth volume of _Namaiki_ _Zakari _from the orange-haired girl before carefully putting it back under his bed, into the box of shame.

“You two were too busy making out in the kitchen.”

Ann squeaked. “You saw-- I mean, we weren’t!”

Ren frowned, sitting beside Futaba. The girl was hugging her knees to her chest. Ann sat down on her other side.

“Gremlin… what’s wrong?”

Futaba bit her lip. “...I… I was just thinking about what the IT President guy said. About how the fake Medjed was a trap the whole time. And about the guy I doxxed…”

The Phantom Thieves had known for awhile that the fake Medjed - Haruto Sato, the man who supposedly committed suicide - wasn’t even a hacker. The IT President had not only confirmed that, but gleefully told Futaba how the UFP had been ‘economical’ in their use of Sato. He was someone who was going to be ‘ejected from the party’ (assassinated) anyway for overreaching and risking exposing the conspiracy for his own personal greed.

But then the Phantom Thieves came along. The UFP was able to pin the crimes of the fake Medjed onto Sato - and then they simply waited for the Phantom Thieves to expose him. Which Futaba had done, handily. Once that was finished, Sato served his purpose - and Akechi pulled the trigger, simultaneously making the Phantom Thieves look like murderers and ensuring the disposal of the excommunicated party member.

“...I was thinking that if I wasn’t in such a hurry, or maybe if I wasn’t so cocky about taking down the fake Medjed, maybe I would have seen it. Maybe I wouldn’t have fallen into the trap, and that guy wouldn’t have died—”

“Futaba-chan…” Ann began, putting her arm around the younger girl and giving her a gentle squeeze. “That isn’t your fault.”

“Then… then why can’t I get to sleep? Why so I feel so terrible…?” Futaba murmured, her voice quivering slightly.

Ren sighed, mussing up Futaba’s hair, as he was wont to do. “It’s because you’re a good person, Gremlin. Sojiro would expect nothing less. He’d tell you that it isn’t your fault, too. Your weren’t the one who pulled the trigger. It was Akechi.”

Futaba nodded slowly. “That… that Akechi has a lot to answer for…”

Ren rubbed his chin. “He does. And he will, if we get Shido to confess.” He looked down at Futaba. “Are you going to be alright now, Gremlin?”

Futaba sniffled, turning to cling to Ann. “Can… ...can I sleep here? With you guys?”

Ann smiled. “Of course.”

Ren nodded. He then paused, thoughtfully. “...this isn’t just a veiled attempt to sleep under the _ kotatsu _ some more, is it?”

Futaba peeked at Ren, still mostly hiding her face behind one of Ann’s twintais. “...that’s maybe ten percent of it.”

Ren shook his head, chuckling. “That’s fair, Gremlin.” He stood, going to turn the heated table on and to lay out a futon and blanket.

Futaba looked at both Ren and Ann. “Hey… guys?”

“Hm?”

“I’m really glad I met you. All of you.”

>>>

December 6, 20xx 

“No, Takakura-san. I have no interest in marrying Hisahito Sugimura.” Haru said, firmly. The heiress was meeting with the Chairman of Okumura Food’s board of directors in her father’s - rather, in _ her _ home, after school.

“Ah. Very well, then.” The man said, nodding after a brief pause. “I only bring it up because his father, Hisamoto, has been pushing the issue again. I wanted to reassure you that one of the last acts of your father was to completely annul any contractual obligations in this matter. You are certainly free to marry him - or not marry him - no matter what his father says.”

Haru nodded, her face carefully neutral. In truth, she was more than a little surprised. Despite Hisahito’s change of heart, his father was still in control of him. Marrying the younger Sugimura remained a viable option to ensure the success of Okumura Foods but it would hand control of the company - and her life - over to Hisamoto Sugimura. Haru was aware that there were more than a few members on the board who thought this was the best course of action. She heard that Takakura was one of them - she hadn’t expected him to capitulate so quickly on the issue.

_ ‘He might be conceding this point to get me to be more malleable on another matter…’ _

“Ah. And Haru-san… There’s also the matter of the board’s proposal from yesterday.”

_ ‘There it is.’ _Haru thought, just barely stopping the sardonic smile from appearing on her face.

“I must apologize, Takakura-san. Entrance exams are coming up and I haven’t had the time to consider the board’s proposal. I’m aware that they are offering quite the generous sum for my shares, far above market value, but this is not only my father’s company, but my grandfather’s legacy. I’d like a little more time to think about it.”

In truth, Haru had no intention of selling her shares. But she knew that an outright ‘no’ at this stage would be something like a declaration of war. It would galvanize the board members opposed to her, make them put their defenses up. She needed time.

“Ah. Of course… Of course. This coffee is quite good, by the way.”

Haru smiled slightly. “Isn’t it?”

Tachibana stepped into the living room, bowing politely. “Excuse me, Haru-sama. Your next appointment has arrived.”

“My next…?” Haru said, blinking. She glanced at her phone.

Tachibana nodded. “It’s concerning the pancake shop.”

Haru, aware that Takakura was watching her, maintained her calm countenance. “Ah, of course. Takakura-san, if you will excuse me? I’ll have an answer for the board within the month, I assure you.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Haru-san.” Takakura stood, bowing politely. He bowed again to Tachibana, giving the former special forces soldier a wide berth.

Tachibana glanced at him as he left, and then looked at Haru curiously. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure yet, Rui-san.” Haru said. “So for now, I can’t trust him. Not until we’ve taken care of a few things. Now, about the next appointment?”

“Should I show him in?”

“Please do.”

Tachibana paused. “...If you need my consultation on this, I may be delayed. I need to take out some trash.”

“Ah. That’s fine, Rui-san.”

In a rare show of emotion, Tachibana stepped forward. She put a hand on Haru’s shoulder, giving her an approving look and grim smile. “...Give him hell, Haru-sama.”

Haru smiled thinly.

Tachibana left. Haru heard her voice as well as the voice of her guest. Her next appointment strode into the living room like he owned it.

“Akechi-kun.” Haru said, greeting him politely.

Akechi’s smiled pleasantly. “Haru-san.” His smile became cruel. “Though, I suppose I can just call you ‘Okumura’ now, can’t I? There isn’t much room for confusion anymore.”

Haru stood, pointedly ignoring Akechi’s unnecessary reminder that she was the only Okumura alive, now. She walked to the window quietly. “How can I help you?”

“I was thinking more about how I could help _ you _.” Akechi said, crossing his arms. “I have reason to believe that the one responsible for your father’s death has in fact escaped custody.”

“What do you mean, custody? Wasn’t Amamiya’s suicide reported by the news over two weeks ago?” Haru asked. She absently drew the blinds shut, keeping a calm, seemingly unconcerned expression.

“Well. The media did what they were instructed to do.” Akechi said, watching Haru. He smirked. “It’s interesting. They reported the story obediently, without any evidence beyond a death certificate. No one saw the body. No one aside from _ me _, anyway.”

“Oh. Isn’t that interesting.” Haru said. “If you saw him dead, then why are you here, telling me that he’s escaped custody?”

Akechi stepped over to the coffee table. “As I said, I’m here to help _ you _. You see, it’s interesting. Despite the fact that Amamiya’s been dead for two weeks, his entire team is still meeting at Leblanc. Along with a new addition. A tall boy, who always wears a hooded sweatshirt. Of roughly the same build that Amamiya was.”

The Detective Prince started dropping pictures on the coffee table. The Phantom Thieves, all entering Leblanc. Ren, stepping out, his face concealed but his height and build obvious. Morgana poking his head out over his shoulder.

Haru walked over. She refilled her coffee cup from the kettle; not boiling hot anymore, but still pleasant. She took a sip and glanced at the pictures. “I see. And how does this lead to you helping me, exactly?”

“Well, this is what I propose, Okumura. You tell me where Amamiya is and what you and your little group has been doing. And in return, me and my hired help won’t _ kill you _.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll have to decline.” Haru walked to the door to the living room.

Akechi smirked. “Really? Did you think I wouldn’t plan for a desperate escape attempt? I assure you, there’s no way out. Your precious Tachibana can’t handle the numbers I’ve brought with me. You’re locked in here with me.”

Haru turned slowly to face Akechi. Her polite smile remained. But it didn’t reach her eyes. It seemed eerie, unsettling even the sociopath in front of her.

“And did you think I wouldn’t have planned for this, Akechi? You’re a textbook narcissist. I knew that if you ever figured out our ruse, I’d be the first person you’d come after. I betrayed you so I have to be punished, right? Rui-san is _ well prepared _ for anything or anyone you might have brought with you.”

From the far reaches of the estate, there was a muffled cry of pain, the sound of shattering porcelain.

“Ah. It seems that one of your men was foolish enough to follow her into a bathroom. Poor decision. Lots of hard surfaces.”

Akechi stared at the heiress in front of him. He knew that she was more than some sheltered socialite from their previous interactions - she was cunning, in her own way. Her mother was a scientist. Her father was a ruthless businessman who, prior to deciding that Haru was better used as a marriageable pawn, had taught his daughter several ins and outs of surviving in the corporate world.

But Akechi was a bogeyman. A murderer. An assassin. If Haru had betrayed him, then she should know this. She should be afraid.

Haru reached back without taking her eyes off Akechi. She pulled the door shut, locking it. Her polite smile finally evaporated.

“You see, Akechi-kun. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with _ me _.”

A blur of motion from both parties. Akechi started to draw his gun. Haru flung her coffee cup directly at Akechi’s face. With a startled curse, the Detective Prince drew his gun, using it to smash the coffee cup out of the way. He narrowly avoided debilitating burns to his face - but the move also aimed the muzzle of his pistol uselessly away from his opponent.

And she was indeed his opponent. She was right behind the coffee cup. This was it. This was the moment. The hours spent training in the basement of her estate with Tachibana. It was all for this very eventuality. For this very _ opportunity. _

_ ‘He won’t expect you to know how to fight, Haru-sama. He knows martial arts, from what I’ve observed. But he’s not used to fighting opponents on equal footing. He’s used to hunting, catching prey unawares. He’ll be armed, too, so he’ll be focused on bringing his pistol to bear, not defending against hand to hand combat. Your best strike will be your first one.’ _

She launched herself at him. The pistol started to come back into line with her. It was too late - she was committed.

A shot rang out.

The bullet tore through an expensive tapestry as Haru’s hands grabbed the back of Akechi’s head. Haru simultaneously leapt up, slamming her knee into his chin.

For Akechi, the predominant sensation wasn’t pain. Instead, it was _ impact _. The sudden impulse should have snapped his head back. But Haru’s grip on his head kept him down, forced his head to absorb every Newton of force that the heiress’ sudden flying knee strike had to give. His legs failed to respond; he fell limply back to the ground. His arms were pinned against his body as Haru took the high-mount position.

_ ‘He’ll likely be down, but not out. Adrenaline will be running high for both of you. Don’t just sit there and admire your work.’ _

Pain became predominant as an elbow slammed into his cheek from one side.

And then a hammer fist from the other.

_ ‘Finish it.’ _

“This is for my _ father _ , you _ son of a bitch! _”

Sobbing, snarling, screaming, Haru struck again and again. She raised a bloodied fist, panting heavily.

Tachibana caught her hand. “Haru-sama… He’s done. He’s out.”

Haru stared down at Akechi. He was breathing, but unconscious. Her hand trembled; she didn’t move from her spot as her mind ran through the possibilities. Ran through the cold calculus of what she could do. What she should do. What she could do.

What she could get away with.

“...Haru-sama. If this is what you want, I’ll let go of this hand…” Tachibana said, softly. “...But it’s not what Kurenai-sama would have wanted for you.”

Haru stood up, shakily. She leaned on Tachibana, her knees shaking as she started to fully grasp the situation.

“Rui-san… the car. Get me to the car. Where’s my phone?”

Tachibana found it, passing it to Haru. She escorted the auburn-haired girl out of the estate. Haru barely registered the signs of battle - the bloodstains, the unconscious (or worse) bodies lying in various states of injury. The abandoned bladed weapons and firearms lying on the ground.

Haru’s fingers flew over the screen of her smartphone, opening the Phantom Thieves’ group message.

**HO: We need to go. We need to go into Shido’s Palace, ** ** _right now_ ** **.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Tongue twisters
> 
> Bouzu ga byoubi ni jouzu ni bouzu no e wo kaita  
Akamakigami, kimakigami, aomakigami  
Kono takegaki ni take tatekaketa no wa take tatekaketakatta kara, take tatekaketa
> 
> All of the above are various Japanese tongue twisters. Look them up if you're interested! This shift from canon was planned a while back, when I first wrote in the reference to the _Kobayashi Maru_. I wanted that to be the tip off to Akechi that something was amiss, rather than randomly hearing someone's cell phone go off. More fun for me, and the reference plays a role in a coming chapter in a different way. The whole Komagata vs Kobayashi thing is also a slight callback to Akechi's misquoting of Hegel/Fichte.
> 
> 2) Kotatsu victims - See Horimiya. Heated comfy table = hijinks.
> 
> 3) My version of Haru leans more towards the cold/borderline murderous Mementos Haru in several ways. I wanted her to be stronger/more sure of herself versus canon, as I thought it was the only way I could really resolve having her be such a big part of the team despite the fact that her father literally _just_ died. Ren doesn't need to tell her what to do - she already has her own ideas. He just encourages her.
> 
> I also hope I'm managing to make it come through that while Haru might find Ren attractive, she values her friendship with him and Ann quite deeply. This isn't an actual love triangle (as per usual from me)
> 
> 4) Makoto's idea of a first kiss. Fun to write, I have to say. Inspired a little by Kaguya-sama: Love is War.
> 
> Next chapter mostly written. Stay tuned next couple days (I hope)


	38. Ali v. Frazier II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Ali v. Frazier II (billed as Super Fight II) was a non-title match between Ali and Frazier and the rematch of the 1971 bout that kicked off their rivalry. At the time, neither of these boxers were the world champion - but their talent and mutual animosity set the stage for a thrilling fight. In fact, it was prior to this fight that the two boxers came to blows in a television studio._
> 
> _Some boxing fans consider this to be the least significant of the trilogy of matches that these two greats had. But, the hatred the fighters had for each other turned this into an aggressive, entertaining bout. By his own account, Frazier prayed in his dressing room prior to the match for God to give him the power to literally kill Ali in the ring._

December 6, 20xx 

“I’m telling you, I come here all the time. It’s great. The coffee is fantastic.”

“Seriously? We came all the way to Yongen for coffee? I don’t know, man. And this is just some random alleyway.”

“Come on. Give it a chance. I was right about the bubble tea place, right?--”

The two college students stopped in their tracks. Three sketchy looking teenagers gathered under the awning of the little shop, all wearing school uniforms. Black blazers with eyesore-level plaid pants. All three were fairly tall and broad-shouldered. Two of the three actually squatted in the stereotypical fashion, unlit cigarettes dangling from their lips.

The leader stepped forward; he had slicked-back black hair, and an oddly polite smile.

Yamada bowed slightly. “Apologies, gentleman. There’s a private function today.”

Ren asked Yamada to cover the entrance of Leblanc today. Lately, the cafe was irritatingly busy as a result of Ann’s interview and fame - Sojiro was actually _ happy _ about making things a little quieter by having the not-so-subtly unwelcoming presence of Yamada and his boys there.

Somehow, Yamada’s polite confidence was more intimidating than any threats or hard glares might have been. The two slowly backed away, nodding. “We’ll… we’ll come back another time.”

“Please do. Thank you.”

Yamada returned to his spot with a sigh. He then looked at the bemused expressions of the other teenagers, shooting an indignant glare at them. “Hey! Look, I’m just practicing, alright!? You know that aniki offered me a job at his parents’ inn after I graduate! I have to practice hospitality an’ shit.”

The boys snickered.

“Laugh it up, chumps. And get those cigs outta your mouths. The show’s over.”

“Right, right…”

Yamada suppressed a fond smile. His boys had well and truly cleaned up over the past few weeks, thanks to Ren, Makoto, and honestly, the rest of their aniki’s ‘inner circle’. None of them actually smoked anymore; they were to a man in the best shape of their lives. The cigarettes were good props, though. And they all actually had prospects for the future, even if it was just working at the flower shop or studying at a technical school. All of them save Yamada, anyway, right up until recently.

_ ‘Hey, Ken-chan. Why the long face?’ _

_ ‘...ah. It’s nothing, aniki. Nothing you need to worry about.’ _

_ ‘Isn’t that for me to decide? I’m supposed to look out for all of you, right?’ _

_ ‘...Ah, shit… it’s nothing big, alright? It’s just that next year, well… I don’t have a job lined up. College is out of the question. And I don’t wanna just leave it to my ma, y’know? There’s still Ricchan to think about, and we need the money. Ah that reminds me. Ricchan’s been asking about you and anesan, y’know? Been awhile since you two came over.’ _

_ ‘Oh, sorry. Tell her I’ll drop by with some of Sojiro’s curry. And as for the job, if you don’t mind a commute...’ _

And just like that, Yamada had a job. He shook his head in disbelief. It was great. Both he and his mother were less stressed; his sister Rikka had even picked up on the renewed energy around the house. But something bothered Yamada.

The way Ren was ensuring Yamada and the rest of the gang were taken care of; the way he seemed to be ensuring _ everyone _ in his little network was being taken care of… Coupled with his mysterious disappearing act over the past few weeks where he was supposedly taking care of something in Kamakura, even though he was actually holed up in Leblanc… something big was up. And from Yamada’s sense of it, something dangerous.

Ren seemed to be tying off loose ends and ensuring his affairs would be taken care of. As if he was anticipating leaving… permanently.

Yamada frowned, shaking his head. He perked up at the approach of Haru and her escort, the tall, blue-haired women. He snapped his fingers; he and his boys respectfully got out of the way, bowing low - to Tachibana.

She smirked slightly as she pushed the door to Leblanc open, letting Haru in. She waited outside with the ‘delinquents’.

Ren and the others looked up, breathing a collective sigh of relief. Ann and Shiho rushed over to Haru, giving the girl a hug. Haru was surprised as even Makoto joined them.

“Haru… are you okay? Did he…” Ann started.

Haru shook her head. “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.”

Shiho took Haru’s hand, whistling as she noticed that none of the blood belonged to _ her _. “Damn, I’ll say. Akechi sure as hell isn’t, though.”

“Man. This is fucked. I can’t believe he actually showed up at your _ house _.” Ryuji said, shaking his head.

“It’s roughly what we predicted though, Ryuji.” Ren said, rubbing his chin. “He’s a pathological narcissist. Part of this is him trying to oppose us for Shido’s sake - God knows why he’s doing _ that _ \- but part of this is simply because we crossed him and _ won _. He’ll want to fix that as soon as possible.”

“Which is why we need to go, _ now _.” Haru said urgently. “When he wakes up, he’ll no doubt try to stop us.”

Mona hopped up onto the bar. “She’s right. There’s no telling what he’ll try when he wakes up. We obviously can’t _ finish _ the Palace tonight, not without a calling card ready, but we can at least get access to the Treasure Room.”

Makoto looked over at Ryuji and Ann. “How are we for equipment?”

Ann pushed forward a large suitcase. “These should work as bullet proof vests for us, like they did for Ren during the casino escape. They’ll still look like our usual outfits, though.”

“And this is the best I could do on short notice.” Ryuji said, reaching into a large duffel bag. He started placing weapons on the booth’s table. “Like last time, more armor-piercing rounds and stopping power. I’ve changed our loadouts a bit as well based on what we’ve seen. Ann, this FN P90 will be a bit more compact and easier to handle one-handed in the way you seem to be favoring lately. Yusuke, I’m switching you back to the SPR, since the corridors are too tight for a real sniper rifle. As for the rest, it’s been working pretty well, so no changes.”

“Futaba, Makoto - were you able to get anything from hacking the Palace, or from the maps?”

Futaba shook her head. “Shido’s Palace is well-defended in almost every way. I can’t get access to layouts and blueprints that are any more detailed than the maps for the cruise ship’s ‘guests’... Any system labeled critical in the Palace is designed to raise the alert level as soon as it’s breached.”

Makoto produced the map of the ship, apparently christened as the _ Ark of the Elite _. “This is the best I could do.”

The team looked it over. As usual, it was incredibly detailed - though they were unable to see what the Treasure Room might look like, nor were they able to see any potential traps.

Ren sighed. “...It’s a bit like old times, isn’t it? The pre-Your Excellency era of just flying by the seat of our pants.”

Makoto blinked. “You haven’t called me that in awhile.”

Ren smirked. “Maybe I’m feeling a little nostalgic. Anyway, grab your gear, everyone. We’ve got a ship to board.”

As the Phantom Thieves filed out of Leblanc, Yamada fell into step beside Ren.

Ren blinked. “Ken-chan?”

“Where are we headed, aniki?”

Ren stopped. He motioned for the other Phantom Thieves to go ahead. “Sorry? _ We _?”

“Yeah. We.” Yamada said, seriously. “You, aneki, anesan and the rest look like you’re going into a fight. And from the way you’ve been acting this past while, you haven’t been sure if you’re coming back from this one. I’m not letting you go without backing you up.”

“I have no idea--”

“You’re acting like a man trying to get his affairs in order.” Yamada said, evenly.

Ren managed to hide his surprise. Yamada had hit the nail on the head.

“Ken-chan… We’re going to a place you can’t follow. I can’t let you. I… ...I can’t fight to my fullest if you or any of the other boys were there.” Ren said, honestly. “But I need you to do something for me. I’m worried someone’s going to come after Sojiro. Hang out here, alright?”

“Is that an order?”

“It’s a request. From one friend to another, Ken-chan.”

Yamada’s expression softened. He shook his head, smiling slightly. “...Fine, aniki. But just until you get back.”

“Right.” Ren started to turn to leave.

“...You know. It’s like you and the rest are like superheroes, the way you rush off with all that gear at the drop of a hat.” Yamada said, casually. “Kinda like those Phantom Thieves.”

Ren stopped in his tracks, choosing his words carefully. “We aren’t really like them at all. And I haven’t felt really super, lately. The odds are pretty bad.”

“Ah. Well.” Yamada shrugged, turning back to Leblanc. “...If it was the Phantom Thieves, I bet they’d just find a way to beat the odds and come back alive. That’s what heroes do. That’s what they _ always _ do, right?”

Ren blinked. He smiled slightly. “...Yeah. I suppose they do, Ken-chan.”

Yamada waved. “Good. See ya, aniki.”

>>>

The setting of the National Diet faded, replaced by the sound of a dead sea, utterly devoid of seabirds or even an ocean wind. All the Phantom Thieves could hear was the hauntingly quiet passage of the massive cruise ship through the waters overlying a sunken Japan.

“Man. It still creeps me the hell out to see this.” Ryuji said, muttering.

Ren nodded, tugging on his glove a little tighter. “I hear you, Skull. All the more reason to do what we need to do and get out. All that’s left is the cleaner. Let’s head towards the cargo hold and engine ro… …”

Ann looked at Ren as he trailed off. “Joker? …Joker?” She asked again, in a concerned voice.

The expression of her love’s face was something she had never seen before. His lips were curled in a silent-snarl; his warm grey eyes now a cold steel. His entire body was a coiled spring. In the boxing ring in Kapolei, he was a hunter. He was calm and controlled, utterly focused on tracking down and defeating his opponent.

Right now, Ren Amamiya was a cornered wolf. Bristling, simultaneously afraid and enraged. Her eyes followed his sightline to the top of the National Diet building that was situated on the deck of the ship, extending from the bow to the stern. His eyes were on a balcony facing the bow of the ship. There, a tall, broad-shouldered figure stood.

The man had golden-yellow eyes hidden partially behind orange-tinted square glasses. His head was clean-shaven, save for his eyebrows and a small black goatee. At first, Ann mistook him for another cognition on the ship - after all, he wore only a simple black business suit and white shirt with the collar popped open. But there was a foreboding aura about the man. He regarded the Phantom Thieves below him as exactly that - _ below _him in every sense of the word. He crossed his arms, regarding the teenagers with only mild interest. To him, they weren’t even enough of a threat to by worthy of his anger for their intrusion to his Palace.

And this _ was _ his Palace. This was Masayoshi Shido.

“That’s… that’s Shido!” Makoto said, also following Ren’s gaze. “He’s right there!”

“Shit… you son of a bitch!” Ryuji said, his fists clenched.

“Hm. I am surprised that you’ve made it this far. Where did you all get that power, I wonder? This Palace was not - is not - designed to be traversed like one of those video games you young people are so inclined to waste your time on. Not that it matters… It’s time for your little excursion to end. Did you really think it would be so simple? Collect the letters, find the Treasure? Did you _ really _ think that a man who has been aware of his Palace for so long would be so undefended?”

Mona glanced up at Ren. “Joker! Aren’t you going to say something?! Aren’t you--”

Gunfire interrupted Mona as Ren drew and fired.

Shido angled his head; the bullet missed his forehead by centimetres.

“Tch. Pathetic. Just like a mad dog. You’re biting at the only hand capable of guiding this country. It’s fine, though. Snap all you want. I’ll just have to put you down.”

Soldiers and Shadows materialized around the deck, beginning a firefight on the bow of the ship. The sounds of gunfire and melee were interspersed with the explosive abilities of Personas. The team held fast, holding the line against the assault - without their leader.

Ren took cover - he had only _ one _ target. He said nothing, but fired bullets at the politician. Shido simply stepped behind a column for cover, his voice ringing out.

“And who are you, to have such hatred for me?” Shido called out, his voice still oozing with a mix of disdain and dismissal.

“You ruined my life! You went after my family!” Ren snarled. He kept firing; bullets chipped stone off the column. Ren’s vision tunneled. He could only hear the pounding of his heart, the rush of blood to his head. Since his discussion with Igor, he had suppressed not only Arsene, but further compartmentalized and pushed down his burgeoning rage. Every step he had taken further into the Cruiser of Pride had brought back the feeling he had when he was in custody in Kamakura. Impotent, useless anger. Black hatred that couldn’t be channeled, couldn’t be vented. At the time, he didn’t have the power - but now, Shido was _ right there _… All he had to do was let it take him over.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.” Shido said, with a slight chuckle. “One doesn’t stop to remember every ant he’s crushed on the road, does he?”

Ren’s eyes widened. The trajectory of his life had utterly and completely changed that night. His parents’ livelihood was slowly but surely being destroyed. Reiko had been forced to study abroad for a fresh start. The future he once had, peaceful days punctuated by the excitement of his chosen sport, had been snatched away in an instant.

And this _ monster _ didn’t even deign to remember what he had done.

“I’ll fucking _ kill you _!” Ren screamed. He holstered his weapons; his wrist blades snapped out as he stepped out from behind cover to begin a suicidal dash towards Shido. Some part of him knew - he wouldn’t even make it to the front entrance, let alone a climb up the front of the building.

_ ‘Release me, Trickster! We will have our vengeance!’ _

Ren froze in place. The image of the decayed and destroyed gym intrusively shoved its way to the forefront of his mind again. The cost of the Black Wing made him hesitate. Black flame faded in and out of existence around his arms as he fought Arsene for control.

His ankle was caught suddenly by a whip. Ann forcefully yanked him down to the deck. Bullets clanged off an exhaust port that was directly behind Ren’s head. She dragged him back behind cover as the other Phantom Thieves laid down suppressing fire.

“Joker! What the hell were you doing?!” Ann yelled, firing with her P90 in one hand, summoning swaths of flame with the other.

“I’m fine. It’s fine! We need to get out of here. Oracle! Options?”

Futaba’s fingers flew frantically over the unseen keyboard of her HUD. “They’ve cut us off from the exit… I can’t hack us a new one, either. Like I said, the system’s designed to prevent access to critical points. I can’t--...wait.”

The orange-haired girl pushed her goggles up. She pointed at a lifeboat; the dinghy was barely big enough to fit all of them. “Get on that!”

Yusuke whirled, cutting down a leaping Cerberus. He then turned his eyes to the boat. “That seems like it would be going out of the frying pan and into the fire…”

“Just do it! And Skull, summon William!”

The Phantom Thieves piled into the boat. Makoto and Ryuji worked the winch, dropping them into the water.

“William!”

“Al-Azif!”

As the skeletal pirate captain appeared, Al-Azif’s light surrounded both William and the dinghy. Similar to the casino, their forms glitched with the digital distortion of Futaba’s hacking.

Futaba looked at Mona. “Mona, get us away from the _ Ark _!”

“Diego!” A blast of wind pushed them away and behind a half-sunken skyscraper.

An explosion of pixelated green light and black ‘bricks’ exploded out from the dinghy, surrounding them and William. The light was blinding. As their vision cleared, the Phantom Thieves realized two things. First, they were standing much higher above the waterline than the dinghy should allow. And second, they were no longer standing in a little lifeboat.

Wood creaked gently as the ship rocked back and forth; canvas sails hung proudly from three masts, somehow full and flying despite the fact that none of the teenagers felt any breeze. Spectral crewmen manned the ship, busily mopping the deck and performing any of the myriad tasks involved in maintaining the ship.

And presiding over it all was William Kidd, standing at the helm.

“Oh my God…” Haru murmured, looking up and down the deck. “Oracle, how did…”

“Eheheh… Shido’s Palace didn’t consider access to a dinghy as ‘system critical’. So using William’s data and Al-Azif’s power… Well. Welcome to--”

William cackled. “Welcome to the _ Adventure Galley _ , rogues! Or the _ Adventure _, for short.”

Futaba grinned. “What he said.”

“Capt’n! What orders have ye?”

Ryuji turned to Ren. “Joker? What are--”

“I be referring to _ you, _ Chariot.” William said, pointing a bony finger at Ryuji.

“...Oh. Awesome!” Ryuji stood up, heading over to William to confer.

Ren shook his head, feeling Arsene sink back down into the recesses of his heart. He walked over to the side rail of the _ Adventure _ . He looked over the water at the _ Ark _, which now seemed to be deploying naval guns at regular intervals along her deck. “Skull - are we out of range of their weapons?”

“Aye-aye!” Ryuji said, reflexively, before grinning sheepishly.

Makoto rolled her eyes, muttering something about boys and pirates - she turned, though, to hide her fond smile.

“Good. We need to figure out a way to get over there…” Ren said, frowning.

“Well…” Makoto said, thoughtfully. “The _ Ark _ looks like it’s something between a cruise ship and a World War II era battleship, now. It makes sense, from what we know about Shido. He’s thinking of the last time Japan was led by a totalitarian, nationalistic regime. If the ship’s capabilities are similar, it would be too risky to take our vessel too close. But battleships of that era were vulnerable to air attacks and to submarines.”

Mona perked up. “Oh! I think I can cook something up for that…”

>>>

A short time later, the Phantom Thieves gathered at the side of the _ Adventure. _ Ren, Ann, Makoto, Haru, and Futaba stood closer to the rail, facing the water. Mona was nearby, with Diego out and ready. Yusuke and Ryuji stood a little further back.

Ryuji frowned. “I’m not sure I’m alright with this plan.”

Ren shook his head. “Sorry, Skull. We need you on the _ Adventure _ in case we need to make a quick getaway. And to cover our approach with cannonfire.”

“I know. Just…” His eyes flickered to Makoto.

“I’m telling you, Oracle. You won’t need to swim, from what Mona says!”

“And you just believe him?!” Futaba shouted. Makoto was busy trying to calm the orange-haired girl down.

“She’s the last person you’d ever need to protect, Skull. But I get it. Don’t worry.”

Ryuji nodded, bumping Ren’s fist with his own. “Take care of yourself too, right?”

Mona pawed lightly at Ann’s knee. “Ann-dono…”

Ann knelt down, looking at Mona. “Yes, Mona?” The cat bandit looked unusually grave. Any concern the blonde had that this might have been a last-ditch confession just prior to a major battle faded. “What’s wrong?”

Mona glanced over at Ren, who was now exchanging some words with Yusuke, his hand on the slender artist’s shoulder.

“There’s… there’s something wrong with Joker, lately.”

Ann frowned. “...You mean how he’s not using Arsene? How he hasn’t used that Black Wing?”

Mona nodded. “...I know that Arsene’s been close to having a Second Awakening, but something’s stopping him. And I know that it’s different from yours, or Ryuji’s, or anyone else’s. So I told him that it might be dangerous. But… But this might be even worse. It’s just…” Mona frowned, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s just a _ feeling _. I can’t tell you what might happen if he keeps going like this. But now I’m going to be stuck back here, and I can’t watch him, and--”

“Mona…” Ann said, softly. She reached over, gently patting his head. “Thank you for watching over him.”

“But it hasn’t been enough! He’s still--”

“Mona, I’ll be with him. I’ll watch over him… ...And really, all we can do is support him, like we always have.”

Ann’s eyes followed Ren as he headed to the side rail. He gave a cocky smirk and salute before leaping over the edge, followed by Haru, Makoto, and a _ very _ reluctant Futaba. The blonde stood, heading over to the rail. She smiled at Mona.

“All we can do is support him, and believe in him.”

>>>

On the _ Ark _, two guards patrolled a walkway on the exterior of the ship.

“Can you believe they managed to escape on a _ pirate ship _?” One guard asked, looking at his partner.

“Heh. Yeah. Captain Shido was freaking pissed. I heard he executed every single one of the troops that were fighting topside as punishment…”

“That’s crazy. Ah, well. Not that we’re short of manpower. He’s got the entire country at his disposal! ...Hey. Wait. Do you hear something?”

“Hear what? It’s just the usual… ...Wait…”

The guards paused, listening. A soft sound drifted softly over the rail, barely audible above the lapping of the water against the hull of the _ Ark _.

_ Sailors live so restlessly _ _  
_ _ Come with me, sleep peacefully _ _  
_ _ Listen to this siren’s song _ _  
_ _ Worry not for nothing’s wrong _

“...That’s singing…?” One of the guards said, frowning.

“God, that’s creepy as hell… ...But it’s kind of beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Beautiful or not, we have to check it out.”

The two raised their weapons and crept carefully towards the rail.

_ Let my voice lead you this way _ _  
_ _ I will not lead you astray _ _  
_ _ Trust me as we reach the side _ _  
_ _ Jumping out where men have died _

“...Uh… isn’t there a myth about this? About a mermaid, or…”

“Siren…” The other guard corrected. He lowered his gun, mystified, as a pale hand reached up from below the level of the deck. Water streamed off the smooth skin as slender fingers gestured enticingly. The song faded to a flirtatious giggle.

The guards exchanged glances. They made the rest of the way to the rail and leaned over to look.

The blow of a bardiche took one’s head off his shoulders. The other fell victim to Makoto’s Detective Special.

Makoto shook her head, unscrewing the silencer that she and Ryuji had made together during one of their dates. “I really can’t believe all of that worked. From Mona using Diego to supply us with air and propel us like torpedos, to Ann managing to draw the guards like a siren…”

Ann hauled herself up over the rail, shrugging as she tugged her glove back on. “A haunting melody combined with a little push from Celestine’s confusion magic. We’re just lucky that Shido’s cognition of sailors was accurate, right down to the superstitions.”

Haru laughed. “True. Really though, to think anyone could be bewitched so easily…”

Ren pulled himself up over the rail next. He was regarding Ann a little strangely, with a slightly dopey smile on his face.

“...he doesn’t really count.” Futaba said, coming up next. “He was already bewitched.”

“...Wha?” Ren shook his head. He hid his embarrassment behind a cough, not meeting Ann’s knowing glance. “Let’s find a way in. We just need to wait for Skull’s signal before we get too far in…”

>>>

“Helm, flanking speed! Ready about to port on my mark!” Ryuji yelled, calling back to the helm from his position on the forecastle. “Gunners, prepare a full broadside!”

Yusuke, situated in the crow’s nest, spoke over his radio. “Skull, your aptitude for this is quite remarkable…”

Mona was perched on the edge of the bucket-like platform. “Heh heh. I wonder if Skull knows what he’s even saying.”

There was a brief pause on the radio. Ryuji spoke, sounding mildly unsettled. “...I kinda do, actually. I mean, _ I _ don’t, but whatever Oracle did… all of this jargon just came into my head.” Ryuji tried not to worry about the implications of his ghost-pirate partner taking up more room in his head. “Anyway. Just get ready to pick off some sailors, guys!”

Ryuji looked back at William. “Helm….! Mark! Gunners, fire at will!”

The ship lurched, cutting sharply across the stern of the _ Ark _ . The sudden maneuver put the lightly-armored _ Adventure _ into perfect firing position while avoiding the heaviest of the _ Ark’s _ weaponry. Cannons boomed as the faster ship blew holes in the back of the _ Ark _, cutting through the water and flying out of range of the counter-attack.

Yusuke and Mona worked in tandem, directing bullets from the artist’s SPR assault rifle with gentle nudges of wind, precision shots taking down sailors and guards - all of whom were streaming towards the stern of the ship to take on the _ Adventure _, away from the infiltration team.

>>>

Ren and the rest of the infiltration team strode across the lower hold of the _ Ark _, leaving behind them the smoking ruin of the control room that once housed the yakuza cleaner and his cronies. A flaming bulkhead crashed to the floor, half-melted into unsalvageable slag. Makoto sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the sound of the falling support beam.

“Panther, I think we need to have a talk about this habit of yours.”

Ann smiled innocently at Makoto. “And what habit is that?”

Makoto stared at Ann. She gestured at the bulkhead. “Seriously? Try pyromania! The melting temperature of steel is 1370 degrees! Was that really necessary?! We’re on a ship!”

“Oh come on, Queen. You have to admit. It was a good move!” Ann protested.

Makoto shook her head. “You’re not wrong about that. He had his back turned, and we were in perfect position above them from the vent. But you turned the entire room into a blast furnace! If Joker hadn’t been ready with Seiryu and that ice barrier, the letter of introduction would have been torched, not to mention all of us, too!”

“Come on, Queen. All’s well that ends well.” Haru said, smiling. She giggled lightly. “Besides. Didn’t you enjoy the way those Shadows screamed…?”

“...You’re all crazy.” Makoto muttered.

“Joker thinks I’m perfect. Right?” Ann clung to Ren, intentionally hugging his arm in a way that gave him an eyeful of the cutout on the front of her costume.

Makoto rolled her eyes. “You light him on fire on a semi-regular basis and I’m starting to suspect that he _ likes _ it. He’s hardly an unbiased opinion.”

“Hey! I don’t like it!...” Ren protested reflexively. He then paused, thinking about it.

_ ‘I don’t like it _ ** _much_ ** _ .’ _

With a wry smile, he started turning to Ann: ostensibly to agree with both the tactical decision and that he did think she was perfect - but really, to ogle - when he froze, mid-stride. He suddenly felt Arsene rail against the confines of his heart in warning. It was a familiar feeling of disgust and fear - like he was feeling a venomous snake slither across his soul.

“...Joker? What’s wrong—!”

Ann yelped as Joker shoved her aside before diving in the opposite direction.

A bullet ricocheted off the floor where Ann and Ren had been standing, sparks flying into the air. From the floor, Ren twisted and fired Faith at their assailant. It was a wild shot into the shadows above them where Ren _ thought _ the bullet came from. His gamble was rewarded with a surprised curse and the clatter of an FN 1910 hitting the floor behind the Phantom Thieves.

A familiar figure clad in red and white dropped down next, cushioning his fall by sinking to a knee in front of the firearm. He picked up the gun, inspecting it, and then Ren, with a sense of haughty irritation. As if he was looking at an insect he was about to crush.

“Back from the dead, like Lazarus himself. Can you not just be a good boy and _ die _?” Akechi asked, his expression a bland mask. Previously, the princely costume seemed to suit him nicely. Now, with his empty voice and dead eyes, the outfit seemed more and more like a cheap facade, cracking and falling away.

“I would have. But your attempts on my life have been pretty lacklustre. It took me less than a night to come back to life. Lazarus took four. And that was a terrible shot.” Ren said, with his trademark mocking smirk.

The gun was different, too. If Ryuji has been there, he would have pointed out the infamous assassin’s pistol of Franz Ferdinand. The weapon was a stark contrast to the toy-like laser pistol that he wielded when he fought alongside the Phantom Thieves. This pistol seemed to radiate an aura of murderous intent.

Akechi smiled icily.

“I wasn’t aiming for _ you _, Amamiya.” His eyes turned to Ann.

Ren’s smirk faded. His blood ran cold as he quickly looked at where the bullet struck the floor. If he hadn’t shoved Ann, it would have gone right through the back of her head.

Ren flexed his wrists; his trademark blades snapped out.

Haru hefted her bardiche. “I was almost hoping you’d chase us in here…”

“You’ll pay for what you did to mom!” Futaba shouted. The shard-like spectre of Al-Azif hovered over her. While the Persona didn’t have a face, it levitated in a way that seemed agitated and on-guard, responding to the feelings of its ward

“You have a lot to answer for, Akechi.” Makoto said, grimly. “You claim to be on the side of justice and yet you’re cooperating with Shido. If you’re here, you’ve seen his true nature. You’ve seen what he actually thinks of people, how he sees this country! How can you--”

“I don’t give a damn about this country. I’ve always said that everything I’m doing is for _ my _justice, Niijima. I wasn’t lying about that.” Akechi glared at each of the Phantom Thieves. “Masayoshi Shido is my father.”

Silence fell like a pall over the five Phantom Thieves.

“I’m his bastard.” Akechi said, his face a blank mask. “My very existence was nothing but a scandal. I was swept under the rug… And so was my mother. Shido was ‘merciful’. He didn’t have her killed. He just forced her out of politics, prevented her from having any kind of real life. Every time she looked at me, she saw _ him _. She hated me… hated the fact that I existed. But she worked herself to death to support us regardless, doing degrading, thankless work…”

“That’s… ...that’s horrible.” Ann murmured, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the boy in the red mask. But even that sympathy from the kind-hearted girl turned into revulsion as Akechi started to laugh. The cackling was chilling, bringing to mind the sound of breaking bones and rupturing tendons. It was a sound of pain, hurt, and hatred. His smile was a twisted sneer, reflecting the madness in his eyes as the manicured mask of the Detective Prince fell apart completely.

“But then everything changed.” Akechi said, still laughing. “Either God or the Devil was watching over me. I discovered the Metaverse! The means for my justice! It was a simple matter then to appear before Shido, ingratiate myself with him. I’m going to put him into the seat of power. Then, at his apex… I will whisper in his ear, and tell him that the one responsible for his ascension was the bastard son he rejected… It’ll be the last thing in his head before I kill him!”

“All those people! You killed all those people for _ that!?” _ Ren growled.

“Why should I care?! All of my targets were the same. They were just filthy degenerates living in a selfish world. All acceptable sacrifices for _ my _ justice.” Akechi sneered. “If they weren’t strong enough to stop me, then they deserved to be used. The fact that you have a problem with that just proves your own lack of resolve. How are the Phantom Thieves any better? You’ve done nothing but forcefully impose your will on people you deem criminals.”

“We’re not _ murderers! _ ” Ann clenched her fists, halos of flame already forming around her hands. “You called them filthy degenerates… How many families have you torn apart?! There were _ children _ in the subway accidents, the bus crashes!”

“So what?! I just spared them from being used by another piece of shit adult in this disgusting world! At least this way, they serve a greater purpose.” Akechi retorted. “Masayoshi Shido is finally within my grasp. If I take him down, it’ll all be worth it. The ends justify the means! I had no other choice!”

Joker stepped forwards, in his trademark Detroit hitman stance. “There’s always a choice, Akechi. And you made the wrong one.”

“Joker. Joker, wait.” Makoto said, pointing with a tonfa. “Look…”

The ghostly image of a Persona appeared briefly above Akechi, filling the air with a menacing chill. It gestured, vanishing before any of the Phantom Thieves could get a good look. It left behind shadowy tethers. Three extended from Akechi’s left hand and into the far shadows of the hold; several more tethers led out of the hold altogether.

“That… that wasn’t Robin Hood.” Futaba murmured.

“He’s probably only shown us a fraction of his strength.” Makoto warned, holding her weapons defensively. “He’s been in the Metaverse longer than any of us. And he’s worked alone the entire time…”

“Not a bad deduction, for the pushover student council president.” Akechi sneered. He then chuckled, looking at the assembled Phantom Thieves. “This is hardly a fair fight, isn’t it? Why don’t I even the odds?”

He pulled at the leads, dragging multiple struggling forms of Shadows in their true forms to his heel. Ren recognized Cerberus, Baphomet, and Cu Chulainn as they were hauled out of the darkness of the hold. The spectral beings’ eyes were wild with fear; the humanoid Cu Chulainn clawed at the metal deck plates, trying to get away. Cerberus and Baphomet snapped and bit at each other in sheer panic. The terror was palpable. The Phantom Thieves started to hear distant cries and gibbering of other Shadows being dragged toward Akechi.

A grin slowly spread across Akechi’s face.

“Call of Chaos.”

>>>

“We have to get over there!” Ryuji yelled. He and the other members of the distraction team had been listening in on Akechi’s ambush over the radio. Now, all they could hear was the cacophony of battle. The howls of berserk Shadows was punctuated by the sound of Persona powers being unleashed, gunfire, and the voices of their friends - surprise, battle cries, and _ pain _.

“William! Flanking speed astern, rudder amidships! Match her speed once we’re alongside the _ Ark _, and then prepare for boarding!”

“Aye sir!” William replied. The wheel of the _ Adventure _spun.

“Skull! We don’t have the firepower for a forced boarding like that, remember?! The only way any of us were able to get on that ship at all was because we’re out here keeping most of the defenses busy!” Mona said. He turned away from Ryuji to gesture in the air; a blast of wind from Diego pushed an incoming shell away from the _ Adventure _, creating a geyser of water as the ordnance exploded harmlessly away from the ship.

“We can’t just hang back here, Mona!” Ryuji said. “You can hear them on the radio too, can’t you?! They’re barely hanging on in there!”

“I know. I know! But we can’t just throw our lives away without a plan!”

Yusuke descended from the crow’s nest and put a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder. “Skull… Can you get us alongside the _ Ark _, but outside the effective range of her weapons? There are portholes along the lower hold. I may be able to see something through my scope.”

“Tch… Queen’s in there, I…”

“Skull. Please. Queen is my friend - they all are. I would not be able to forgive myself if anything happened to them. But… they would not forgive themselves if anything happened to _ us _, should we just charge in mindlessly.”

“...William. You heard Fox. Bring us alongside, out of range of the _ Ark _.”

>>>

The battle raged on in the hold of the _ Ark _, five Phantom Thieves against Akechi and his battalion of enraged Shadows. Ann’s whip was a ribbon of light, slashing through the air and leaving a blazing afterimage as the model showed the results of her training. Constantly moving, the plasma-hot weapon lashed about like a living thing, trying to fend off any enemy that tried to approach her.

‘Trying’ being the operative term. Ann’s whip took the arm off an approaching Cu Chulainn. Normally, this humanoid Shadow would have stumbled back and shown some acknowledgement of pain. But this manifestation of the Irish hero was corrupted. Its skin was blackened, its eyes glowed red. It shrieked in anger as it reached down, picking up its fallen spear. It stabbed at Ann, its severed arm still clinging to the shaft of the weapon.

Ann’s eyes widened - she started to turn, to bring her P90 around. She wouldn’t make it. She braced for the attack, knowing it was going to take her in the ribs.

Futaba’s Desert Eagle roared.

Cu Chulainn, now bereft of an arm _ and _ a head, dropped to the ground before fading into wisps of scattered shadow.

“Nice shot, Oracle!” Ann called, resuming her frantic spellcasting, whip work and gunfire.

“I was aiming for the chest, but sure, I’ll take it!” Futaba replied, before disappearing back into the hatch of Al-Azif. Her voice continued, now over the radio. “They’re like zombies, they won’t stop coming!”

It was true - these Shadows didn’t acknowledge pain. They didn’t hesitate, no matter how grevious their wounds. They were substantially stronger than they were without Akechi’s manipulation, but not because of any new abilities. They were simply focused on all-out attack, lacking any sense of self-preservation. Every ounce of their strength and hatred was directed to destroying the Phantom Thieves.

A berserk Cerberus missing an eye and half of its lower jaw slammed into Makoto, pinning her to the ground. The beast roared, lunging forward to tear out the brunette’s throat. She reacted quickly, clubbing it with her left tonfa - she managed to knock it off course… where it settled for tearing into her shoulder, instead.

Makoto screamed a curse, grimacing in pain. She dropped her right hand tonfa, drawing her Detective Special. She jammed the barrel into empty eye socket of the beast, emptying the revolver into the skull of the Shadow as Haru’s bardiche came down, hacking into the base of its spine. Even before it could fade away, Haru quickly applied one of Takemi’s medications, hauling Makoto back onto her feet. The heiress immediately spun; her and Milady fired a barrage of mortar and grenade fire into the entrance to the hold as more enraged Shadows flooded in.

“We can’t keep this up!” Makoto called.

“We have to!” Ann said. “Akechi’s giving Joker everything he can handle!”

Ann fired her P90 at an approaching Shadow, the staccato sound punctuated by a wet-sounding pop as the burst took the beast in between the eyes. The blonde looked anxiously towards Ren and Akechi. The two combatants were black and white blurs. The clash of metal against metal formed a chilling rhythm to the fight, punctuated by the sound of a whirling red cloak and the calls of either boy to their Personas.

Laughing, Akechi sprang back as Ren attacked. His red cape, now doffed and held with his left hand, flashed out. The Detective Prince used the heavy fabric deftly in his off-hand, the thick fabric used to conceal his movements or throw off Ren’s attacks. The heavy cloak tangled up the boxer’s chopping right. The Detective Prince thrust forward with his saber, forcing Ren to use his left to parry - and leaving him truly wide open.

“Robin Hood!”

The Persona materialized, his longbow thrumming. Eight glowing arrows shot towards Ren’s exposed back.

“Yoshitsune!”

The Minamoto clan’s general appeared - and then vanished, moving too quickly to see as he danced amongst the incoming projectiles, intercepting each one. Eight arrow shafts shattered mid-flight. Robin Hood glared across at Yoshitsune - the two engaged in combat, matching their masters. Spectral arrows met ghostly sword.

Ren glanced quickly at his right hand, still tangled in Akechi’s cloak. He retracted his right blade and grabbed the heavy fabric of the cape, suddenly hauling the Detective Prince towards himself. His left came forward in a _ seiken _ style punch, stepping forward to change his stance and slipping past Akechi’s saber. His left blade stabbed toward Akechi’s solar plexus.

Akechi’s eyes widened, surprised at the karate-style technique. He reacted on pure instinct as he leaned back, his leading-left leg blurring as he connected with an in-close _ mawashi geri _ kick to Ren’s leading hand. The blade shattered; Akechi spun on the follow through, shifting his weight to his left as it came down to the floor - and slamming a thrust kick into Ren’s stomach. As Ren staggered, Akechi paused, his saber held in a single hand over his shoulder as he charged his attack, channeling Robin Hood’s power into the sword - the Brave Blade technique. Blade glowing white, he slashed down to take Ren’s head off his shoulders.

The momentary pause saved Joker - he recovered in time to launch himself off his semi-crouched position, inside the effective range of Akechi’s saber. His shoulder thudded into the chest of his adversary.

Akechi sneered, bracing himself for the inevitable in-fighting techniques he had seen Ren do so many times before at Shinoda’s gym against other boxers, even if he himself never sparred with him again after the first time. He dropped his sword, his hands grabbing Ren’s wrists and angling them away from his vital areas - he knew that Ren had developed a deceptive habit of retracting and deploying his blades at unexpected times, turning stalemate holds and seemingly harmless punches into potentially deadly stabs.

Ren tensed, preparing to attack.

Akechi wasn’t intimidated. “Robin Hood--Urk!”

Ren drove his hands _ up _ , away from Akechi - the unexpected direction broke the Detective Prince’s grip. The boxer’s hands came down, fingers lacing over the back of Akechi’s neck, jerking him down to meet his knee, remarkably similar to what Haru had done. Akechi felt and _ heard _ the cartilage of his nose crunch. The rust-metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.

Dazed, he started to struggle to get away.

Ren’s grip was iron.

Another knee to the face. A hard elbow to the back of his head. Ren’s assault was a clinic in brutal close range combat, far outside the bounds of boxing. Ren felt something shift in Akechi’s stance. Ren’s eyes widened, feeling Arsene roar with warning.

Ren threw himself abruptly aside - enough to dodge the sudden headshot attempt from Akechi’s pistol, hidden within the cloak folded over his left hand. Out in the open, he wasn’t able to dodge the follow-up bullet that tore through his left shoulder. The leader of the Phantom Thieves immediately sought cover behind a barrel as Akechi did the same behind a crate.

The Detective Prince spat blood out, grimacing. “Not bad, Amamiya. I guess you taught that mixed martial arts garbage to little Orphan Annie over there?” He fired blindly over the crate at Ren as he forcibly reset his own broken nose, grunting in pain.

Ren drew Vengeance in his right hand, returning fire. The modified 1911 thundered, splintering the crate Akechi took cover behind. “Haru taught _ me, _flatfoot. And that ‘garbage’ just broke your pretty face!”

He glanced at his left arm, trying to move his hand. It wouldn’t respond beyond a futile twitch; blood flowed from the bullet wound in his left shoulder.

_ ‘Shit… he must have hit a nerve.’ _

“Ishtar--”

“Robin Hood!”

“--Shit. Yoshitsune!”

Ren repelled the arrows using the abilities of the spectral samurai, but was unable to get enough of a pause to heal his useless left arm. Akechi’s laughter informed Ren that the Detective Prince knew precisely what was going on.

“‘He who rules with his left, rules the world’, wasn’t that what your coach said? Guess you won’t be ruling much of anything now.”

Ren winced; more gunfire struck his cover. _ ‘Keep him talking. Think.’ _

“I don’t remember telling you that.”

“You didn’t. But I know everything about you, Amamiya.” Akechi said, reloading. He stood, approaching Ren’s cover. Robin Hood continued a barrage of arrows, forcing Ren to remain behind the barrel. “I know that your precious Coach Takeda taught you everything you know. I know that your entire fighting style revolves around your left arm, which is useless now. And, I know what Shido did to you. You pathetic coward. You don’t have the resolve to do what’s necessary, and so you hide behind your ‘mercy’ and your ‘friendship’ and your ‘justice’. If you stick your head out now, I’ll make it quick. And you’ll die knowing that I’ll finish Shido off properly. A bullet to the brain instead of a change of heart.”

“That sounds like a pretty crappy deal, Akechi.” Ren said, firing blindly around the barrel. He looked toward the other side of the hold where the battle raged on. His allies were holding a stalemate against the berserk Shadows, but were unable to get to him to help. Yoshitsune and Alice were powerful, but were just on even ground with Robin Hood. Ishtar… Akechi wouldn’t give him time to summon her.

Akechi drew closer, laughing. “It’s the best deal you’ll get, you piece of shit. If you make me work for this, I’ll make that girlfriend of yours scream. I’ll--”

“Alice!” Ren called. He sprang out behind cover, aiming Vengeance at Akechi. He fired wildly, forcing the Detective Prince to dive aside.

“Useless! Robin Hood!”

Arrows streaked towards Ren - The Phantom Thief dropped his gun, deploying a wrist blade to deflect the arrows. He cried out, dropping to a knee as one stabbed into his thigh. His left arm still hung uselessly at his side.

Akechi’s mocking smile faded as he realized - why was Ren covering his Persona, and not the other way around?

The quiet giggle of a child was his answer.

“Won’t you come play with me? Won’t you sing with me?”

Alice stood several metres behind Ren. The little blonde girl had her hands clasped in front of her, rocking back and forth on her Mary Jane shoes. She faced the horde of berserk Shadows - all of which slowly turned to face her. They moved with leaden footsteps towards the girl as she started to sing a nursery rhyme.

_ You may go in, you may enter _ _  
_ _ Which way is this narrow pathway? _ _  
_ _ This is the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine _ _  
_ _ Please allow me to go through… _

_ Those without good reason shall not pass _  
_ To celebrate the 7th birthday of this child _ _  
_We’ve come to dedicate our offering

_ Going in is easy, but returning is scary. _

Akechi’s eyes widened. He yanked on the leashes of shadow that bound the monsters to him - but they continued their slow march, now under a different spell. “What is this?!”

Alice kept singing _ Toryanse _. The song was familiar to everyone present; it was typically used as an auditory cue by traffic lights in Tokyo to let the visually impaired know when it was safe to cross. Sung by the Persona, though, Ren was reminded of the origin of the song - it hearkened to a time of high infant mortality, when actually surviving to the age of seven was an event worthy of an offering to a temple. Her voice was quiet and gentle, but compelled even him to take a step towards the little girl.

At last, the song drew to a close. The Shadows gathered around her.

Alice smiled. 

“Won’t you play with me? Won’t you sing with me?...”

Her smile widened into a grin. Her innocent, beautiful face became ugly. Her voice deepened; her eyes glowed.

“Won’t you die for me?”

The explosion of power from Alice was blinding, temporarily obliterating the vision of Akechi and the Phantom Thieves.

When the after-image faded, Alice was gone. And so were the Shadows.

“Ishtar!”

“I told you, Amamiya! I won’t let you! Robin Hood!”

Arrows lanced towards Ren again to prevent the Phantom Thief from healing his wounds. Ren looked up as the form of the horned Goddess materialized behind him; the arrows would strike true.

A wall of flame disintegrated the arrows. Ann’s voice rang through the hold, reverberating with the power of the _ mezzo-soprano _ that was her partner. “I’ve got your back, Wildcard!”

Akechi growled in frustration, raising his pistol again - multiple expertly aimed gunshots forced him behind cover.

“We’re with you, Joker!” Makoto called, firing again for good measure to keep the Detective Prince’s head down.

“And my axe!” Futaba called.

Haru frowned, looking confused. “...But you don’t use an axe. I do.”

“...Just… it’s a meme. You’re supposed to… Bah. Nevermind! Alright. Let’s get fired up!”

Al-Azif’s magic coursed through the team just as Ishtar’s Salvation did; light wove a complex pattern around the team, healing their wounds, enhancing their abilities.

“Pathetic. I don’t need Shadows to kill all of you!” Akechi snarled, standing as his frustration and anger got the better of him. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he could fight Amamiya to a stalemate, only to have the deciding factor be the other boy’s friends. Having connections was supposed to be a weakness. ‘Friends’ would only drag you down, force you to carry their shortcomings.

“Robin Hood--!!”

Nuclear fire consumed Akechi, interrupting his summoning. He stumbled back, reeling. He looked forward only at the roar of a motorcycle.

Makoto, astride Agnes, side-swept Akechi, the back tire catching his hip and knocking him hard against the unforgiving hull of the ship. He screamed, feeling something give in his shoulder as it was dislocated, forcing him to drop his gun.

He didn’t have a moment to rest as Haru’s grenade launcher fired; shrapnel tore into his body as the blast flung him back yet again.

“Yoshitsune! Hassou Tobi.”

Akechi’s eyes widened as the samurai appeared in front of him - he slashed with his sword, but the Persona vanished - and then cut him to ribbons, backhand blade whirling.

Akechi dropped to his knees - battered and bleeding.

“God… damnit…” Akechi coughed, spitting out more blood. “I’ll… I’ll kill you…”

Ann shook her head, shaken by the sight in front of her. Akechi’s white costume was in tatters, hanging off of him in ribbons and stained completely red with blood.

“Stop. Just stop it! Isn’t this enough? You want to take Shido down. So do we. Why can’t we work together?”

“Killing us won’t make you happy…” Makoto added, shaking her head. “You don’t really want to do this, do you? You don’t really hate Joker--”

“Shut up! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!” Akechi screamed, dragging himself to his feet. “What the _ fuck _ do you know? Of course I hate him!”

Akechi glowered at Ren, clutching a bleeding gash on his stomach. “Of course I hate _ you _ . You piece of shit. You _ trash _ . How… how are you allowed to _ exist _ ?! I fought, scratched, and clawed my way to the top. I _ killed _ to get to where I am. I carefully built my vengeance with years of patience, with years of smiling politely like a _ whipped dog _ to the man that caused all of this… I gave up _ everything _ for my justice! Even my humanity!”

He grabbed his own arm - with a visceral scream, he yanked on it, pulling his shoulder back in joint. Futaba winced, hiding her eyes for a moment at the sight.

One shadow tether remained. Akechi pulled it, dragging a Cu Chulainn into the hold. It wasn’t enraged; its eyes were wild with fear. Akechi’s grin was ferocity and madness.

“And then you… Everything just fell into your lap. You decided to be a big hero. You walked all over my plans. You gained allies… ...no, friends, who’d do anything for you. You have parents who love you even though you ruined their lives. A girl who loves you despite the fact that you have no future. Even though you were thrown aside by society like the trash you are. Even though you’re some useless garbage living in an attic…”

He grabbed Cu Chulainn by the throat. His red mask briefly distorted, turning black.

“...That… that was a black mask.” Futaba murmured.

“K… kill me. Just… send me back.” The Shadow begged, gurgling out of its constricted windpipe. Akechi ignored the entreaty.

“Shido gave me no choice. I did what I had to do. Who the fuck are you to question that?! Why are you alive?! HOW IS IT FAIR?!” Akechi screamed. His fingers like daggers, he plunged his free hand into Cu Chulainn’s chest, where the humanoid Shadow’s heart would be.

The Phantom Thieves were stunned into silence as Akechi seemed to draw strength from the stricken Shadow. Its form started to distort, nothing like the way Shadows usually ‘died’. A black energy veined with red lightning rushed from the Shadow and into Akechi, obscuring the Phantom Thieves’ vision of him.

Ren recoiled. “Jesus… What the hell are you _ doing _, Akechi!?”

“Just making sure we’re on equal footing, Amamiya.” Akechi said, his voice now unnervingly calm as it reached the Phantom Thieves out of the miasma. Gradually it cleared, revealing Akechi - his wounds healed and now dressed in an outfit coloured in black and midnight blue, with a mask that was all jagged edges and twisted lines.

Cu Chulainn, still impaled on Akechi’s bloodied hand, let out one final death rattle. “N… no…”

Its form shattered to pieces, exploding into dust as the shards struck the floor. No wisps of shadow fading back to the Sea of Souls.

“Let’s start again, shall we?” Akechi asked, conversationally.

“You… ...you _ consumed _ that Shadow.” Futaba said, reading the signals on her HUD. “Normally they just go back to the Sea of Souls. But now… now it’s _ gone _. Just… gone.”

“What does it matter?! They’re just Shadows! Didn’t you hear me? The weak exist to feed the strong! You’ll soon find out---”

Akechi reacted perfectly to Ren’s leaping preemptive strike. Two black blades chopped down at him from above and were met with Akechi’s sheathed sword - now a Japanese _ nodachi _. Ren landed on his feet, still pressing his blades against the lacquered sheath.

“Didn’t your parents teach you that it’s rude to interrupt? I’ll have to punish them for the job they did raising you the next time I see them.” Akechi laughed. He pivoted, twisting his waist and shoving Ren aside.

Ren turned, setting his feet in stance. He didn’t respond, his trademark smirk gone in exchange for a flat, serious expression. He leapt to attack before he even realized he was doing it, so strong was the impulse from Arsene despite his active suppression of his longtime partner. He winced, the voice of Arsene loud in his heart and mind.

_ ‘Release me, Trickster! You need my power to stand a chance against them!’ _

Ren shook his head, trying to silence Arsene. The imagery of the Velvet Room, of the broken down and decayed gym, still haunted him. He had gotten this far into the Cruiser of Pride without relying on the Black Wing. He and his friends had forced Akechi into this new form, whatever it was.

But the cold pit in Ren’s stomach didn’t go away.

“Yoshitsune! Hassou Tobi!”

Yoshitsune appeared. The samurai-general smirked; he danced in and out of sight, his sword flashing. Akechi’s form also blurred, his movement almost too fast to see. Eight whirling strikes… Eight _ -tocks- _of metal ringing against the wood of Akechi’s scabbard. The dust settled; Yoshitsune frowned in irritation before he faded back into Ren’s mask. Akechi hadn’t even drawn his sword.

“Is that it? You’ve already shown me that attack. Why don’t you try some of your vaunted friendship or teamwork now?” He said mockingly. He gestured, inviting the other Phantom Thieves to attack.

“Celestine!”

“Agnes!”

“Milady!”

Flames, ionizing radiation, and artillery fire turned the area where the Detective Prince stood into a column of glowing flame and shrapnel.

When it was over, not even ash remained on the spot.

Futaba looked about carefully. “I… I think it’s over? I’m not picking up his signal…”

Ren nodded slowly. His partner was silent, as if waiting with bated breath. “...right. Let’s…”

The feeling of revulsion and fear washed over his heart again like a tsunami of filth and decay. His eyes widened.

“He’s here! He’s still here—”

Ren was cut off, brutally struck down from behind with the sheathed nodachi. Makoto drew her pistol, only to have it shot out of her hands, followed by a bullet to her chest - just missing her heart.

Haru rushed Akechi with her bardiche. Akechi blocked the chopping blow; Haru used the wicked crescent of her weapon to hook his sword and force it aside. She drove her elbow towards his face on the follow through.

She dropped to the floor gasping as an armored knee slammed into her solar plexus before she could connect. 

“Heal ‘em up!” Futaba called, gesturing to Al-Azif.

Ann cracked her whip - it came to life with fire, carving lines of molten metal into the floor of the ship. She stalked toward Akechi, lashing out.

“Help them, Oracle! I’ll cover you!”

Akechi laughed, leaping back from the torrent of fire generated by Ann’s attack. He made no move to dodge the next lash of the whip, instead calling loudly and gesturing to the air with a clenched fist. “Loki!”

A rift tore open in the air above Akechi. _ Laevateinn, _ the fiery greatsword of the Norse god, streaked through the portal and slammed into the ground in front of the Detective Prince. Ann’s whip struck the blade. In an instant, the glow of superheated plasma vanished from the whip. Then, like a wick, it became ablaze with the same black and red miasma that surrounded Akechi a moment earlier. The aura shot back along the whip to Ann.

Ann cried out in pain as she dropped her weapon. She wrung her hand. In that brief moment, her fingers had become ice cold and unresponsive. She slowly flexed her fingers as the feeling returned.

Futaba’s intervention was complete; the Phantom Thieves stood once again, healed up - but uncertain.

Akechi regarded them all with a cruel smile. “So, now all of you see. This is the difference between us. You’ve been playing at being heroes for less than a year, barely scraping by with your ‘team’. I’ve been doing what’s necessary all on my own for far, far longer…”

“Necessary? How is this _ necessary _?” Ren said, slowly getting to his feet. “The people you killed. The lives you ruined. You could have just finished Shido and been done with it!”

“Not enough!” Akechi shouted. “Not so easy! He needs to fall right at the moment of his victory! Anyone… _ anyone _ who wrongs me deserves _ tenfold _the pain! Just as you’ll see. Let’s play a game, shall we? Loki… Web of Deceit.”

With a chilling laugh, Loki descended from the rift in the air above Akechi. The treacherous god stood perched on the pommel of Laevateinn, his cloven hooves balanced perfectly on the narrow perch. He threw his arms out wide - and suddenly, a multitude of tethers became visible across the entire floor of the hold. Black veined with crimson, they criss-crossed the floor.

_ ‘...Too late, Trickster. Too late…’ _ Arsene murmured, before becoming silent in Ren’s heart of his own accord.

“Nn… Augh!” Ann’s voice caught Ren’s attention. He spun to look.

One of the shadow tethers bound her, wrapping around her arms, neck, and legs as she struggled. “It… it hurts! Joker!”

Eyes wide, Ren ran for her. He slashed at the tether, severing it. Three more rose from the floor to take its place, trapping Ann in a web that centered on Loki. Ren looked desperately for his allies - they were in equally dire straits, completely bound and forming a square around Akechi and Ren.

“Isn’t this fun, Amamiya?” Akechi said, mockingly. “It is for me, at least. Don’t look so upset. Here. I’ll make this seem a little more familiar to you.”

Three more tethers rose from the floor, connecting the four trapped Phantom Thieves in a mockery of a boxing ring.

“It’s no use cutting them all down. During the first part of our fight, I was placing these threads all over the floor of the hold, just in case. I never thought I’d have to show you this… I must say. I’m a little impressed.” Akechi said, grinning. “Why don’t we play a game? If you entertain me enough, I won’t kill your friends. I’ll still make them watch _ you _ die, of course, but--”

“Let them go!” Ren snarled, cutting Akechi off with another preemptive attack.

Akechi smiled, gamely dodging and parrying with his sheathed sword. “That’s the spirit, Amamiya! Show me some of that rage! Show me the ‘Black Wing’ you’re so fond of! Ever since the day I saw you unleash it against Madarame, I’ve wanted to fight against it. I’ve wanted to destroy it! I’m going to crush you at your best, trash.”

Ren continued his assault - jabs, crosses, and hooks met with the wooden sheath or simply found air. Akechi was too fast in his true form. Arsene was right. Akechi was right. He had to tap into the power waiting for him on the other side of his heart. But his other self was utterly quiet, now. His instincts screamed to him that this was a trap.

He leapt back from Akechi. “Arsene!”

Akechi bared his teeth at Ren, waiting.

Ren drew his guns instead, firing a salvo at Akechi.

“Tch.” Akechi scoffed. Several tethers shot into the ring from the shadowy ‘ropes’ he had formed earlier, absorbing the gunfire. “That’s cheating, Amamiya. There’s a penalty for cheating.”

Four screams of pain sounded out from the corners of the ring.

“No! No!” Ren shouted. He turned to face the closest corner - Ann. She slumped in her binds, looking pale.

“H… hurts.” She managed to say, though chattering teeth. “Cold…”

“Ann… Ann, I’m sorry…” Ren said, his voice on the verge of breaking.

“N..not your f-fault… W...Wildcard. D-d-don’t… don’t give him what he wants. I… love you… I love you forever.” She managed to whisper.

Ren’s eyes widened, realizing what she was saying.

She saw the trap for what it was. She was willing to die to keep Ren safe.

“Akechi…!” Ren growled, his back to the Detective Prince.

“Mm. Don’t worry, Amamiya. I can’t drain humans the way I can Shadows. Believe me, I’ve experimented a little. It turns out that any attempt to drain just _ hurts _ . It may hurt enough to drive someone to insanity, of course, before an ugly death. Nasty sight. If you don’t want that to happen… _ entertain _ me.”

“Arsene!” Ren called, for real this time. The Black Wing armguards appeared in an instant; the black blades became broader, more sword-like. He spun to face Akechi, the spectral wings of a dark angel exploding from his shoulders - and he vanished from sight, attacking the Detective Prince.

His attack was met once again by Akechi’s sheathed sword. Akechi grinned.

“Finally. You’re making me draw my sword.” He laughed, as if it was a wonderful joke.

Makoto, from her corner, shook off the pain and cold-induced haze to look at Akechi’s weapon. The way he was holding it, one hand on the _ tsuka _, one hand on the end of the sheath as he pushed back against Ren’s crossed blades… the mismatch between the long blade and short hilt stuck out. She felt a chill as she realized what was about to happen.

“Joker! It’s two! It’s two swords--”

With a triumphant yell, Akechi pulled on _ both _ ends of the nodachi sheath, drawing not one long sword, but two _ kodachi _ swords, each with a cruel serrated edge. The wooden sheath fell to the ground. He slashed with the weapons, one held backhand, one forehand, feeling the satisfying response of cloth and flesh. The weapons never cut cleanly...

Ren stumbled away, gasping, blood pouring from the gashes on his chest and torso. Not deep enough to kill, but the wounds burned. He hadn’t been slashed so much as _ torn _ open.

Akechi stood poised with his twin weapons.

“Good. Now we can begin…”

>>>

“This… this is bad.” Yusuke said, eyes wide. He handed his rifle to Ryuji so the blonde could look through the scope. They had pulled the _ Adventure _ close enough to see into the hold through a porthole.

Ryuji watched in horror as Ren stumbled back, cut wide open by Akechi’s twin swords. The leader of the Phantom Thieves paused for a moment, and then dashed into the fray, fighting desperately. The speed and power from the Black Wing was usually overwhelming, but from what he was seeing and from what he was hearing over the radio, the assault on Ren wasn’t purely physical. Every few seconds, there would be another cry of pain, another scream from one of their trapped friends. It drove Joker further into desperation, making the boxer take reckless risks in an effort to finish the fight quickly.

Makoto’s voice sounded over the radio, her voice clipped, clearly shivering from the cold of Loki’s abyssal touch.

“J-joker! Ig...ignore us! J-just finish him!”

Ryuji handed the rifle back to Yusuke. “I can’t just stand here. We have to move!” He started to give the command to William, when Mona’s paw tugged gently at the hem of his jacket.

“Wait, Skull. I have a plan.”

“Mona, we don’t have time. I’ll--”

“No. We… ..._ I _ can’t lose any of you. Not to that bastard, and not to a suicidal charge from the outside.” He looked seriously at Ryuji. No sarcasm, no mocking. Just respect and concern. “Please. Let me help.”

>>>

“Better! That’s better!” Akechi laughed, gleefully. He pressed a hand to a stab wound over his abdomen. “Isn’t this fun, Amamiya?! Isn’t this amazing! We’ll cut and stab and slash until one of us falls! Justice?! Righteous ideals?! Abstractions! False! What’s real… what’s real is _ pain _ , and _ blood _ , and _ death _!”

“You’ve fucking lost it.” Ren said, spitting blood onto the floor. He and Akechi were fighting again to a stalemate, the fight rapidly turning into a bloodbath and war of attrition. At least he was ‘entertaining’ Akechi enough to keep him from hurting the others again.

“Maybe I never had it.” Akechi said, mockingly taking on a thoughtful pose.

Ren darted forward, attacking again. This time, quick lefts punctuated with a right straight that turned into a point blank gunshot from Vengeance, drawing the pistol with some sleight-of-hand.

Akechi parried the jabs with his right sword, and somehow _ blocked _ the bullet with his left. “Or maybe it was stolen from me. Just like everything else!”

“You’re such a victim, aren’t you?” Ren snarled, blocking and parrying the rapid counter-attack from Akechi. “It’s all Shido’s fault, isn’t it?!”

“Isn’t it?! You have no right to--” A brutal thrust kick caught Akechi in the stomach, forcing him back.

“You _ chose _ ! You had to _ choose _ to kill! No one made you pull the trigger! No one made you turn your powers into _ this _.” Ren said, gesturing at the ring, the tethers. “How many have you killed?! Dozens? Hundreds?!”

“No. It wasn’t me! It was Shido!” Akechi screamed. “It was Shido, and I’m going to kill _ him _! So what does it matter?!”

A brief pause; Akechi’s voice rang into the hold.

Ren stared across at his counterpart. The other face of the coin. He realized then, that Akechi was everything he himself could have become. If he had let vengeance consume his heart. If he hadn’t made the connections he had. If he had never met Ann. He understood now the revulsion and distaste he felt every time he saw the Detective Prince.

Akechi growled, his mocking smile fading as he watched Ren. Amamiya had to be erased. His very existence was sowing doubt in Akechi’s fragile balance. All the atrocities he had committed, every life he had ruined, was justified by the fact that he hadn’t had a choice. Shido had done something terrible to him and his mother, and this was the only way to even the scales. The life of Ren Amamiya proved to him that there had been another way. That there was a way not paved in blood and guilt. That there was a way not haunted by the souls of the vengeful dead and their howling voices.

In that moment, Akechi felt unspeakable rage and irrational hatred. It was the only thing keeping the guilt at bay.

In that moment, Ren felt heavy responsibility. He had to stop Akechi from hurting more people for his twisted vengeance. He had to get justice for the fallen. For Futaba. For Haru. For everyone.

Ren’s eyes flashed golden.

“Arsene!”

Ren’s armor fragmented; the armguards’ and pauldrons’ forms flickered and blurred, as if trying to change. Infernal power thrummed into Ren’s fists.

Ren shot forward, briefly too fast for the eye to follow.

He punched and stabbed and slashed; flicker jabs to chopping right, hooks and uppercuts. He threw defense to the wind, ignoring the feeling of Akechi’s swords cutting into him, tearing his own flesh.

He summoned every ounce of strength and speed he could, already feeling the physical and spiritual toll of this incomplete form. It was like trying to catch a rainstorm in a thimble. It was power overwhelming. He tapped into it - the righteous anger at the _ injustice _ of it all.

With a roar, he punched through Akechi’s guard, burying a blade into his abdomen.

Akechi smiled. His hand shot down, clutching Ren’s wrist.

“I have you now, Amamiya. Call of Chaos.”

Ren froze. He felt icy tendrils creep into his heart. They found his righteous anger, his sense of justice. They slipped by them; that wasn’t what Loki wanted. The Persona violated his memories; Ren could only ‘watch’ as Loki dug through his psyche, searching… _ Finding _. 

_ ‘If you desire Rehabilitation, if you desire vengeance, then you must become a suitable instrument. You must be merciless; you must be without hesitation. You must sacrifice .’ _

_ ‘Ah… Sorry, Coach. I mean, have you ever been so angry that it changes how you fight? When you’re boxing, I mean.’ _

_ ‘...You are there to destroy each other. With the utmost respect. Tigers in the shape of men.’ _

_ ‘So convenient for you, isn’t it? The ‘you’ in the real world versus the ‘you’ in the Metaverse. The Joker is the violent one, not you? Is that right?’ _

_ ‘...unless you resolve this, there will be nothing but Ruination.’ _

Loki found the seed. The thing that had been there the entire time, that worried Ren from the start. The part of him that was rage, self-loathing, and guilt.

“Delicious…” Akechi said, grinning. He had a hand over the wound on his abdomen; it slowly sealed over as Robin Hood cast a healing spell onto the black and blue clad killer. He walked slowly around Ren. “I knew it. I knew you were just like me, deep down… You hid it. You hid it all under ‘justice’, and ‘love’, and ‘faith’, but it’s there, in you, just like me. Infernal hatred. All-consuming rage…”

“No! Ren, don’t listen to him!” Ann called, desperately.

“Oh, silly girl. He can’t hear you, now.” Akechi laughed. “He’s _ mine _, now. But don’t worry. I haven’t completely turned him. Loki’s left a little part of him conscious, somewhere. So he can watch himself as he tears apart his precious friends and the girl he loves.”

The blurred form of the Black Wing armor expanded, briefly, obscuring Ren’s appearance in shadowed mist and smoke. From within the miasma, there was the sound of tearing flesh and a scream that sounded more bestial than human. The smoke drifted to the floor and away from where Ren was standing.

Ren’s tailcoat and waistcoat hung off of him in tatters. The mechanism that produced his wrist blades fell off of bloodied arms. Now, the weapons were far more _ organic _, seeming to protrude out of the blackened skin of his forearms, directly from the bone itself. His mask was still white and black, but no longer bird-like. The jagged ends curved back, looking more like demonic horns. 

“Ren… Ren!” Ann shouted, struggling in vain against the bonds.

“Oh. I suppose you four will want to greet him properly.” Akechi said, smiling placidly. He gestured; the tethers vanished as Loki released his hold.

The four Phantom Thieves quickly formed up; Haru, Makoto, and Ann in front of Futaba. Ren slowly turned to them, menacingly.

Ann took a single uncertain step towards the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“Ren…?”

The response was only a roar and a flash of black metal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update because I’ve had the fight written for over a week and the remainder outlined in my head - we’re reaching the arcs where I actually had stuff done already from old one shots.
> 
> Fun to write! For the ship jargon, if any readers are actual sailors I apologize sincerely for butchering things. I didn’t have time to watch Master and Commander to figure this out haha.
> 
> Fighting with sword and cloak is an actual thing, for those wondering. Haven’t done it myself personally (I only dabbled in Western fencing)
> 
> The song that Ann sings is, appropriately enough, "Siren Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3z_rbfrFQ Siren Song (SaraSinger42). I thought it was a more fun way to do her Shadow negotiation/distraction (at least for me) and fits in with my recurring tendency to use music.
> 
> "Toryanse" is yet another nursery rhyme with creepy roots.
> 
> After I wrote this, I remembered that someone else has done the Ann as a Siren idea long before me (and did it better). Please read WritingSoul’s “Siren”!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477816


	39. Ali v. Frazier III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The third and final bout between Ali and Frazier, also known as ‘The Thrilla in Manilla’ was fought in 1975 for the heavyweight championship of the world. The bout is ranked as one of the best in boxing’s history and was the conclusion of the three-bout rivalry between the two fighters that Ali won, 2-1._
> 
> _For years afterwards, the two remained bitter enemies outside of the ring, even if they never fought again. In 1996, when a Parkinson’s Disease afflicted Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, Frazier remarked that he would have liked to throw the ailing boxer in. In 2001, Ali was still referring to Frazier as ‘the gorilla from Manilla’. However, in 2009, Frazier stated that he no longer harbored ill-will towards Ali, and at Frazier’s funeral in 2011, Ali was in respectful attendance (according to Reverend Jesse Jackson)._
> 
> _While no one would believe these two ever became friends after their rivalry, they at the very least respected each others’ prowess as boxers._

December 6, 20xx 

Yusuke peered through the scope of his rifle. In theory, it wasn’t an impossible shot. The _ Ark _ was ‘only’ 500 metres away from the _ Adventure, _ well within the effective firing range of his Mark 12 SPR. Of course, several things made the circumstances less than ideal. For one thing, it was a moving target - a moving target twice over, in fact. The thirty centimetre porthole that Yusuke had to shoot through was on the side of the _ Ark, _ a moving ship _ . _ And the actual target was inside the hold, moving considerably faster and slipping in and out of sight of the porthole.

Another complicating factor was that the lives of six of his closest friends - and probably the fate of the country - depended on this shot.

Yusuke swallowed air, realizing now that his mouth was entirely dry. He tightened his grip on his rifle just to stop the shaking of his hands. He remembered his last exchange with Joker, just before the infiltration team leapt into the water.

_ ‘We’ll be depending on you for long-range support.’ _

_ ‘I will do my best, Joker. Though, this isn’t the ideal rifle for this. We should have brought the M24. The effective range is much better. We seem to have miscalculated--’ _

_ ‘If it’s your best, Fox, it’ll be enough.’ _

He let out a long, slow breath. The artist willed his dexterous fingers to become still. Ren had absolute faith in him. Yusuke could not falter. _Would_ _not _falter. He watched as Ryuji streaked towards the _Ark_, propelled below the surface of the water by Mona and Diego. It was nearly time. Yusuke refocused his sight on the porthole, waiting for his target to fully enter his sights. He chewed on his lower lip. Although his hands weren’t shaking anymore, his face was still wracked with tension.

There was one last thing that made the circumstances suboptimal. His relationship to the target.

Yusuke focused on the back of Ren Amamiya; his finger slowly squeezed the trigger.

>>>

It was horrifying.

He could feel every step he took; every pivot, every dash. He could smell the blood of his friends, rusty and thick in the air. He could see the look of terror and surprise in their eyes. He could feel the reverberation of his blades against their weapons as he tried to cut them down. In fact, he felt the reverberation right into the bones of his forearms. It felt like it was shaking his very heart.

And yet, he could do nothing. Loki had left him trapped in a corner of his own mind so that he could watch himself destroy all he held dear.

Makoto dove in front of him, intercepting him from his dash towards Ann.

“Ren! Ren, I know you’re in there! Fight it!” She shouted.

She didn’t have a crush on him anymore. She hadn’t loved him that way, not really. But the feeling between them was more than friendship - they were both athletes and warriors. The mutual respect and admiration they had ran deep. It was a camaraderie developed over weeks of training alongside each other, comparing notes, pushing each other to new heights of skill and physicality. While Ryuji and Mona were his ‘bro’s’, Makoto was truly his ‘brother’ in arms.

_ ‘I’m fighting it! I am! Makoto, I’m sorry!’ _He wanted to say. He willed himself to stop; it was like pounding his fist on a metres-thick glass wall. He couldn’t influence anything.

He roared wordlessly. He bashed aside the crossed tonfa and then cleaved them in half. There was no artistry in this. No boxing; no martial arts. Just brute force. Metal clattered to the floor. He cut her down, feeling the response of his wrist blades through armor and flesh; he watched the brunette fall to the floor, clutching the bleeding gash running from her shoulder to her hip. Her blood was warm on his hands.

The blunt side of Haru’s bardiche slammed into his back, sending him stumbling. It probably would have knocked him out if he was in his right mind. But he watched as his body spun to face down the heiress. Haru - strong, ruthless when she had to be, but overwhelmingly compassionate and determined to restore the legacy of her family. She had forgiven Ren for everything; she cared enough for him that against her better sense, she went for the non-lethal strike. And she paid for her mercy in blood. Ren shot toward her, gripping her throat. Instead of using his blades, he willed Arsene’s cursed flame forth - it burned her, damned her into despair. Her struggling ceased; she hung limply from his grip with shallow breaths. He dropped her to the deck with a thud, slowly turning toward his two remaining allies. Ann and Futaba.

Ann still stood in front of Futaba protectively. Ren started to focus on Ann’s face - the part of him that was left imprisoned in his own mind railed and beat at the walls. He tried to force himself to close his eyes. He didn’t want to see the expression she would have. The accusation, disgust, and terror. Seeing that would truly, utterly break him.

_ ‘No! Not her! Me first! I’ll kill myself first! Someone! Anyone!’ _

Ren’s prayer was answered.

The porthole behind Ren shattered - a bullet from Yusuke’s rifle blew out the glass. Even in his trapped state, Ren recognized the significance of Yusuke’s feat. It was a miraculous shot. It was from hundreds of metres away through a porthole less than thirty centimetres in diameter. The bullet took Ren in the shoulder, spinning him around to face the shattered glass. A single sticky charge was thrown up, adhering to the weak point in the hull that the sniper shot created.

The booming explosion opened up a hole in the side of the ship, revealing Ryuji - soaking wet, having arrived in the same manner as the infiltration team. “Joker, I’m sorry about this. But you gotta snap out of it!”

Ryuji dove into the hold, out of the way of the hole in the hull. He fired a charged shotgun blast at the same time as a laser-like beam of electricity shot through the hole in the hull from William’s rail rifle. Both hit Ren in the chest, making his body convulse and twitch as he was blown back. He slammed into a bulkhead and slid slowly to the floor, body smoking and smelling of burnt blood and ozone.

The shock to his body rattled even the part of Ren that was trapped in his own mind. He felt something _ shift _ . The barrier between his consciousness and his other self weakened - he prepared to truly fight, to push back the berserk rage that controlled him. But the barrier had been designed by Loki to allow him to witness and understand the acts he was committing - it allowed him to exist without being consumed by his other self. Before, he could only see what his eyes saw; feel what his hands and body felt. Now, as he was plunged into the vast ocean of irrational hatred and anger, he felt _ everything _. He felt the rip current of corruption start to take away his last bastion of self. Black waves roiled around him, stealing away his vision and breath. He forced himself above the surface for a moment.

“R… Ryu...ji…” He managed to get out. He laid in a smoking heap at the other side of the hold. He started to stagger to his feet. “K… ...kill… me!”

“No! Ren, I won’t! You have to--urk...”

Ryuji stared down in mute shock at the black blade buried in his abdomen. On spectral wings, Ren had closed the distance in a second. The black-haired youth withdrew the weapon from his best friend’s gut.

Akechi howled with laughter. “Oh, this is perfect! Your best friend woke you up enough so that you could lull him into a false sense of security. Just enough for you to disembowel him! Now just finish off Sakura and Takamaki so I can see your heart break! I’m going to make you _ beg me _ to kill you!”

Ren turned away from Ryuji. His eyes focused on Futaba, who held up her Desert Eagle in two trembling hands.

“S… stay away! Or I’ll shoot!” Futaba yelled. “Please… _ please _, Ren! I don’t want to…!”

The fear in her eyes nauseated him. He took an unwilling step towards her. He raised his blades, already wet with the blood of his friends. He fought. He fought as hard as he could. With each push above the surface, it felt like he was dragged down that much harder. He thrashed and kicked; even more cold and unrelenting tendrils pulled at him.

Another step.

Futaba dropped her gun. She couldn’t kill him. Not the person she considered a part of her little family alongside herself and Sojiro. She shut her eyes tightly as she shook, unable to do anything but wait for the end.

Something slammed into Ren.

Ann. His beautiful love. His heart. She lashed her whip around them both, binding him to her slender body. She wrapped her arms around him, pinning his elbows to his sides.

He roared again, twisting and contorting, trying to throw her off. She hung on doggedly, burying her face against his chest. He couldn’t see her face… Just as well. He wouldn’t see the betrayal. The horror at what he had become, what he had done. He pushed back even harder, summoning every ounce of his strength. He was _ Ren Amamiya _. This wasn’t him. This wasn’t what he wanted to be.

For a moment, the waters receded.

And then they crashed back down. Ren Amamiya ceased to be.

There was only black rage and the madness of a beast.

He was just as much a monster as Akechi.

He was capable of the same atrocities, and worse - Akechi murdered strangers. Ren was about to kill the love of his life and his future in a single move.

Arsene’s cursed flame burst out from his body. Ann’s whip decayed and crumbled into dust.

Ann stifled her cry of pain. A halo of Celestine’s flame flared, a red nimbus within Arsene’s black inferno. It protected her for a few precious seconds. Enough time for her to reach up - enough time for her to touch his cheek gently.

“...Ren…” Her voice was calm and steady. No fear; no disgust.

Something reached him. Enough so that he slowly looked down at her. Celestine’s flames were slowly guttering out against Arsene’s onslaught. Time was running out. She winced as the dark flame started to consume her. But then she _ smiled _ at him. Her hand moved away from his cheek. Her index finger gently touched the tip of his nose. The memory of a bad Kansai accent and flavored bread brought a sliver of Ren Amamiya back to himself.

_ ‘Wanna know what I see?’ _

_ ‘What?’ _

_ ‘...You. Just you.’ _

He stopped trying to throw her off. It wasn’t so much regaining control as it was a lull, like Orpheus calming Cerberus with his lyre. The cursed flames died down; she released his arms, leaning on him, like she had during so many times before. She smiled weakly at him as he held her burnt and battered body.

“...Ann…? How…” Ren said, forcing the words out.

“I see you. I _ see _ you.” Ann repeated, softly. “You’ve been hurting for all this time... You’ve been fighting for so long that you almost forgot you were fighting. It’s because you’re still scared we would all leave you, isn’t it? Like you told me the night of our first kiss. But I have faith in you. We all do. So… stop fighting. This other side of you is still you. If it’s you… I love you. No matter how ugly, or how hurt, or how broken. I choose _ you _ . I love _ you. _ Don’t you remember what I said…?”

_ ‘Nothing you can do would ever scare me, Ren.’ _

Within himself, the waters still raged; the ocean still boiled.

_ ‘ _ _ I’ll never be scared of you, Ren. And you’ll never be alone.’ _

He took a breath.

_ ‘You… you have me.’ _

He stopped fighting.

The forbidding aura around Joker waned… It then broke as Ann kissed him, unheeding of his corrupted form.

“Oh, _ please _!” Akechi snarled. “Are you kidding me? The power of love? What kind of asinine shit is this?”

The Detective Prince stalked towards the two, blades drawn. “It’s not nearly as satisfying, but I’ll just kill you both myself. You’re so pathetic that even your berserk state is useless--”

Ren’s uppercut rattled Akechi’s chin, sending him flying onto his back. Fortunately for Akechi, the organic blades that protruded from Ren’s forearms were gone, now. The blow would have literally put Akechi’s head on a pike.

Akechi sat up, eyes wide. His mind spun from both the physical blow and what had transpired. “What?! No! How are you…”

“I surrendered to it. Accepted it.” Ren said, quietly. He closed his eyes; the golden yellow faded back to grey; he reached, ripping the last shreds of his tailcoat and waistcoat from his bare torso. “You’re not wrong, Akechi. It’s there. The rage is always there. The injustice of what happened isn’t lost on me. But we _ are _ different.”

The Black Wing armguards manifested again; the mechanism of his wrist blades returned in their usual form - strapped to his forearms rather than jutting out from the bone. The armor stood out in even more intricate detail, now. Crossed straps now linked the pauldrons. It didn’t quite match the motif of a Victorian era gentleman thief - rather, it was more like the ornate armor of a Victorian knight. Black and dark grey, trimmed with gold accents. This wasn’t a Second Awakening. There was no explosion of power… but it _ was _an evolution.

“I own it. It isn’t from you… It isn’t from Shido. It’s my cross to bear.”

Akechi leapt at Ren, brandishing his twin _ kodachi _. Loki backed him up, dozens of shadow tethers lashing out towards the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“And it’s _ my _ weapon to use! Arsene!”

Arsene materialized, his black wings unfurling and unleashing hundreds of spectral feathers. Each one intercepted a tether; the gentleman thief with the wings of a dark angel then barreled headlong into Loki, engaging his fellow Persona in pitched battle.

Akechi’s assault was met blade for blade by Ren. Akechi sneered as they fought.

“Back to a stalemate, then, Amamiya! Only now, your friends are slowly dying! By your hand!”

It was true. Each of the Phantom Thieves, save Futaba, were still bleeding out from Ren’s enraged assault.

Ren shook his head, easily fending off Akechi. “Ishtar!”

Akechi laughed. Arsene was still out, in combat against Loki. “Stop bluffing! I know you can’t summon both at once. Even I can’t… ...”

Akechi trailed off in disbelief, watching as Ishtar materialized several metres behind Arsene. With a little smile, the goddess bowed to Akechi almost mockingly before gesturing towards the Phantom Thieves.

A cleansing light surrounded each of the Phantom Thieves. It healed their wounds and brought them slowly to their feet. Without missing a beat, each of them summoned their own Personas, casting their support spells onto the shoulders of their leader. Ren felt their feelings through the magic. Their blessing and forgiveness.

Ren’s eyes met Ann’s. Her smile was his light; her cerulean eyes sparkled brilliantly.

“...I knew you’d pull through, Wildcard. Now _ kick his ass! _”

Akechi backed off slightly, unnerved at what he saw. Earlier, Ren had been attacking in desperation, trying anything to save his friends. It had been easy to distract him and throw him off his game. Now, he stood in his characteristic fighting stance, there was a kind of dynamic stillness. Motion without motion. The pressure was stifling… intimidating. That irked Akechi. _ He _ was supposed to be the hunter. In this realm, _ he _ was supposed to be the master.

And yet Ren watched him calmly. Not with anger, or frustration, or fear. Just stillness and inevitability.

“Just _ die! _” Akechi shrieked, charging at Ren.

Rapid slashes and stabs were easily swatted down by Ren. Akechi was able to wield both blades independently, attacking from widely opposing angles. But Ren’s weapons were true extensions of himself and his boxing.

A downward slash from Akechi’s right was met with a quick parry with Ren’s left; the thrusting left met by a soft deflection as Ren turned his body, putting his left shoulder into the assassin’s chest. His right hand came up in a hard hook, the blade punching through Akechi’s shoulder.

He yelled in pain, shoving Ren back - but his right arm hung uselessly down.

“How… how are you better than me?! It’s.. it’s not possible! It’s not right!” Akechi hissed, trying to will his arm to work.

Ren shook his head as he recalled the words of Coach Takeda. “It’s because you’re incomplete, Akechi.”

“Incomplete…? What the _ fuck _ is that supposed to mean? You arrogant trash… That’s it. Let’s see how far I can go with this… If you ‘own’ your rage… then I’ll just do the same.” Akechi said, starting to laugh. “Loki! Call of Chaos…!”

Loki disengaged from Arsene; he returned to Akechi’s side, placing his hand on the Detective Prince’s shoulder. Red-veined lightning exploded out from Akechi as he howled with laughter.

“Incomplete…?! Incomplete?! Don’t feed me that bullshit! I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you! I’ll take you down with me! DIE!”

“Holy shit… He’s making himself go psychotic!” Ryuji shouted.

Akechi’s mask cracked under the strain of the power he held now. He shot past Ren - towards Ann.

“Watch, Amamiya! I’ll fucking kill her right in front of you! Let’s see you ‘own’ your anger, then!”

For some reason, the blonde girl didn’t seem scared. She instead regarded him with pity.

A savagely hard punch slammed into his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

Ren stood between Akechi and Ann, his blades now retracted.

Akechi snarled. If not Ann, then--

Another hard punch intercepted him before he could take a step towards Futaba.

And then Ryuji. Then Haru, then Makoto. Every time, Ren was there.

Akechi staggered; he dropped his remaining sword. He drew his pistol, taking aim at Ren with a shaky hand.

The boxer didn’t move. He stared Akechi down with the same focus as before.

Akechi fired; the shot was wild, completely off the mark.

Ren calmly approached; he slipped inside Akechi’s range - a jab sent the gun flying; a second jab sent him stumbling back. The combination of punches became too fast for Akechi to follow - hooks to his body and face that sent him staggering; uppercuts that didn’t allow him to fall. And then finally, a definitive chopping right that shattered his mask, sending him to his knees.

“I… ...how are you so much stronger…?” Akechi mumbled, finally beaten.

“I’m not.” Ren said, shaking his head. “You’re strong, Akechi. I’d be an idiot to not acknowledge that. I needed every one of my friends behind me to defeat you. Your anger and hatred are understandable, even justified. But you haven’t used them. They made you predictable. They used _ you _.”

Akechi closed his eyes, still on his knees. The words rang true. The weight of his murders crashed down onto his young shoulders; the justifications he had recited to himself every day for the past years were completely and truly hollow. He had no doubt that the Phantom Thieves would succeed. Shido would confess his crimes; Akechi’s role in everything would become clear. He would lose everything.

There was nothing left but the guilt and the screaming voices of the wrongfully dead.

“Just… just finish me. I’ve had enough.” Akechi said, quietly.

“Gladly.”

Akechi’s eyes snapped up. That wasn’t Ren’s voice.

A single shot rang out from the shadows; it struck Akechi in the shoulder, putting him onto the floor. He groaned, rolling to look at his assailant. Rolling to look at _ himself _.

Cognitive Akechi strode forth from the shadows, staring dispassionately down at his real counterpart. He held his own FN 1910, aimed at Akechi’s head. “Pathetic. There’s no room for losers on this ship. Captain Shido’s orders. Heh. Well. No matter. This just moves the plan up a little. He was planning on getting rid of you after the election, anyway.”

“...What?!” Akechi said, staring at Cognitive Akechi in disbelief.

Cognitive Akechi smiled. “Are you really that surprised? Since when has Masayoshi Shido tolerated having someone around with the ability to compromise his position in the way you can?”

“Of course…” Akechi muttered, after a moment of thought. “I should have seen it. Shido’s known about the Metaverse for years. He’s prepared even for this. For the eventuality that I’d use my powers to invade his Palace… So he created a puppet to kill me if I ever appeared here.”

“It’s ironic you’d call me a puppet.” Cognitive Akechi said, laughing. “Let me tell you something before you die. Captain Shido knows _ everything _ . You thought you were so clever… he knows. He knows all about your little plan for revenge. He knows who your mother was. He thought it made you the perfect tool for his plans. Too angry to see, too prideful to stop. It’s pathetic, really. You told yourself that everything was just an act. But the Captain could see it. Some part of you loved the acknowledgement. Some part of you _ yearned _ for him to call you ‘son’... he used that pathetic little wish of yours to lead you around by your nose.”

“That’s enough!” Ren snarled. “I’ll-- ugh…”

Ren dropped to a knee. The Black Wing vanished. The battle had been incredibly taxing; Joker had almost nothing left.

“Ah ah ah.” Cognitive Akechi said, waving his gun admonishingly. “Not a single step more. Though, it looks like you can’t even do that.”

Shadows materialized behind him, all holding submachine guns trained on the battle-weary Phantom Thieves.

“How amusing. Two birds with one stone.” Cognitive Akechi said, smiling. He glanced down at Akechi’s dropped pistol; he kicked it over to his counterpart. “Here. How about this. If you pick up that gun and kill their leader, _ maybe _ I’ll let you live. You can even play at getting revenge for a little while longer, maybe try your luck in this Palace again.”

Ryuji shook his head. “Akechi… You can’t believe this guy. He’s full of shit, he’s--”

“Shut up, ingrate.” Akechi snarled. He grabbed his gun, staggering to his feet. He trained it on the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He paused, making steady eye contact with Ren. “...You know, Amamiya. I learned what you meant by the _ Kobayashi Maru _.”

“...Right. No-win scenarios…” Ren said, hoping his radio was still working and that Yusuke was listening.

“It turns out that you were right to not believe in them.”

Ren dove and drew his gun as Akechi spun and fired - his aim was off, striking his Cognitive self in the gut, not the instant-kill headshot he was aiming for. Cognitive Akechi growled in pain, raising his pistol to finish Akechi off. A second gunshot snapped the cognition’s head back - a pinpoint headshot from Joker’s Vengeance.

After a moment of shock, the Shadow escorts raised their machine guns and opened fire on Ren and Akechi.

Akechi quickly aimed at the button controlling the emergency partition system of the hold, the button just a few feet away under a glass cover.

Ren slammed into Akechi before he could fire, taking an SMG bullet in the back of his shoulder as the tackle slid them both to the feet of the Phantom Thieves.

Akechi snarled, shoving at Ren. “You idiot! They’ll take us apart, they’ll--”

A rifle shot from outside the ship, courtesy of Yusuke, nailed the button - a massive bulkhead rose from the ground, separating the Phantom Thieves and Akechi from the Shadows and Akechi’s Cognitive self.

Ann helped Ren up, applying some of Takemi’s medicine to him. He leaned on her, his eyes on Akechi. The Detective Prince struggled to a kneeling position.

“So… ...what now?” Akechi said, looking at the Phantom Thieves. “Now that you’ve saved my life…”

“...What? Oh. No, that wasn’t on purpose at all. I was just diving out of the way of Yusuke’s shot. As for what happens? Not for me to say.” Ren said, shrugging. He looked over at Futaba. “Gremlin?”

“Eh? Wha--... Oh.” Futaba said, as Ren passed her one of his pistols. The one he had named Faith.

“Your call, Gremlin.”

Futaba nodded, slowly. She took the pistol, looking at it, and then Akechi. The man who killed her mother. She thought quietly about how her life would have been different if Wakaba Isshiki was still alive. She’d have a mother. Wakaba might have even eventually married Sojiro. But… then she wouldn’t have Ren. She wouldn’t have Ann. She wouldn’t have any of their friends. Whether she’d trade her ‘family’ now for her mother was a complicated question; maybe one that didn’t really have a satisfying answer. But one thing was clear.

Killing Akechi would not accomplish that trade. And her mother would not have wanted her daughter to murder anyone for her sake, justified or not.

“Hm. They say that mercy is the mark of a great person.” Futaba said, handing the gun back to Ren.

Akechi sneered. “Well, that--”

The backhand slap caught Akechi entirely off-guard, and in his state, sent him reeling.

“Well. I guess I’m just a _ good _ person.”

“You little bitch--”

Another slap.

“Eh. I’m _ okay _.” Futaba said, shrugging.

Ren shook his head. “Really? A ‘_ Firefly’ _ reference, at a time like this?”

Futaba beamed. She hugged Ren. “Eheheh. I’m just happy you’re still alive to hear the reference, RenRen. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t need that kind of revenge. I just need all of you.”

Ren ruffled her hair, returning the smile.

Akechi rolled his eyes. “Well, now _ that _ insult’s over with, I--”

“Haru?” Ren said, flipping his pistol to hold it by the barrel, now offered to the heiress.

“Oh, for the love of…” Akechi protested.

Haru took the gun, cocking the slide back. She aimed it squarely between Akechi’s eyes, her expression like ice.

“Good. Finish it. I’m sick of watching all of you ‘heroes’ be so sweet with each other.” Akechi snarled.

Haru’s finger tightened on the trigger. She then paused, considering Akechi. Her lips curled in a faint smile.

“...No. No, I don’t think so. You’re putting on a brave face, but it isn’t out of some twisted sense of bushido that you want me to finish you off. Your life isn’t important to you. But everything you had out there is. Your reputation and fame. Your celebrity. And all of that’s gone. Or will be, once we’re done.”

Akechi stared blankly at Haru. She had read him like a book. He truly had nothing left on the outside - not even his revenge. And according to the cognition they had just killed, even that had just been a carrot dangled by the man he hated.

He was truly and completely beaten.

She handed the pistol back to Ren. “We aren’t murderers, Joker. And I think living with his guilt and having everyone knowing what he’s done is a greater punishment than death.”

Ren nodded. “Well. Let’s go, then. I know I’ve had enough for today.”

The Phantom Thieves turned away from Akechi; Ren limped away, supported by Ann and Ryuji as they left the broken assassin alone with his guilt. Ryuji looked at Ren curiously.

“Was that really by accident? Saving Akechi’s life, I mean.”

“No. I meant to do it. But would you really want a guy like that thinking he owes you one?” Ren said, shaking his head. “I just want him out of my life.”

Futaba whistled, clasping her hands on the back of her head as she walked alongside Ann. “Wow. We sure covered a lot of tropes in there.”

“Tropes?” Ann asked, curiously.

“Yeah! Like the ‘I know you’re in there somewhere fight’, ‘the eleventh hour superpower’, and ‘the power of love’ to name just a few.” Futaba said, excitedly. “It’s like we’re in an anime!”

Ann chuckled tiredly. “Maybe a little, Oracle.”

Futaba frowned as something occurred to her. She looked past Ann at Ren. “Ne, RenRen. Speaking of tropes, aren’t we supposed to offer him a place beside us so he can redeem himself? Especially since you actually meant to save him. Not that I’d _ want _him alongside us... But isn’t that the big heroic thing to do?”

Ren looked at Futaba, giving her a wry smile.

“Good thing we’re just heroes, Gremlin. Not idiots.”

>>>

December 9, 20xx 

“Whrr e hoin hehen?”

Sojiro narrowly dodged Ren’s left hand as the boxer spoke, yawned, and stretched simultaneously. Futaba, standing at Sojiro’s other side in the subway car, snickered. Sojiro looked at Ren in equal parts amusement and irritation.

“Try again, kid. Only less yawning and more intelligible speech.”

Ren nodded, yawning one more time before speaking. “...Sorry. Where are we going again?”

“To church.” Sojiro said.

“Oh. Right.” Ren said, sleepily. He then looked alarmed, waking up. “Wait. Which one?”

“The one you got kicked out of for posing like an idiot for Yusuke.” Sojiro replied, smirking. “Don’t worry, though. I cleared it with the man upstairs.”

“God?” Ren asked, curiously.

“What? No, don’t be an idiot. I called the priest. His office is literally upstairs from the church.” Sojiro scoffed. “As for God, he loves fools, children, and drunkards. So you’ve got two out of three.”

Ren raised an eyebrow roguishly. “Sure it isn’t three for three?”

“Pretty sure. You got tipsy when I _ talked _ about alcohol the other day.”

The three shared a laugh as they got off the train, heading into the church in Kanda. Sojiro blinked as Ren exchanged a friendly greeting with a pretty girl wearing a red hair ornament. She was on her way out of the church, carrying an odd combination of items - a travel shogi-set, and what looked like an airsoft gun in a case.

_ ‘Ann, Makoto, Haru, Shiho, Tachibana, and now this one? How many pretty girls does the kid know? Seriously…’ _Sojiro thought, ruefully. He then paused, as he realized he had automatically added Tachibana to the list. Tabling that for now, he walked onto the church grounds with his two wards.

>>>

Some time later, Ren and Sojiro stood together in the church’s crossing, between the two transepts. Like on most Friday afternoons, the church was empty. They waited together for Futaba, who wanted to have a private moment at her mother’s grave. Sojiro sighed.

“You know, it’s been awhile since I’ve visited, even though I always make sure I mark the anniversary of her passing.” Sojiro said. “I’ve always been really busy, running the cafe and all.”

“Right. Because Leblanc is always packed.” Ren said, neutrally. The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

“Smart ass.” Sojiro said, shaking his head with a smile. “You’re right, though. That’s just an excuse. It was guilt that kept me from coming here… I thought I was failing Futaba. I didn’t feel like I had the right to come here and stand in front of Wakaba’s grave. But today, I came here with my head held high. It felt good, telling her all about how Futaba’s found her smile again, and how she’s going back to school next year.”

Ren smiled. “Yeah.”

“And I told her about you, too.” Sojiro said. “Heh. Our weird little family… Speaking of which. I have an update from the court. Futaba’s uncle has completely backed off. I’ll be finalizing Futaba’s official adoption soon.”

Futaba returned, grinning. “With my approval, of course! You know, RenRen! You should get Sojiro to adopt you, too!”

Ren laughed. “You’ll have to negotiate with my parents, Gremlin. And don’t you think the name ‘Ren Sakura’ is a bit weird? Too flowery.”

“Fair enough!” Futaba chirped, cheerfully. “Still probably gonna start calling you ‘ni-chan’, though.” She wandered off to peer curiously at the confessional booth, mumbling something about how if there was a power outlet inside, it would be a perfect spot for some uninterrupted gaming.

Ren looked surprised at that, but a smile spread across his face.

Sojiro chuckled. “...You know. This is really why I wanted to bring you today, Ren. I wanted to show you that you’re part of this family, too.”

“I kinda knew that already, Boss.” Ren said, nodding. “You don’t have to--”

“No. I do.” Sojiro said, seriously. “You came home two days ago a complete mess. You were limping and then you slept for two straight days. Whatever you do in that Meta-place doesn’t leave more than bruises in the real world… But I’ve _ seen _ the gear you kids take in there with you. You went through hell, didn’t you?”

Ren’s silence was more than enough answer for Sojiro. He sighed.

“I thought so. Look, kid. You might not think you’ve got a lot to live for, or that you’ve got a future worth fighting for. But I’ll tell you right now - that’s complete and utter bullshit.” Sojiro said, sternly. “You’re a teenager. You’ve got a lot of years ahead of you. So you need to promise me. If you run into a fight you can’t win, you need to back off and come home.”

Ren shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Boss. We both know that with my conviction I don’t have much of a future. If we don’t take down Shido, we--”

“Don’t be an idiot. Are you really thinking it’s okay to throw your life away just for that? What do you think is better? Dying at your age? Or living on, conviction and all? Look at what you have, kid. Even if you don’t succeed in taking him down, do you really think you’re worth so little to your parents? To Ann? To _ me _? Do you really think any of us give a damn about you having a criminal record?”

Sojiro glared at Ren. Ren glared at Sojiro.

The two of them smiled as their stern expressions simultaneously crumbled.

“That was pretty intense, Boss. Really dramatic. Got me right in the feels.”

“Shut up.”

“Come on, it was great! Are we going to hug it out, now?” Ren asked, grinning.

“Bring it in.” Sojiro said, opening his arms with an equally sarcastic smile. A smile that turned into shock, as Ren clasped Sojiro’s right hand with his own, pulling the older man into an embrace, his left arm going around his guardian.

“...Thanks, Boss. It really means a lot to me.”

“Anytime, kid.”

_ -click- _

Futaba grinned, holding up her phone.

>>>

December 10, 20xx 

**AT: Are you ** ** _sure_ ** ** you’re okay to be up and about on your own, Wildcard?**

**RA: I’m fine, Songbird. Besides - I need you to go and collect the thing, right?**

**AT: True. But I don’t think you’re quite in the right mind, yet. **(thoughtful bunny)

**RA: What makes you say that?**

**AT: **(picture of Ren hugging Sojiro)

**RA: …Ugh. I need to stop letting her hang out with Shiho. She’s learning the art of the photo troll too well. **(annoyed penguin)

Ren chuckled. He put away his phone, ringing the doorbell at Haru’s estate. In a short moment, Tachibana opened the door, wearing her trademark sunglasses. She gave Ren a quick nod.

“Tachibana-san.” Ren said, returning the gesture. “Am I late?”

“No. Takakura-san has only just arrived. Please, go on in.”

Ren stepped inside, heading to the living room. He noticed a few areas on the walls that looked freshly painted. Also, there were a few conspicuously empty areas in the hallway where furniture was missing. From Haru’s description, Tachibana’s fight against Akechi’s hired help had gone well for her - but not so well for the goons or the household furnishings.

“Ah. Who’s this?” Takakura asked as Ren stepped into the living room.

“A friend of mine.” Haru replied, nodding to Ren as he took a seat beside her on the couch. “He actually helped inspire this idea, so I thought it was fitting that he should be here.”

Takakura nodded. “So… you want me to try this coffee?”

“Yes. This wasn’t made with particularly expensive beans, nor was it brewed by any sort of coffee expert.”

Takakura took a sip. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You say that, Haru-san. But the flavor is quite good…”

Haru nodded. “The beans are single-origin, grown in a field that was previously used to farm _ Theobroma cacao _ , the cocoa tree. They were grown in a field that was used to _ incorrectly _ farm cacao, actually. The land was used up and the soil was thought to be dead.”

“...Then, this coffee? How did it grow?”

Haru smiled. “Several years ago, a botanist at Todai discovered a way to reclaim dead and/or irradiated soil much faster than traditional means. Before she got married, she traveled to South America and gifted the technology to a struggling farmer who wanted to breathe life back into the land. It was a small project, and completely forgotten due to her marriage and the rise of Okumura Foods. That botanist was Kurenai Okumura.”

Takakura’s eyes widened. “That’s remarkable… How did you come across this?”

“Ren-kun here inspired me to look.” Haru said. “I vaguely recalled my mother mentioning something about this to me before she died. But I didn’t bother looking, because I didn’t think anyone would want to listen to my ideas.”

“And you thought I would listen?” Takakura asked. His expression was carefully neutral, unreadable.

Haru paused, considering her next words. She looked at Ren.

He just gave her a supportive nod, an encouraging smile.

“I think you’d _ consider _ listening, Takakura-san.” Haru said. “You’re not trying to make me marry into the Sugimura family. And thinking on it, you’ve never told me directly to sell my shares…”

Takakura paused, looking thoughtfully at the coffee. “...You know, this coffee. The flavor is different, but there’s something about it that reminds me of your grandfather’s cafe.”

Haru blinked. She hadn’t been expecting _ that _response. “Excuse me?”

Takakura smiled earnestly. For a moment, he looked like a young man again. “I was one of your grandfather’s regulars, Haru-san. It’s the reason I joined the company in the first place. It’s always been my goal to try to revive your grandfather’s vision: a chain of affordable cafes with quality products and roots in the community. But I thought it was a burden I had to shoulder alone - and one that I had to keep quiet. Most members of the board are only interested in maximizing profit by any means necessary.”

“...And saying anything would only make them want to oust you.” Haru said, nodding. “My own fears, precisely. But if we take your idea of reopening the cafe, using coffee we can grow in farms thought to be dead…”

“With land purchased at a low price…” Takakura continued, “we can show the board that we can both make a profit while also giving back to the world. We can rebuild this company from the ground up - literally and figuratively.”

Haru smiled. “Yes!”

Takakura chuckled. “...You know, Haru-san. I only brought up the marriage and selling your shares in the first place because I thought that it wouldn’t be right to burden you with the company at your age. Clearly, I was mistaken. Both your parents would be proud. We should have you participate in our meetings, once you and I come up with a business plan.”

He finished his coffee with a satisfied smile and nodded at Ren. “I can see why you refused the marriage, Haru-san. It’s not just that marrying into the Sugimura family would put you close to a detestable man, but it’s also because you have such a reliable partner already.”

Haru blinked, fighting the warmth rushing to her face and the involuntary feeling of elation at the error. “Oh! Er, we’re not… that is…”

“We’re just friends.” Ren said, smiling. “And I’m happy to help.”

Takakura nodded. “Right. Ah. It’s time for my next meeting already. If you two will excuse me…”

The chairman excused himself politely.

Haru stood, turning her back to Ren - so he couldn’t see her face. She bit her lip, counting to three before daring to speak. “...you should probably go, too. I need to study. Entrance exams are coming up, you know.”

“Sure. Just one thing, Haru.”

“Hey, Wildcard, Haru!”

Haru turned, surprised. Ann stood at the door to the living room, holding a parcel. “Ann-chan…?”

“Ren needed me to drop this off.” She passed the parcel to Ren. “I’ll be waiting out in the hall, Wildcard. I have to call my agent about something, so, take your time.”

Ann gave Haru a meaningful look before excusing herself. Her voice on the phone faded as she got further away down the hall.

“Ren-kun? What’s this?” Haru asked, looking down at the package that Ren passed to her. It was a plain corrugated cardboard box.

“A cardboard box.” Ren replied, unable to help himself.

Haru smiled slightly at the bad joke. “Can I open it?”

Ren nodded. He spoke as Haru opened the package. “Happy Birthday, Haru. A bit late, I know. But I didn’t get the idea until right around the time I was putting together that laser ball gadget. You see, Ann mentioned to me that you told her about your hanging terrariums, and that you seemed really broken up about their loss…”

“Oh, my…” Haru murmured, as she removed the tissue paper covering eight clear spheres - eight hanging terrariums to replace the ones spitefully destroyed by her father. Tentatively, she reached into the box, taking one of them out. Not crystal, like the ones her mother gave her. It didn’t quite sparkle the same way. But they were beautifully clear, and they still captured the light nicely. A small charm dangled off the top of the terrarium - a _ chibi _ likeness of a certain cat bandit. In fact, each terrarium had a charm - one for each Phantom Thief.

“They aren’t crystal.” Ren said, apologetically. “But they’re made out of the same high-density glass I used on the laser ball, so they won’t break as easily. All of us pitched in or helped put them together. The charms, Yusuke did, but he kept ‘waiting for inspiration’ so it took awhile--”

“Why?” Haru asked, her voice quivering slightly. “Why…?”

“It’s your birthday, right? And like I said, Ann and I owe you a lot. And also...” Ren paused, before continuing, gently. “It’s something that Ann said. She has this way of seeing through people’s intentions… She said that you often seem to be on your guard. Like you’re trying to figure out if the people around you _ want _to be around you, or if they’re just trying to use you for your name or wealth.”

Haru looked up as the truth was bluntly laid out before her. She started to say something, but stopped at that smile on his face. She had seen that smile before, of course. Ren wasn’t shy about showing how he felt about Ann. But after seeing their exchange in the Metaverse, the way he looked when he talked about Ann struck her more profoundly today. An old cliche from movies, anime, and manga occurred to her - that girls were most beautiful when they were in love. Apparently that applied to some boys, too.

She smiled slightly in resignation as she realized that one of the reasons why Ren shone so brightly in her eyes was because Ann shone even more brightly in his.

“I - rather, we - wanted to show you that this isn’t the case with the Phantom Thieves. You’re one of us. You always will be, no matter who you are or what you are.” Ren paused again, sheepishly scratching his neck. “Sorry if this seems unnecessary, or--oof!”

Ren blinked, looking down in surprise as Haru embraced him in a hard, quick hug. A final indulgence. She let go, now unable to suppress the flush on her cheeks.

“They’re perfect, Ren-kun. Thank you. You… everyone… thank you. I… I’ll go hang these up. I really… I really should go study.” Haru said. She picked up the box, hurriedly leaving the living room.

She nearly ran headlong into Ann.

Ann smiled, putting her phone in her pocket. “Hey, Haru.”

Haru ‘eeped’, feeling a sense of guilt that she hadn’t felt since she was a little girl when her mother caught her with her hand literally in the cookie jar. Guilt, combined with a feeling of absolute terror that she’d lose one of the friendships she so valued. “Ann-chan! I… er… ah…. ...nothing happened! I’d never--”

The second surprise embrace of the day was Ann hugging Haru, with an amused chuckle.

“I know.” Ann said, smiling. “I trust him. And what’s more, I trust _ you _.”

“Ann-chan…” Haru mumbled. She turned, putting the box down on a nearby console table so she could return the embrace, overcome with emotion. “I… you know I love all of you, right?”

“I know, Haru. We do, too. We’ll always be there for you.”

Ren smiled slightly. He respectfully closed the living room door, muffling the sound of two girls happily crying. He frowned.

“Guess I’m stuck here…”

Tachibana, appearing almost as suddenly as a ghost, stood at the other end of the living room. “Well. There’s another exit this way. It takes you through the basement, where Haru-sama trains. You know, she mentioned that she showed you a few things. If you like…”

Ren looked at Tachibana. The prospect piqued his interest for a moment as a fellow fighter. But his instincts screamed at him. If Yamanaka was a force of nature, Tachibana was _ super _ natural. Ren shook his head. “Respectfully, even _ I’m _ not that crazy, Tachibana-san.”

Tachibana barked a short laugh, amused. “Fine. Then here. Have a coffee with me, and you can tell me a little more about that cafe you live above, and the guy that looks after you”

“...Sojiro? Why would-- ...No. Seriously? ...No. ...Wait. _ Really _?”

>>>

December 11, 20xx 

Despite the fact that it was Sunday evening, Sae poured over notes for an investigation. She had been up since the wee hours of the morning, going over all the available information. Shadows formed under her eyes; a stale cup of reheated coffee stood ready by her right hand. Usually the elder Niijima didn’t look much like Makoto (except for their eyes), but right now, her impression of a sleep-deprived panda was remarkably like Makoto’s impression of a sleep-deprived panda.

“This is _ impossible _.” Sae groaned. She leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table of her and Makoto’s apartment, sighing. Her eyes flickered to the front door. Her sister was out again, thankfully. It would have been awkward for Makoto to walk in at this time. Sae would have preferred to study this case anywhere else, but it was hardly work appropriate - the office was completely out of the question. And working in a public coffee shop or library would have been almost as bad.

Sae looked back at the materials spread out in front of her.

On her laptop, a website from fatherly.com: _ ‘How to Talk to Your Teenage Daughter About Her Boyfriend’. _

On the kitchen table, an open book: _ ‘Teen Dating: Why It’s Important and How You Can Encourage Your Teen to Date (Safely)’ _

And beside the open book, pictures and a file from Shujin about one Ryuji Sakamoto. Getting the file wasn’t challenging - the SID already had access because Sakamoto was a known victim of Kamoshida. Reading it in detail had been both a relief and a disappointment. She was relieved that the boy who looked like a delinquent wasn’t actually. His grades were steadily improving and it seemed his prior reputation was almost entirely due to Kamoshida’s interference.

On top of that, his career survey stated that he wanted to be a _ teacher _ of all things. Overall, the file was quite positive.

On the other hand, she was disappointed that there wasn’t any obvious reason for her to prevent Makoto from seeing the boy.

Sae was Makoto’s guardian. It was her job to guide her younger sister through all of this. It was her job to set boundaries, rules, and expectations so that Makoto could grow to be happy, safe, and successful. Of course, the elder Niijima was just as awkward and inexperienced when it came to this sort of thing - the drawbacks of being utterly career-focused. It would have been much easier to just not have to deal with this, to scream and yell and forbid her sister from dating some cigarette smoking, motorcycle riding dirtbag.

Sae glanced at the book, making a face as she recalled one of the saccharine, chipper tidbits of advice in the volume.

_ ‘Treat teen dating as an exciting and positive experience and remind yourself that both you and your teen have a lot to learn from it.’ _

This was hardly exciting to the prosecutor. Nerve wracking and anxiety provoking, at best. Sae wondered why she hadn’t been able to find a book entitled _ ‘How to make your teen never date anyone ever until right before the day they get married into a stable long term loving relationship.’ _

Sae sighed. There was also a dearth of material on how to parent a teenager when you weren’t their parent, but a workaholic older sister who hadn’t shown _ any _ interest in the personal life of her younger sister until said younger sister broke into her cognitive brain space, tinkering about with her inner self so that she could actually _ feel normal feelings again _.

_ ‘Hm. Maybe Makoto and I could co-author something.’ _ Sae thought, laughing at herself.

The lock at the front door clicked.

Sae’s eyes widened. She thrust out her arm, sweeping and shoving the entire mess of the day’s work into her briefcase. She quickly Alt-Tab’d the open window on her laptop screen before springing to her feet awkwardly, turning to the door.

“I’m home…” Makoto called. She blinked, surprised at the sight of Sae standing at attention at the kitchen table. “...Er, good evening, onee-san.” Makoto’s eyes curiously drifted to the laptop open at the kitchen table.

Makoto _ squeaked _, quickly averting her eyes. She darted towards her bedroom. “I’lljustgostudyinmyroomnow!”

Sae blinked. She looked down at her laptop.

The window she had Alt-Tab’d to was a detailed discussion about condoms and other forms of contraception. Complete with diagrams on the proper application of—

Sae made a sound remarkably like Makoto before slamming the lid shut and leaping out to get in Makoto’s way. “W-w-wait! Makoto! This isn’t for me! It’s--”

“Onee-san, it’s fine.” Makoto said, stiffly at first. She then smiled shyly at her sister. “I mean, I was getting a little worried about you. All you do is work, and you deserve to have a life, you know? Is he nice? You must like him quite a bit. You know, if you want, you can have him over for dinner some time. I think it’s only appropriate that if it’s this serious already, I should meet him also...”

Sae stared at Makoto, slack-jawed as the brunette continued speaking in calm, measured tones. This was absolutely embarrassing. Absolutely, completely, ‘please let the earth swallow me up and the sky fall on my head’ mortifying. Her little sister was trying to have ‘the talk’ with her about a non-existent boyfriend, and was doing a pretty good job of it, too. Probably better than Sae would have done.

“Sex! Are you having sex with Ryuji Sakamoto!?” Sae suddenly blurted out.

_ Definitely _ better than Sae would have done.

Makoto turned crimson as she made a number of unintelligible sounds, words utterly failing the normally well-spoken girl.

Sae turned an equal shade of red.

The two sisters stood beside the kitchen table, silent. Staring at each other’s feet. Once again, the familial resemblance was striking.

Slowly, they each sat down as they reached an unspoken accord to at least _ sit _ awkwardly together rather than _ stand _ awkwardly together.

“We’re not! ...But we’re dating. How did you find out?” Makoto finally asked, forcing her face into a semblance of calm. She clasped her hands on the table in front of her.

Sae let out a slow breath. “Well… When I was interrogating Amamiya-kun, the subject came up--”

“You used _ an interrogation _ to pry into my love life?!” Makoto asked, her voice a mix of shock and indignation.

“No! No!” Sae exclaimed, raising her hands. “Under the influence of the drugs, Amamiya-kun was just very _ chatty _. He divulged information that was completely unnecessary, including the crush you had on him--”

“Oh my God. This can’t get any worse.”

“--And then I asked if he was dating _ you _, too…”

“_ ‘Too’? _”

“Yes! He kept telling me about all of his experiences since he arrived in Tokyo in explicit detail, including with Takamaki-san, so--”

“Well, I was wrong. It’s worse.” Makoto groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Is _ that _ why you keep staring at Ann’s legs?! I was starting to think you had a thing for her.”

“What? No! She’s a teenager, and I don’t like girls. I mean wait, I like girls, but I don’t _ like _ girls-- This is a tangent! No! I didn’t use the interrogation to specifically find out about you and Sakamoto-kun!” Sae said, breathing heavily.

“...Good.” Makoto said. She settled back into awkward silence, kicking at the floor.

Sae sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. “I’m… really bad at this, Makoto. I’m sorry. I’ve barely been a part of your life for so long. This… this is really hard for me.”

“I understand.” Makoto said. “It’s not like you’ve had time to learn how to be a parent.”

Sae shook her head with a little smile. “This is so awkward. It makes me wish I hadn’t seen you kissing him from the window--”

“YOU SAW US?!” Makoto squawked, standing up and bracing her hands on the table.

Sae’s eyes widened, realizing her mistake. “It was an accident! I wasn’t trying to spy, I--”

“Onee-san.”

“...Yes?”

“Might I suggest we table this discussion until after we handle Shido, and after finals at the end of the month?” Makoto asked, through clenched teeth. Her eyes were screwed shut; her face was bright red again. Makoto has _ just _ started getting over the fact that her first kiss wasn’t a typical first kiss. She was also just starting to come to terms with the fact that she really wouldn’t mind if she and Ryuji did it again… only to have this bombshell drop.

Sae looked at Makoto. She glanced at the briefcase haphazardly stuffed with intel on Ryuji and research materials. She looked at her laptop. Although the lid was closed, the sleeping screen was waiting to wake up again, to reveal a shockingly detailed diagram of how to apply a condom to an erect--

“You know, that’s an excellent idea, Makoto.” Sae said, rubbing her face.

>>>

December 12, 20xx 

“So… let’s go over what we know.” Ren leaned against the bar at Leblanc, looking at his gathered friends.

“Destroying the control room where the cleaner was shut down the topside guns.” Makoto said. “So we won’t have to worry about boarding the _ Ark _ or our getaway.”

“And as predicted, Akechi’s disappeared. Rui-san’s been tracking him as much as she’s been able. Per her report, he’s left the city.” Haru said. “It seems that he won’t be complicating our confrontation with Shido any further.”

“Not that we have any idea of what that bastard’s got in store for us.” Ryuji groused. “Since we don’t have any intel, well… I just made sure we’re all going in packing as much firepower as possible.”

“Same with armor and accessories. Everything’s in tip-top shape, but I have no idea what we’ll be up against.” Ann said. She sighed. “I think this is the least prepared we’ve been in a long time.”

Futaba frowned, typing away at her computer. “The only thing I can tell you is that there’s something odd about the Assembly Hall where the Treasure’s going to form. The room is actually way bigger than it shows on the blueprint…”

“How is that possible?” Yusuke asked, frowning. “The National Diet building already occupies most of the cruise ship.”

Mona flicked his tail back and forth. “It’s the Metaverse. And more than that, it’s a Palace designed to take down intruders like us. The normal rules might not apply anymore... We’ll just have to go in with our best equipment and be ready for anything. But before we can do all of that, how are we going to get a calling card to Shido?”

Ren frowned. “It’ll be useless to send anything to the Diet right now. Things are too crazy with the election. And pulling something like we did with the fireworks or weather balloon’s liable to get us shot. Security’s way too tight…”

“Eheheheh…”

“Gremlin?”

“Gotcha covered, Ren-ni. The Futaba-cannon’s primed and ready.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Dude. Gross. I don’t really care what you do behind closed doors or what you call parts of your anatomy, but this is hardly the time or the place.”

Ryuji gawked. “I thought she was a girl this entire time—“

Both Ren and Ryuji let out startled cries as they were struck by a mousepad and a pair of headphones, respectively.

Futaba grumbled, turning her laptop to face the group. “Hmph. Anyway, as I was saying…”

The group stared at the screen. Their expressions went from curiosity, to surprise, to exhilarated grins.

“Gremlin… this is _ perfect. _It’s time to take this country.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to write something I still don't quite understand myself. When I was 'active' in my own martial art, there was a time where I'd get so upset/angry that I'd get sloppy. I'd fall apart, get easily beaten, or just be so tilted that I'd pack up and go home. As I matured and worked closely with a trusted instructor, it became a tool - something I used and drew from. Part of it was not trying to fight it anymore. But this happened over years - not over a single fight.
> 
> There have been several recurring themes in this longfic - the idea of accepting oneself instead of just compartmentalizing, the idea of learning to trust again, and to value one's self again. It's hard to do these things justice for Ren, but I'll certainly be trying.
> 
> Futaba's adoption status. I know in canon (and in GtD) she's been referred to as 'Futaba Sakura'. So one could argue that Sojiro's already added her to the family register, etc. But in the game, having to pay off the uncle/having the uncle be so involved led me to believe it's more complicated/grey than that. So having her be 'unofficial' until the resolution of the confidant made sense to me. And also gave me a chance to write a heartwarming moment :)
> 
> As I've said, I thought Haru deserved more than canon gave her. Her friendzone choice kills me every time I make it. I wanted to show that yes, Haru finds Ren attractive - he's kind, he's helped her out, and he's good looking - but she's a newcomer into a situation where there's already an established relationship. And she's not an idiot - she sees they're clearly in love/good together, and she's friends with both of them.
> 
> I can't say this is perfect - if I were in her shoes, I'd still hurt a little to see them. But sometimes, that's the best we get *shrugs*
> 
> Tachibana is scary. I have a lot of scary/strong women in this. I think I have a complex.
> 
> Sae/Makoto... I thought about going the usual "STAY AWAY FROM HER" route, but I thought that Sae would at least be a LITTLE like Makoto - as in, she'd at least try to research things first. And in doing so, discovers that one does not simply tell a reasonably ok guy to fuck off. She has no 'real' reason to. On top of that, I feel I'm better at writing hilariously awkward than high drama.
> 
> That said, Sae won't just outright accept Ryuji. Some things will happen to help that along.
> 
> As for Shido, and the end...
> 
> Please be patient. Akechi was 10k plus. For multi-stage big bads? Hoo boy.


	40. Technical Knockout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A technical knockout (TKO) is one way for a boxing match to end. In a standard knockout (KO), a boxer is knocked down and unable to get back up by the count of ten. In a TKO, no such count is required. A TKO is called when the referee or ringside physician deems that a boxer is unable to properly defend himself, or when the boxer or his corner decides that he should not continue._
> 
> _In theory, the purpose of the TKO is clear - to save the fighter from permanent harm or loss of life. In practice, things become murky as the stakes get higher - who would want to be the one to call a fight stoppage in a major championship?_  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some terms:
> 
> Banzai: (literally 'ten thousand years') Originally a Chinese term (wansui) meant to bless/express reverence for the Emperor, wishing them ten-thousand years of life/reign
> 
> Yubitsume: Ritual maiming/cutting off small finger by yakuza. 
> 
> Type 94 Shingunto: The type of mass-produced katana given to Japanese officers during the Second World War

December 13, 20xx 

The Phantom Thieves gathered on the bow of the _ Ark _ , making their final preparations before heading into the Treasure Room and the final confrontation with Masayoshi Shido. As usual, they divvied up the ammunition, weapons, medicines, and other useful items. Not usual was how their leader looked. Ren stood a little bit away from the group, with an unusually sullen expression. He might have actually been _ sulking _, which was in particular contrast to the gleeful smiles and laughter amongst his teammates.

“Time to... _ take this coffee! _” Ryuji said, dramatically. He reached into the bag of supplies that Ren had brought along, ignoring his leader’s withering glare.

“Oh. And I’ll… _ take this medicine _!” Ann said, before striking a pose, her fingers in a ‘V’ for victory. She then turned to Ren, winking at him. Her smile only widened as Ren crossed his arms and started to pout.

“Ah.. Skull, do you think I should _ take this extra clip! _?” Futaba asked, rummaging around the duffel bag filled with the Phantom Thieves’ arsenal. She held up the magazine like it was a sword, her other hand on her hip.

“I think so, Oracle. This might be a tough battle, after all. You might actually have to use your gun. I wouldn’t want you to have to _ take a break _!... just to get a reload.” Ryuji replied, sagely.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Ren huffed. “I said it _ once _, in Leblanc. We laughed at how corny the line was, we had some fun, we moved on. “Let’s just--”

“Hm. Perhaps I will _ take this M4 Carbine. _ ” Yusuke said, thoughtfully. “And I’ll _ take the M203 _ as well.”

“You too, Fox?!”

Haru giggled behind a gloved hand. “Well, Joker. You _ did _ say it again during the calling card video...”

“Because you guys said it would be cool!” Ren pointed an accusing finger at… well, everyone.

Haru looked thoughtful. “I suppose that’s true. You might say you _ took the bait _.”

“You..!” Ren said, facepalming. “Look. Let’s just focus…”

Makoto nodded, giving everyone an admonishing look. “Joker’s right. We’re about to go into probably the most difficult battle we’ve seen so far as Phantom Thieves… We can’t afford to be joking around like this.”

“Thanks, Queen. I’m glad that one of us—”

“So we should all calm down and... _ take a moment _!” Makoto said, clenching and pumping her fist.

“...” Ren stared in shock as Makoto of all people joined in on the good-natured mockery. She stared back at him neutrally, her face carefully blank. Her eye twitched slightly. Ren’s lip quivered faintly.

The entire team, including Ren, burst into laughter and filled the air of the otherwise unnaturally quiet sea that the _ Ark _ moved through. Mona, regarded the team - his family - with quiet fondness. They weren’t joking around out of a sense of denial or anxiety - it was the relaxed banter of a team that was prepared. A team that was confident that they would prove victorious. The cat bandit’s eyes settled on Ren, his closest friend and roommate.

Mona could sense that something fundamental had changed within Ren in order to break Loki’s hold over him. There was a sense of calm; a sense that Ren was _ ready _.

Mona frowned slightly, at that. _ ‘Ready for what, exactly…?’ _

It worried him. He wasn’t sure what it meant for himself, first of all. And, he realized he wasn’t quite sure what it meant for Ren, either. Things felt right, but something wasn’t clear to Mona - right for _ whom _, exactly? Whose purpose were they serving?

The laughter slowly stopped. The team turned to Ren expectantly.

“Let’s finish this, everyone.” Ren looked over his friends, smiling. He regarded each of his friends in turn before his eyes settled on Ann. “Let’s finish this and go home.”

>>>

“Useless! You’re completely useless!”

The man clad in a white lab coat cringed as the sheaf of papers he had handed to Masayoshi Shido only moments earlier was unceremoniously thrown back into his face. The other men present, wearing either similar coats or suits, shifted nervously. Shido wasn’t known for his patience or mercy but ever since the public calling card, the leader of the UFP was looking completely unhinged.

“I paid you all to study Wakaba Isshiki’s research. I _ trusted _ you to understand it, sparing no expense. And now that I actually need results, the best you can do are conceptual theories about ‘cognitive training’?! I need a way to stop a change of heart _ now! _ Not in ‘several years with further research’. Right. _ Now _!”

The bald man slammed a fist onto his desk. He pointed at his head of security. “You! Have you found that useless brat?!”

“N… no sir. Akechi-kun seems to have vanished.” The agent said, shaking his head. 

“God damn it… He’s betrayed me! Me! After all I’ve done for him… Fine. We’ll do without. You. Bring in the man Akechi was investigating, the one who harboured the Phantom Thief. Confront Sae Niijima as well! And get that little shit’s parents! If we can’t stop him directly, we’ll go after everyone he cares about…”

Shido turned back to the medical staff, glowering.

“And you… Come up with a viable defence against a change of heart, or I’ll be ordering a ‘change of personnel’ to my research team.”

The head physician gulped. He knew precisely what Shido meant. “S-sir… there’s… there’s _ one _ option.”

One of the other doctors shook his head. “Sensei, you can’t possibly mean…”

Shido silenced the other doctor with a glare, turning to the head physician. “Go on.”

“...There is a way. We would need to monitor you in an ICU, but there is a way.”

>>>

At SID headquarters, Sae packed her briefcase at the end of her work day. She was heading home early for once. Her ‘promotion’ to the Public Safety Department had been put on hold with the death of Director Arai and the disappearance of Akechi. While she wasn’t looked upon favorably by the top brass, she was the only one left with any intimate knowledge of the Phantom Thieves’ case as well as a few other ongoing investigations. As such, they simply didn’t know what to do with her - they didn’t like her because she couldn’t be brought in line with threats or bribes, nor could they get rid of her because she was too valuable - for the time being. The prosecutor paused at the entrance to her office, looking back at the immaculately kept desk, the sparsely decorated walls. In fact, all of the decorations remaining there had come with the place.

_ ‘I should really do something about that…’ _ Sae thought. A sardonic smile crept across her face. _ ‘Maybe a picture of Makoto and Dad…? Assuming I still have a job after all of this is over.’ _

She knew that the impasse wouldn’t last forever. If Shido won, then undoubtedly Sae would be disposed of - certainly from her profession, and probably from her life, too. If the Phantom Thieves won, then… everything would be a mess. Sae shook her head with a little laugh. It would almost be simpler if Shido won. Not better, of course - just far less paperwork.

Sae stepped out of the elevator, running headlong into two police detectives.

“Sae Niijima.” It wasn’t a question - just a brusque statement to catch her attention and to begin the process of intimidating her.

Sae already knew their playbook inside out. She smiled pleasantly but didn’t break her stride. “Good evening, Detectives. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get home to make dinner for my sister.”

“We need a word.” The older detective said. He was mindful to not get too close to Sae or obstruct her, falling into step beside her.

“Ah, then please, come along with me. Let’s walk and talk.” Sae said, nodding.

The other detective, a younger man, stepped into Sae’s path. His veteran partner grimaced at the move. “I don’t think so. You need to tell us where the Phantom Thieves are.”

Sae raised an eyebrow, barely suppressing her amused smile at the young policeman’s candor. “I assure you, I have no idea. I was taken off the case, remember? The last time I saw the suspect, he was being held by the SID and awaiting interrogation by Akechi-kun.”

“And that makes you the last person other than Akechi-kun or the guard who saw him alive.” He said, crossing his arms.

“...So that means…?” Sae asked, with the benign condescending manner of an elementary school teacher.

“...It uh.. It means you just need to come with us.” He said, awkwardly

Sae paused, affecting a bewildered expression. “Why, are you detaining me? On what charges, might I ask?”

“No… there’s no charges.” The older detective said, sighing. He knew where this was going. He shot an annoyed look at his partner. “We just wanted to talk a bit.”

“Then I have no need to go with you.” Sae said, smiling pleasantly. “Good evening, Detectives.”

Sae stepped around the two men. The younger one turned to go after her, starting to put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. His partner reached out, snatching the younger man’s wrist.

“Lay a hand on her, and she’ll have your badge, son.You blew it. I told you to keep your mouth shut, but you...”

Sae smiled slightly to herself as their voices faded into the distance behind her. _ ‘If they’re coming after me, then they’re coming after Sakura-san and Amamiya-kun’s parents, too. Good thing we’ve already accounted for that… The Phantom Thieves can fight without worrying about us.’ _

>>>

“You. You’re Sojiro Sakura, aren’t you?” The man in the black suit asked. Or more specifically, the leader of the men in black suits. Four of them had walked into Leblanc like they owned the place. One of them immediately headed upstairs; the other two started to rifle through the cafe. Ostensibly to search for something… but clearly more to try to intimidate the cafe owner. Coffee mugs shattered on the floor; coffee beans sounded like rainfall as canisters were upended.

“I am. Are you going to buy something, or just act like two-bit _ yakuza _ in a B-movie?” Sojiro asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Where are the Phantom Thieves?!” 

“You mean those thieves they keep talking about on TV? I have no idea. I thought one of them was supposed to be dead.” Sojiro replied. He turned back to his newspaper.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” The agent sneered, snatching away the paper. “We’ve investigated you thoroughly.”

One of other men shouted from upstairs. “They aren’t up here!”

The lead agent smirked. “You’re an accomplice in any case. We have ways of making you talk.”

Sojiro shook his head, glaring at the agent without any fear in his eyes. “Do you really think I should be the one that’s afraid, son? I know how Masayoshi Shido operates. I’m not going to tell you a damn thing. What do you think he’s going to do to you when you report that back to him? You probably signed up for all of this because you thought it would be a fast way to get ahead. An easy route to the top. You have no idea how disposable you really are.”

“S.. shut up! There’s no way some washed up barista like you would have worked alongside Shido-sensei. Regardless, you’re coming with us--”

The door swung open. Tachibana stood there in a charcoal grey suit, staring dispassionately at the scene in front of her. “No. Actually, he isn’t. Not without me, anyway.” 

“And who the hell are you?” The lead agent asked. He started to take an aggressive step towards Tachibana, but thought better of it. She was pretty, but also clearly formidable. She was as tall as the agent and seemed to carry herself with a military bearing. He settled for standing still with his arms crossed.

“I’m his legal counsel.” Tachibana said, smiling placidly.

Sojiro blinked. _ ‘Legal… counsel?’ _Imagining Tachibana as a lawyer was a little like imagining a lioness as a housecat.

“Isn’t that right, Sakura-san?”

“Oh! Ah, yes. Of course…” Sojiro said quickly, understanding he should play along.

Tachibana looked at the four agents disdainfully. “In the interests of cooperation and to avoid… unpleasantries, Sakura-san and I will come along for now. For 23 hours.”

The agent frowned. “Criminal suspects in Japan are allowed to be held for 23 _ days _ without formal charges.”

“I haven’t heard anyone read Sakura-san his rights, nor have you shown me a badge or any other form of identification. I highly doubt that this is a formal arrest. You have 23 _ hours _. And then we leave.” The tall woman didn’t have to threaten or posture. She simply stated this as if it were the undeniable truth - and the agents appeared to listen. Tachibana and Sojiro waited while the agents brought a car around.

Sojiro eyed Tachibana. “...not that I’m ungrateful, but I can take care of myself. I’m more worried about the kid’s parents…”

“Taken care of.” Tachibana said, shrugging. “They’re on a tour in China, from Beijing to Hong Kong. Courtesy of Haru-sama.”

“Oh. Well.” Sojiro said. “...And do you really think they’re going to let us go after 23 hours?”

Tachibana shrugged. “No, they probably won’t.”

“You’re oddly calm about that.”

Tachibana looked at the agents that were left guarding the door, silently evaluating the potential threat. She smirked faintly; even Sojiro felt a slight chill at the expression. The woman looked back at Sojiro, a carefully composed neutrality back on her face.

“I told them they have 23 hours. And then we’ll be leaving. Whether or not they _ let _us go is entirely irrelevant.”

>>>

The team walked cautiously down the aisles of the Assembly Hall towards the central podium, weapons held ready. The seats and aisles were empty. The only living being in the Assembly Hall was the Shadow of Masayoshi Shido, standing behind the podium. High above him, the Treasure spun slowly - a massive, solid gold ship’s wheel.

Shido glared imperiously down at the teenagers. “The Phantom Thieves… I knew it would come to this.”

“What was your first clue? The fact that we’ve beaten every single one of your cronies? The multiple holes we blew in the side of your ship? Or the calling card that we broadcast across the entire country?” Ren asked dryly, raising an eyebrow. “I can see why you’re in politics. You’re really good at picking up on subtle cues.”

Ren had his hands in his pockets. His carefully flat expression quirked _ ever _ so slightly into that irritating (or according to Ann, sexy) smirk. To the Phantom Thieves, he finally seemed like himself again.

“Hm… Typical. Baseless bravado in the face of certain defeat. You will accomplish nothing here. I am prepared for every eventuality. I will stop at _ nothing _ to lead this country back to a position of strength!” Shido gestured emphatically, as if he was delivering a campaign speech.

“Even using your own son…? Even trying to kill him once he was no longer of use to you?” Yusuke said, training his M4 on Shido.

“He might have shared my blood, but I would never have acknowledged him. No son of mine would be so easily manipulated.” Shido laughed. “Ironic, isn’t it? He never anticipated that I had contingencies in place to get rid of him. Even though I used him so many times to dispose of other ‘obstacles’ on my path to ascension.” 

“Is that all you think of people?! Just tools to be used, or obstacles in your way. You… you’re worse than my father ever was! And yet you judged him, had him killed…” Haru growled, her hands tensing on her axe. “A man like you isn’t fit to lead this country.”

“And my mother… you stole her research and had her killed just for your own gain! Someone else might have pulled the trigger… but you’re just as much of a murderer!” Futaba shouted.

Shido smirked. “Kunikazu Okumura was useful for a time. It’s his own fault that he was greedy beyond his station in life. If I hadn’t put him down, someone else would have. And as for Wakaba Isshiki, I couldn’t very well allow knowledge of the Metaverse to become widespread. She was an acceptable sacrifice to guarantee that only I would be able to use this power. If you’re her daughter, you should be grateful. Your mother’s death contributed to my rise to power and this country’s salvation!”

“Acceptable sacrifice... ?” Ann said, shaking her head. She put a hand on Futaba’s shoulder. “_ Grateful _?! You… we’ll never let a man like you be in charge of this country!”

Shido shrugged. “Bleat all you want, like the ignorant sheep you are. I answer to a higher power. I alone was chosen. If I wasn’t meant to lead this country, then God would have stopped me long ago.” 

“Are you really that delusional? You think you have a divine right to rule?!” Makoto clenched her tonfa. “You’re insane…”

“Hah! Foolish girl. That’s how all of history’s greatest conquerors were called before they triumphed! No one believed Alexander at first when he claimed he would conquer the known world…” Shido raised a hand, gesturing again to an audience that wasn’t there - until they _ were _ there.

Applause suddenly began; the seats around them filled instantly with applauding politicians, all wearing identical suits; identical faces. All of them stared at Shido with only unthinking admiration and bland smiles. Apparently, the politician didn’t think much of his colleagues.

“How many civilizations laughed at Genghis Khan, until the day his armies were storming their gates!?” Shido said, almost shouting. The applause only grew louder; some of the politicians started to whistle and cheer.

The podium started to rise higher. The roof of the Assembly Hall opened. A large platform started to slide into place, threatening to close over and cut the thieves off from Shido and the Treasure. Nimbly, they leapt up, climbing on top of the new surface. They looked around in shock - the cruise ship was nowhere to be seen, now. The dead ocean over a submerged Japan was nowhere to be found. There was only Shido behind the podium under an endlessly swirling red and indigo sky.

“And how many thought that Napoleon was—“

-_ Plonk- _

Ren didn’t have much time to look toward the direction of the odd, hollow sound before he jumped, startled by the explosion of shrapnel and splintered wood at the podium.

A few wisps of smoke floated from the M203 grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of Yusuke’s M4 carbine. The team turned to the artist, shocked.

Yusuke casually reloaded the single-shot launcher while explaining himself. “It seemed unfair that the enemy always gets to have an uninterrupted speech. As you’ve said, Joker, monologues aren’t safe zones.”

Ryuji shook his head, with a disbelieving grin. “Nice one, Fox.”

Ren frowned, looking at the smoking rubble where the podium and surrounding tables had been “It can’t possibly be that easy…”

A gauntleted hand burst up through the rubble. Shido rose from the wreckage, no longer dressed in his simple black business suit. He wore a spiked white helmet now, along with a General’s uniform emblazoned with dozens of decorations and medals. A pistol was holstered at his side, along with a Japanese sword. He scoffed.

“Today’s youth are so hasty… Yet more proof that my steady hand is needed. If children like you will inherit the country, the future is grim indeed.”

The ground rumbled. Shido sneered down again at the thieves as he continued to rise - this time atop a golden ziggurat that burst upward from the ground. The politicians in the Assembly Hall has been turned into gold and melded into the structure… Rather than stonework, this pyramid was made of their twisted forms. Arms and legs entangled, enraptured faces frozen in golden relief.

“That… that’s really how he sees people. As nothing more than building blocks for him to stand on!” Mona said. “The level of his distortion in his cognition is worse than anyone we’ve seen!”

“Come if you dare, Phantom Thieves!” Shido called, from the top of the ziggurat.

“Let’s move!” Ren said, snapping his wrist blades out. He led the dash up the steps of the pyramid, his allies hot on his heels.

A bestial snarl made him turn in time to see jaws lunging for his face.

“Gorokichi!”

Yusuke’s Persona intercepted, his massive _ daitou _ barely holding back a golden lion wrought from the same gold-covered humans that composed the ziggurat they stood on. The Beast of Human Sacrifice.

Yusuke grimaced, his own sword out as well - he held it with one hand on the hilt and the other on the back of the blade, seemingly pushing at thin air - but as usual, his motion was Gorokichi’s, the two of them moving in tandem. Gorokichi seemed to grit his teeth, shoving at the monster.

“Thanks, Fox! Thieves! Let’s take this thing down—“

“Celestine!”

Multiple gunshots ripped through the air at almost the same time as Ann’s call. A wall of flame shielded the Phantom Thieves, vaporizing the projectiles.

Shido smirked, holding a Luger semi-automatic pistol. “Really? Did you think I’d just let you proceed at your own pace?”

“We’re not afraid of that pea-shooter!” Ryuji said, gesturing with his USAS-12 shotgun. “Do your worst!”

“How simple minded. That was just a warning shot to draw your attention. To this.” Shido laughed, as a glowing energy barrier started to form around the peak of the ziggurat where the politician stood. “If you fail to reach the top before this barrier is complete, I’m afraid your opportunity to steal my Treasure will be lost.”

“He’s… he’s not lying!” Futaba said, quickly analyzing the barrier. “The platform at the peak is gonna close off! We need to go!”

“Joker…” Yusuke grunted, pushing his blade. He held off the Beast of Human Sacrifice. “It seems as though we must part here.”

“Fox, you can’t take this thing on alone!” Ren protested.

A blast of wind as sharp and swift as a rapier cut into the Beast’s face, just as Haru’s bardiche hacked into its side. It roared, its attention drawn momentarily away from Yusuke. The artist took the opportunity to counter-attack.

With a ringing _ kiai _, Yusuke set his feet, shoving the Beast back. Gorokichi met its next lunge with a brutal smash between its eyes using the hilt of his daitou. The Persona then lunged forward, his blade stabbing into the Beast. The physical attacks did little to the monster, but Yusuke channeled through Gorokichi’s sword, the Bufudyne striking critically as it hit the Beast from inside-out.

“He’s not alone, Joker! Go!” Mona yelled, his slingshot snapping. Explosive bullets struck the Beast, drawing forth a pained roar. It leapt at Mona, only to be slammed hard into the ground by Milady’s psychic assault.

“I want to show you the terrariums once they’re finished, Joker. Take care of yourself!” Haru said.

“We will meet again, Joker!” Yusuke yelled.

Ren nodded in gratitude - he turned, resuming his charge up the stairs with Ann, Ryuji, and Makoto behind him.

Futaba fell into step beside Ren. “Joker! I’ll keep an eye on what’s happening from above. Don’t worry - I’ll keep us all a step ahead of him! Just get up the pyramid!”

The small orange-haired girl abruptly turned, leaping off the pyramid. She was caught out of mid-air by her Persona. Al-Azif gained altitude to watch both the Beast and Shido. The navigator’s voice came to life over the Phantom Thieves’ radio. “Alright, Phantom Thieves! I’ve got some sweet buffs coming your way-- wait. I’m picking up another signal. It’s-- Incoming! I’ve got incoming--”

Another golden lion attacked, this one soaring out of the sky on wings. It slammed into Al-Azif, claws digging into the smooth metal of the triangular Persona. It reared back, mouth open to start ripping at the chassis to get at the girl inside.

“Oracle!” Ren yelled. He turned, forgetting about Shido. He drew his pistols. The Wings of Human Sacrifice tumbled through the air with the struggling Al-Azif. Ren couldn’t get a clear shot with his guns. The winged lion roared. It reared back, ready now to tear directly at the hatch that concealed Futaba. He had to take the shot. His fingers started to squeeze the triggers.

Agnes roared overhead. Makoto leapt off her Persona, slamming a tonfa into the head of the monster. As it reeled, Makoto kicked off of it, towards Al-Azif. “Oracle!”

Futaba took the hint - she dismissed her Persona, falling for a moment - before being caught by Makoto, who landed deftly back on the ziggurat. The Wings of Human Sacrifice roared, diving at the pair.

SMG fire raked across its wings before a shotgun blast hit it square in the mouth. Ann and Ryuji knelt in firing position, fending off the twisted beast.

“We’ve got this, Joker!” Makoto shouted. She leapt up, smashing her dual tonfa into a wing. “Get Shido!”

“Kick his ass, Joker! We’re depending on you!” Ryuji yelled. “William!” The pirate captain appeared behind the bottle-blonde, firing his railgun.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Wildcard!” Ann said. She narrowly dodged a claw swipe; her flaming whip lashed out in response, cleaving the tail off the flying beast. “We go home together, or not at all!”

Ren bounded up the last few steps, pausing just before the nearly completed barrier. He could see Shido waiting for him at the center of the ziggurat’s summit. The would-be dictator stood with his arms crossed; the Luger was holstered now, carried alongside his Type 94 _ shin gunto _ katana. Ren turned to look over his shoulder.

Yusuke, Haru, and Mona fought valiantly against the Beast of Human Sacrifice, keeping it from charging up the pyramid.

Makoto, Ann, and Ryuji drew the attention of the flying Wings of Human Sacrifice, preventing it from dive-bombing Ren.

Ren hesitated. It was true that one of the things that worried him about this upcoming battle was learning _ why _ Shido was so thorough in destroying his life in Kamakura; it was one of the reasons why despite learning of the man’s Palace months prior, he didn’t act. But the other reason was playing out on the steps of the ziggurat below him - he didn’t want his friends to sacrifice themselves for his justice; he didn’t want them hurt just to help him find the answer.

As if reading his mind, Ann looked sharply up the steps at him.

“What are you doing, Wildcard?! Don’t waste this chance! Oracle and Noir are depending on you!”

Ren was startled out of his hesitation. She was right. It wasn’t just _ his _justice anymore. It was for Futaba and Haru. It was for anyone who was harmed by the conspiracy. That meant Shiho and Mishima too, among countless others.

For a moment, he thought he heard a familiar voice - or perhaps it was simply a memory.

_ ‘Trust in the bonds you have forged, Trickster. Have faith.’ _

He turned on his heel, dashing through the barrier just before it completed itself, sealing him in with Shido.

If Ren looked out over the edge of the ziggurat, he could still see his friends fighting desperately for him. He could even hear the sounds of pitched battle. But his entire focus was on the man in front of him. Masayoshi Shido - the architect of the conspiracy that threatened to take Japan, and the person who ruined his life and the lives of countless others. Shido stood there, tall and confident. He slowly drew his sword, a cold smile on his face. He didn’t have any mocking words or grand threats for Ren. He didn’t need them.

Ren felt the pressure immediately. In the Assembly Hall, the man was arrogant and spiteful. Here, Ren realized, Shido had been hiding his power. Getting the leader of the Phantom Thieves alone was _ exactly _ what he had wanted. Ren struck reflexively, like trying to throw water on a flame before it roared out of control.

“Yoshitsune! Alice! Kohryu!”

>>>

“My apologies, sir. This is the last one.” The head physician sat at Shido’s bedside in a private ICU room at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

“Just do it.” Shido said coldly, staring at the doctor with an unflinching gaze as he established an arterial line. The politician was already ‘hooked up’ as it were - a central line gave the medical team direct access to his internal jugular vein; multiple leads for continuous cardiac telemetry were stuck to his chest. The leads also doubled as a defibrillator.

“All done, sir.” The physician said, wiping sweat off his brow. It was a simple procedure - one the doctor had performed thousands of times in the past. Though, usually not in patients as vengeful as this one, and usually not in anyone as volatile. And certainly not in someone with the power to actually wreak a horrible and violent vengeance.

“Explain to me again what you’re going to do.” Shido said. He glanced briefly at the agents that were his personal security detail.

The doctor didn’t miss the less-than-subtle threat.

“Er… at your signal, I’ll be injecting this medication, adenosine, into you. It will effectively, uh…” He wilted under Shido’s gaze. “...stop your heart.”

One of the agents frowned.

The doctor spoke quickly. “Which is why I have the reversal agent right here! And the leads on your chest double as defibrillators should it come to that. Moreover, we’re prepared to perform CPR, and we already have central access so—“

“Will it stop the Phantom Thieves?”

“...yes. In theory. You will, for a few seconds, be dead. Your heart will stop. This should collapse your Palace. According to Isshiki’s research, if this happens before your Treasure can be stolen, you shouldn’t experience a change in your heart. It should also kill the Phantom Thieves provided that they are unable to escape in time. From what Isshiki described, it should be impossible for them to get out - the collapse of the Palace will be too quick.”

Shido nodded. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

>>>

Yusuke’s head snapped up at the explosion of energy from the peak of the ziggurat as Ren’s triple attack struck home. The ensuing column of force blew into the sky, splitting the clouds directly above the leader of the Phantom Thieves and Shido.

“Inari, heads up!”

The artist narrowly dodged another vicious attack the Beast - he backstepped quickly, simultaneously raising his sword before cutting down with it. Gorokichi moved in lockstep with Yusuke, the Persona’s blade leaving a wake of frost like a comet. The massive spectral daitou slashed into the Beast, staggering it - it was immediately struck again by Haru and Mona, each of them using their Persona’s magic skills.

The Beast leapt back, away from Yusuke.

The three party members exchanged glances - it was strange behavior. Up until now, the monster had been unerringly aggressive.

The Wings of Human Sacrifice pulled back suddenly also, spiraling away from the gunfire of Makoto, Ann, and Ryuji. The two guardians stood poised, turning to face up towards the peak of the ziggurat.

There was silence for a moment, before Futaba’s voice crackled over the radio once again. “...Oh, shit… Guys! Stop them! Stop them before they--”

Twin roars shook the air.

>>>

Ren stood cautiously, waiting for the smoke and dust to dissipate. He breathed heavily; the strain of summoning three of his most powerful Personas simultaneously wasn’t insignificant. But he didn’t let his guard down, not even when the broken pieces of Shido’s sword landed on the ground in front of him following the attack. The crushing pressure of Shido’s presence was still there. If anything, it was only _ growing _.

The smoke cleared, revealing Shido, standing in the tattered remains of his uniform. He bled from multiple swords wounds courtesy of Yoshitsune, his left arm was crippled from Kohryu’s crushing psychic attack, and his very physical form seemed somehow less material after Alice’s Almighty magic.

But the would-be dictator smiled in spite of the pain.

“Almost admirable. A sudden and ruthless assault with some of your most powerful attacks, I assume? You nearly defeated me. What made you attack with such force, I wonder. A desperate desire to finish this so you can help your allies…? Or perhaps you thought to catch me off guard.”

Shido stood up straight. “Or was it simply… instinct? Fear? Then, you’re smarter than you look…”

Twin roars sounded through the air.

Ren watched as two golden beams of energy, one from each lion-like monster, shot past the barrier and into Shido.

His wounds healed instantly under the blinding light. But it did more than heal him.

Once the light faded, it revealed Shido, now with the stature and muscle of a heavyweight pro boxer. He stood tall and relaxed, wearing only pants and a harness composed of iron rings around his forearms, straps across his chest, and springs connecting everything together. The contraption creaked quietly with Shido’s movement as he slowly raised his arms into a fighting pose.

Ren cursed in surprise - he deployed the Black Wing on instinct as he _ felt _ the rush before he saw it. Fists slammed into his guard, striking him hard enough that it hurt even through the armor on his forearms. There wasn’t enough time to slip or parry - blunt force trauma struck his guard relentlessly, forcing Ren to keep his hands up and elbows in to protect his head and body.

A hard punch knocked his guard open for a split second.

A final blow slipped through, hitting Ren in the stomach. It launched him into the barrier behind him where he struck with a reverberating thud. He landed on a knee, a hand on his stomach. The boxer’s eyes bulged; a hand covered his mouth as he tried not to retch. It felt like a hole had been ripped out of him.

Shido stood before him, smiling. His fist still glowed with an ominous red aura.

“Do you see, now? You will be another small sacrifice on my road to saving this country. I will _ crush the Phantom Thieves! _”

Ren grit his teeth. There was only one possible response.

Arsene’s wings exploded from Ren’s back. 

He launched himself at Shido, blades bared.

>>>

“This… this is going better…” Ryuji said, his voice uncertain. Ever since the twin roar, the fight against the Wings of Sacrifice was easier. And it seemed that Yusuke’s party was having less trouble, too. But Ryuji wasn’t so naive as to accept this particular gift - the Phantom Thieves hadn’t adjusted their tactics, but the monsters seemed weaker. This felt like a trap to the cagey young man.

“I don’t like this either, Skull. Oracle! What did the roaring do?” Makoto asked, before springing into the air towards Ryuji, feet first.

Ryuji swung his hammer towards Makoto - she struck the shaft of the weapon perfectly with her feet, the two of them combining to create a tandem springboard for the black-clad martial artist. She launched high into the air, just as the Wings of Human Sacrifice reeled back from a lash of Ann’s whip and burst from her FN P90.

Makoto’s tonfa strike smashed into the jaw of the beast with all the momentum of her launch and a satisfying crunch.

Futaba responded over the Phantom Thieves’ radio channel, to both parties. “...It… it healed Shido from Joker’s attack. And it’s made him stronger! They transferred their strength to Shido! We can’t let them do it again!”

>>>

Ren was using everything he had learned. No longer compartmentalizing, no longer separating his selves, the fist of Takeda combined freely with the blades and guns of Arsene. There was no longer any hesitation. With the Black Wing, he kept up even with this enhanced and muscle bound form of Shido.

A chopping right punch slammed into Shido’s jaw. The man turned his head at the moment of impact to negate the force of the blow before returning with his own right punch - the haymaker blow named ‘Tyrant’s Fist’. Ren countered with a left jab; Shido bobbed back, aborting his hard right and leaving the young boxer’s left fist hanging in the air.

Ren’s left wrist blade sprang out, stabbing Shido in the right shoulder. He cursed, backstepping before he charged in again - the tyrant’s eyes widened at the sight of twin 1911 pistol barrels trained on his face. Twin muzzle flashes roared out of the guns as Ren fired relentlessly.

Shido slammed his fist into the ground - a golden slab of stone erupted from the surface in front of him, intercepting the gunfire.

Ren charged forwards. He leapt into the air over the slab, ready to fire.

Shido’s leaping uppercut lanced into the air. Ren leaned his head back in an attempt to dodge it, but was clipped on the chin by the larger man’s knuckles. Even so, the glancing blow was enough to snap the youth’s head back and throw off his attack. A follow-up axe kick smashed the teenager into the ground - he rolled immediately to the side. Shido’s stomp to the ground left a shallow crater where Ren’s head had been a moment earlier. Ren fired from flat on his back, preventing another follow up from Shido and forcing him to back off.

Ren had him dead to rights - he fired. The weapons both clicked empty. He dropped his spent pistols as he staggered to his feet, a grim look on his face.

Shido smirked. “Oh, my. So serious. Does this have anything to do with what you said the other day? I ruined your life and went after your family, is that right?”

Ren charged forward. His left jabs shot out at Shido, his wrist blade intermittently retracting and deploying, the variation in range impossible to predict. Shido was fast, though. Sparks flew off the iron rings on his forearms as he blocked and parried. He bled from the occasional strike, but this didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

“That seems to have struck a nerve…” Shido said. “You’ve piqued my curiosity, thief. Who _ are _ you, exactly?”

Ren paused his assault, stepping back. He took off his mask, glaring at Shido. “Do you remember the Amamiya _ Ryokan _? In Kamakura?”

Recognition flashed across Shido’s face.

“...Ah. The brat who decided to play hero that night, with that woman...” Shido laughed. “To think, someone as insignificant as yourself would come into such power. If I had known back then, I might have set Akechi on you to nip this inconvenience in the bud.”

Ren put his mask back on. He dared to ask the question that had been in his mind. “If we were so insignificant, then why? Why did you come after my parents? Why…”

Shido smiled cruelly. “How about this. If you survive the next round, I’ll tell you.”

He dashed forward, his fists forcing Ren on the defensive. A vicious left hook sent Ren staggering - he barely blocked the follow-up right straight. As he staggered back, the leader of the Phantom Thieves saw a flash of gold shooting into the air.

The Wings of Human Sacrifice was flying high, preparing to roar once again.

>>>

“Queen, Skull, Panther! Now!” Futaba yelled. “They’re going to do it again!”

Al-Azif careened into the Wings of Human Sacrifice, smashing it into lower altitude. Celestine’s Blazing Hell lit the sky around it, singeing its feathers despite its resistance to magic and forcing it yet again lower. It started to roar, to feed its energy into Shido - twin tonfa rammed into its open mouth as Makoto, launched again by Ryuji, slammed into the monster. This time, she held on; she swung around to ride its shoulders. She drew her Detective Special, firing point blank into the back of the beast’s head. It started to plummet to the ground.

Meanwhile, lower down on the ziggurat Haru, Yusuke, and Mona were forcing the Beast of Human Sacrifice back up the steps with a barrage of psi, ice, and wind attacks. Its back was turned to its fellow guardian beast, spiraling down directly at it.

Makoto fired one final time before springing away, flipping in the air and landing adroitly on the ziggurat steps. The Wings of Human Sacrifice slammed full-force into the Beast of Human Sacrifice, causing the two guardians to tumble down several tiers of the ziggurat in a tangled mess of limbs and wings.

All six Phantom Thieves converged on the guardians. They performed an all-out attack, each one of their assaults leading into another attack by one of their allies. Gunfire and spellfire raked across the manifestations of Shido’s cognition of the Japanese public, drawing pained roars that gradually devolved into a multitude of human voices that screamed out their mindless devotion amidst the screams of agony.

“Auuugh! _ Banzai _ , Shido-sensei! _ Banzai _!”

“Our sacrifice is for the greater good! Urrk...”

“_ Banzai… _!”

Ann and Makoto both looked on in horror and disgust. A final blaze from Celestine and Agnes reduced them both into molten slag, finally silent.

Anxiously, the Phantom Thieves looked up to the pyramid’s peak.

The barrier’s glow faded.

“...We.. we did it!” Ryuji pointed. He charged up the steps towards the peak. “Let’s go! Joker needs us! He--!!”

The barrier pulsed white and exploded outward - launching the Phantom Thieves off the ziggurat. They slowly staggered to their feet, now on the floor in front of the monument.

Shido stood at the edge of the peak, staring down at the group. He started to gloat at the Phantom Thieves, his attention momentarily diverted from Ren.

Twin black blades burst out from his chest, dripping with blood.

Ren, battered and bleeding, stood behind Shido, his arms extended. He had run the tyrant through. Shido’s boast turned into a gurgle.

“Got you…”

“That’s my line, thief.” Shido replied, grinning.

Ren’s eyes widened. He retracted his blades, starting to leap back.

Shido whirled, grabbing Ren’s throat - his Tyrant’s Fist hammered his cheek, making his vision go white. Blow after blow struck Ren’s face and body; Shido didn’t let him fall.

The Phantom Thieves watched in horror as Shido continued to savagely beat Ren. As he hit again, and again, the ominous red aura around the man exploded out and turned black - the harness on his body flew off. He drew power from the ziggurat itself as he grew in size again, grotesque veins visible over bulging muscle, barely contained by crimson skin. He held Ren by the throat, lifting the teenager in the air as he kicked and struggled.

“Did you really think you won?” Shido said, laughing. “Did you really think it was just those two beasts that I drew from? This entire monument is mine to use. The _entire country_ is mine to use!”

Cheering and applause filled the air - the golden faces, previously motionless in the bricks of the pyramid, started shouting for Shido.

The Phantom Thieves started to charge towards the pyramid again to the aid of their leader - they halted when the topmost steps of the structure slid down, revealing a massive cannon that dwarfed even the largest navy artillery weapons.

“It’s powering up! Dodge it!” Futaba screamed, observing from on high.

The blast carved a massive fissure in the platform as the Phantom Thieves dove aside.

“My, my. Such cheaters. Trying to turn a _ fair… one on one… honorable… _contest into a brawl.” Shido snarled ironically, punctuating each statement with another hard punch into Ren’s body before throwing him to the ground. Ren laid there, a motionless heap.

Ann took one step towards the pyramid. “No…!”

The cannon immediately turned to face her, firing again - forcing them to dodge once more.

“We… we can’t get close!” Mona cried out, helplessly. “Joker… Joker!”

_ ‘...it would be so easy to just close my eyes right now.’ _Instead, he stood, dragging himself to his feet. He raised his fists.

Shido closed the distance immediately. Ren met his punch with a cross-arm guard, but the force of the impact still struck him down. Ren shook his head, as if trying to clear it.

_ ‘This really hurts… if I just stayed down, it would probably stop.’ _Coughing, he staggered to his feet once more. Shido rushed in, a wild grin on his face. Ren slipped the left jab, moving to his right. He drove a right hook into Shido’s side, the blade punching a shallow wound through the tough, red skin. Shido laughed. He headbutted the boxer, knocking him again to a knee.

Ren grimaced - but stood, once again. He bobbed under a hard right, coming up with a short uppercut to Shido’s jaw. This time, the impact sent the ogre-like man back a step. He practically snarled, returning with another hard punch to Ren’s stomach. It doubled him over, but Shido didn’t stop to admire his work this time - he hammered a viciously hard combination of punches and kicks into his body. His blood stained the stone floor; a final uppercut sent his body sailing back.

Ren laid motionless.

“He… ...he’s not moving.” Ryuji mumbled. “There’s no way…”

Futaba covered her eyes, shaking her head. “No! Not like this! Not like this…”

All seemed lost. The Phantom Thieves watched in stunned silence as Shido started to laugh.

“If that’s what your trump card amounts to, the rest of you don’t stand a chance. I’m feeling generous today, though. If you agree to serve _ me _ as Akechi’s replacements--”

“_ Stand up!” _

Shido smirked, looking at the girl in the red catsuit. “Too late for that--”

Ann ignored him. “I said, stand up, Wildcard! You promised, didn’t you? The guy I love keeps his promises! So STAND. UP.”

For a moment, there was only silence. Shido started to laugh again. But it was cut short by a quiet groan, and the rustle of a long coat against a stone floor.

“I… I hear you, Songbird.” Ren said, rising to a knee, coughing.

Shido spun to face Ren. “You! Why won’t you stay down?! Why won’t you _die_?!”

“They’re light...” Ren said, shaking his head as he tried to clear his vision. He felt something in himself change. He felt lighter on his feet; his senses seemed to sharpen.

“...What?”

“Your fists.” Ren said, pausing to spit out blood. “Your fists are _ light _. You’re fighting only for yourself, your selfish ambitions. No matter how much you claim to be fighting for Japan. A punch like that won’t keep me down. If it did, I’d never be able to face Coach Takeda or Kana-chan.”

“And you? What are you fighting for? Revenge?” Shido scoffed. “You’re worthless. Your revenge is worth shit. If that’s all you’ve lived for, you should know - you’re _nothing_ to me. The only reason I wanted to destroy your family is because no one crosses me. Whether you’re a lowly innkeeper or a cabinet minister, if you get in my way, I _crush_ you, make you regret ever _thinking _about defying me…”

And there it was. It truly was for nothing, other than a narcissistic need to prop up his own ego by destroying anyone who dared to oppose him. Ren’s entire life had been turned upside down for no reason at all; his parents had suffered, Reiko had suffered… for nothing.

But, Ren realized - it didn’t matter. He smiled slightly through the pain.

“...If I was just fighting for my own revenge, I wouldn’t be able to stand again. But that’s not the case. Not anymore. These fists…”

Shido dashed forward, a right straight aiming to take Ren’s head off.

Ren slipped to the outside, his left hook striking Shido in the chin. A follow up right hook, blade deployed, stabbed into the man’s side. A left uppercut sliced through the air, slamming into Shido’s jaw. The man stumbled back, surprised by the force of the blow. Grievously hurt, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was somehow striking _ harder _. 

“...were entrusted to me by Shinji Takeda!” Ren said, starting to stand straighter. He launched himself forward. Flicker jabs whipped forward, obscuring Shido’s vision and halting any thought of counter-attack. His blade snapped out at the end of each jab, cutting into Shido. “They carry the weight of Futaba’s justice, for her mother!”

A chopping right, cutting into Shido’s left shoulder. “And for Haru’s father!”

A dizzying combination of lefts and rights pummeled or stabbed into Shido, forcing the red-skinned, ogre-like man completely onto the defensive. Ren picked up speed as he fought, dancing around Shido’s powerful counter-attacks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He paused, his shoulders jogging slightly, bouncing in place like he did when he boxed. If Takeda had been there, he would not have used the word ‘incomplete’ to describe his boxer any longer. He smiled faintly, recalling Reiko’s words to him, so many months ago.

“...My hands are heavy, Shido. I’m young, but they’ve lived through so much already. Thanks to you… thanks to the people I’m fighting for.”

Shido snarled. It was his turn to spit out blood, now. “...Light punches? Heavy fists…? None of that matters before the power of the truly elite!”

The ziggurat glowed golden - Shido healed again. He smirked, clenching his fists as his muscles bulged and tensed. “If you fight for others… Then you can watch, as I kill the ones you care so much about!”

Unholy black energy pulsed first around Shido, before it converged upon the pyramid’s cannon.

The pyramid’s cannon started to thrum; it aimed down at the Phantom Thieves.

Shido laughed. “Well? Aren’t you going to attack me desperately? Or beg? What will you do, now?”

Ren paused. He heard… rather, _ felt _ something in the air. Burgeoning power; a buildup that was a long time coming. “...Nothing. I won’t do anything but have faith in my friends.”

He glanced past Shido to look at his friends. He looked thoughtful for a moment before summoning Arsene; the black wings of the Persona curled forward protectively around Ren as he knelt down, turning his body away from the front of the platform. He peeked out at Shido.

“I’d duck if I were you. I have faith in them, but maybe not in their aim.”

“...what?—!!”

An explosion of power from the platform drew Shido’s attention. It wasn’t from the cannon - the Unholy Convergence was still building ominously. But it wouldn’t have the opportunity to fire.

Haru stood fearlessly on the platform in front of the cannon, surrounded by the other Phantom Thieves. Her shoulders heaved as her power spiked; her eyes flashed golden-yellow.

“Joker… You’ve done so much for us all. I won’t let it go to waste. I won’t let this bastard win! Lady Lucy Hay… Countess of Carlisle!”

Milady appeared behind Haru - And then morphed, her petticoats turning into a modern double-breasted trench coat over a flared violet and black skirt. The Persona carried a small silver suitcase as well. With a small laugh, the Persona’s skirt slid back like they used to in her first incarnation - revealing now, instead of ancient mortars, cannons, and gatling guns, modern day artillery and rocket launchers. A machine gun barrel even slid out of the suitcase as the Persona aimed it at the pyramid.

“Tear it down, Lucy!”

Explosions rocked the platform and ziggurat - the cannon flew off the pyramid, landing in a twisted heap of metal on the far side of the platform. But Lucy and Haru weren’t done - they continued firing, the heiress joining in with her grenade launcher.

The barrage from Lucy was soon joined by the other Phantom Thieves, as the combined power of eight Second Awakening Personas devastated the pyramid, converting the Tomb of Human Sacrifices to rubble.

As the dust cleared, it revealed only Shido and Ren, protected by the last vestiges of the glowing barrier just before it winked out of existence. The Phantom Thieves could mostly see just Arsene, still behind Ren, his wings around him protectively.

“Let’s go!” Ryuji called. He stopped on hearing Ren’s voice, loud and calm.

“He’s mine.” Ren said, with a confidence that belied his bruised and battered body.

The Phantom Thieves paused. There was something different about Ren. They realized now that it had been building for a while - probably since Shido’s onslaught, the one that seemed to nearly kill Ren. But now, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was on the cusp of a change.

Ren’s eyes flashed golden. The Second Awakening had eluded Ren and Arsene for weeks… Everyone’s Second Awakening was an explosion of power from within - something that had to be grasped, controlled, and wielded like a weapon. In each of their cases, it was as if they were discovering a hidden strength within themselves.

All the previous times - against Tachibana, then Okumura… then Akechi, Ren had tried to do the same. An impossible task - like trying to catch a rainstorm in a teacup. It certainly made him stronger and faster, but his body nearly broke under the strain. Things were different this time, though. The violence and anger were there, and they were his. But they were his to use.

And now, whether it was the desperation of the battle, or simply sensing the combined ultimate Personas of all the Phantom Thieves, he understood - he was meant to be a _ conduit _, not a vessel.

That butterfly voice was definitely there, now. The faint, glowing blue form drifted across his vision, reassuring him, filling him with a sense of _ right _.

Instead of trying to hold it, wield it - he let the power flow _ through _ him. He acted as the instrument rather than the musician.

The Black Wing fragmented outwards - it expanded, reformed, fragmented again. It appeared on Ren’s arms and chest as armor once again, but it appeared to the Phantom Thieves like it was rippling, as if they were looking at Ren behind superheated air. The spectre of Arsene stood up, the wings curling back and away from their defensive posture. Like Gorokichi with Yusuke, Arsene mimicked Ren’s stance.

Ren raised his gauntleted right hand; the gloves nearly resembled claws, now. He had picked up Vengeance; he aimed it directly at Shido.

Similarly, Arsene raised his own ghostly arm. A long-barreled pistol appeared in Arsene’s hand, held in the same way as Ren. The weapon was unusual - it seemed more like a melee weapon than a firearm, taking the appearance of an ornate double-edged sword with a gunbarrel nestled between the edges and a pistol grip for a hilt. Arsene’s appearance flickered in and out of focus; the sound of creaking and straining chains became almost deafening to everyone present. But what was most noticeable to the Phantom Thieves was the _ presence _. The immense pressure emanating from Arsene. It became hard to breathe. Or, the Phantom Thieves realized, not so much hard to breathe as it was simply frightening to breathe. As if doing so would draw the attention of an omnipotent eye onto themselves.

Ryuji shivered. It was just like the first time, when Ren faced off against the cognition of Tachibana. Only far more stable. More forbidding.

Shido’s eyes widened, feeling the threat. He reacted instinctively. He slammed his fist into the ground; multiple slabs of stone and metal rose in front of him. The black aura surrounding him thickened. He crossed his arms in front of himself in a desperate guard.

A single shot rang out.

Every barrier in front of Shido shattered in an instant.

The tyrant’s lips quirked in an odd smile. He raised a trembling hand towards the Treasure, the floating golden wheel… And then he fell, finally.

The area around them rippled back into the form of the Assembly Hall; Shido’s form faded back into the bespectacled man in a business suit.

It was over.

>>>

In the hospital, Shido clutched his chest suddenly. It felt like he had been kicked by a mule. Sweat poured down his brow; he grimaced. One of the agents started to draw his gun, looking sharply at the head physician.

“I haven’t even injected the medication!” The doctor protested.

“Then why is Shido-sensei—“

“Now! Do it now!” Shido yelled, motioning quickly. “Inject the medication! I can feel them… they’re about to succeed!”

The doctor took hold of the access port; he quickly screwed on the syringe and slammed the plunger home.

Shido gasped; his colour seemed to turn grey - his body went slack as he collapsed back into the hospital bed.

>>>

The Black Wing vanished; even Ren’s wounds disappeared as Mona cast his magic and Ann applied Takemi’s medication. But the leader of the Phantom Thieves barely noticed. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the Shadow of Masayoshi Shido, the man who ruined his life. The man who out of simple narcissistic spite, used his political clout and social status to run roughshod over everything the young boxer cared about. He was saying something; his eyes were tearful.

But Ren didn’t listen. He instead was lost in his own thoughts of the life he had in Kamakura and what Shido had destroyed.

His friends abandoned him.

His parents were heartbroken.

His relationship with Reiko had been ruined.

Masayoshi Shido burned through his life, leaving only emptiness and seething hatred. Hatred for the world, and hatred for himself, mostly - it had been easier and more practical than hating Shido. The man had been completely beyond his reach - until now, anyway.

Ren raised his pistol, the one known as Vengeance. The hammer clicked back.

None of the Phantom Thieves moved a muscle, apart from sharp breaths.

Every time they had taken a villain down, Ren had left it up to one of them. He had faith that each of them would make the right decision - Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, and Futaba. And now, it was their turn to have faith.

Shido stared up at Ren, wide-eyed. His last apology trailed off into frightened silence. Eventually, he sighed. His shoulders slumped.

“...I… I deserve this. I have so many regrets… Do… do as you will.”

Another long pause.

Ren pulled the trigger.

-_Click-_

“...Bang.” Ren said, quietly. He holstered his pistol, turning away. “Mona. Grab the Treasure. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The Phantom Thieves breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Mona nodded. He jumped up, grabbing the now much smaller sized ship’s wheel. The team headed for the exit; Ann caught up to Ren, quietly taking hold of his hand.

“You okay, Wildcard…?” She asked quietly.

Ren nodded to her. He squeezed her hand. “Yeah. I think so.”

A sudden scream interrupted the quiet moment. Ren, Ann, and the rest of the team whirled to see Shido fall forward onto his face, his body exploding into wisps. The Palace immediately started shaking; rafters fell from the Assembly Hall ceiling. Massive cracks started appearing in the walls.

“Mona!” Ren shouted. “This is too fast! What’s happening?!”

“I don’t know! Something must have happened in the real world! ...Shido! Shido must be trying to stop us, somehow! We need to go!” Mona led the charge for the elevator. The cat-bandit leapt up, slamming the button with his paw. The elevator shot down the shaft towards the team - and then shot past, at a bullet-like velocity. From below, there was a loud crash and the sound of rushing water as the elevator broke _ through _ the hull of the ship.

“Stairs!” Futaba yelled, pointing. “We have to move!”

The team darted down the steps, to where the main foyer should have been. They screeched to a halt as they ended up in a nondescript corridor instead.

“What?! Didn’t we just come from here?!” Ann said, looking around frantically. She jumped slightly at the sound of a nearby explosion.

“We did!” Futaba said, pulling her mask down to check her HUD. “It’s not our sense of direction… It’s the Palace itself! The collapse has advanced to the point where the hallways aren’t reliable anymore. The layout of the ship itself is going haywire! We have to get outside, _ now _!”

The team watched in horror as water started flooding into the far end of the hall.

Yusuke glanced quickly at the slope of the hall - while the exits weren’t reliable anymore, the ship seemed to only be sinking in one direction. “Quickly! This way!”

He ran ‘up’ the incline.

“Inari, that’s a dead end! There’s nowhere to go--”

Yusuke drew his sword and cut in the same motion. A deep slash was carved into the wall at the end of the hall. Slowly, ice crept out from the cut - and then the wall simply shattered, revealing the balcony at the side of the ship. The Phantom Thieves hastily exited.

Ren looked down at the water. “We’ll have to jump--”

“WE’RE GONNA DIE! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!” Futaba sobbed, loudly.

“It’s not safe to jump! The ship’s exploding, too. We need to get far enough away…” Makoto pointed. “There! There’s a lifeboat on the bow!” She led the Thieves towards the bow of the ship - sure enough, the lifeboat hung on a crane at the bow, high in the air as the stricken ship sunk stern-first.

“We just have get there…” Ryuji said, furrowing his brow as he studied the distance.

“It’s too far…” Yusuke murmured.

“I got this…” Ryuji said.

“Ryuji…” Makoto said, unsure of what to say. Things had been awkward since Sae tried to have ‘the talk’ with her. “Just… just hold on a second...”

“Hang tight, guys. Just don’t forget to pick me up!” He looked back over his shoulder at Makoto, grinning. “Just wait and see! RenRen’s not the only guy who can make the impossible possible!”

Ryuji crouched down, thinking of all the track meets, all the training - an explosion at the stern of the ship was his starting pistol. He dug in, launching himself forward. He willed himself to run faster than he ever had in his life. The beating of his heart outstripped the pounding of his boots on the deck; he barely heard the shouts of his friends behind him.

“Hrrrraaa!” He leapt the last few meters, _ just _ catching the release for the lifeboat.

“He made it!” Ren said. “Everyone on the boat, hurry!”

Ryuji smiled, flashing a thumbs up to the group as they brought the lifeboat around to pick him up.

Ren returned the grin as they got closer. “You look pretty damn cool, buddy. But keep both hands on that handle until we get there! We need you back in one piece--”

The bow of the ship exploded. The Phantom Thieves hit the deck of their lifeboat, shielding their faces - by the time they looked up, the former track star was nowhere to be seen.

“No way… it can’t be… Come on, what the hell, Ryuji…” Ann murmured. Her thoughts flashed back to the boy she had known since middle school… The boy who loved his mother more than he’d ever dare to admit; the boy with the flighty mind, but steady heart. She had been so happy to see him get together with Makoto--

Ann looked over sharply at the brunette.

Makoto stared out at the water, her reddish-brown eyes wide, her face paler than usual.

“...Makoto...”

“RYUJI!” Her scream was piercing. Makoto lunged towards the edge of the boat, moving to dive off to swim back towards the ship.

Yusuke and Haru grabbed her arms, stopping her from taking the leap.

“Let me go! Let me GO!” Makoto screamed.

“It’s too late, Makoto…” Yusuke said, shaking his head. “We… we can’t lose you, too…”

Makoto went limp in the arms of her friends.

“I didn’t… I didn’t even say anything to him before he…” Makoto mumbled.

The Metaverse around them faded back into the reality of the National Diet. The group found themselves standing outside of the fence in a secluded area under a streetlamp.

“We have to go back!” Futaba shouted, whipping out her phone. She opened the Metaverse Navigator. “Shido! Diet Building! Ship!”

“Destination not found.” The phone chimed back, in a pleasantly neutral voice that in the moment, was crushingly insensitive. Futaba started to cry as she repeated her inquiry to the app in an increasingly frantic voice.

Mona shook his head, now in the form of a tuxedo cat. “We… we can’t go back…”

“This… this isn’t funny at all…” Yusuke mumbled. He knelt, picking up a small, shining object off the ground. “So… so Ryuji sacrificed everything... ...for this. This Treasure.”

“It’s a legislator’s pin…” Makoto said, reaching to take it from Yusuke. She smiled weakly. “Ryuji would be so disappointed… This isn’t worth very much at all. He.. ..I..” She started sobbing; Haru immediately pulled the girl into a hug, tears of her own flowing as well. Ann turned into Ren’s chest, her shoulders shaking as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Maaaaaan, that was close!”

The Phantom Thieves jumped at the approach of one Ryuji Sakamoto.

“Seriously, the explosion thing is getting out of hand. But hey, RenRen! Didja notice?! I looked cool like you said, I know. But I screwed it up a little, I looked at the explosion-- ...Uh… why the long faces?”

“Didn’t you… die?” Haru asked, eyes wide.

“What? Noooo. I got blasted out of there by the explosion, and then I woke up on some grass nearby.” Ryuji blinked, looking at Ann as a cheeky grin spread across his face. “Heh. Y’know, you should be careful showing that to Ren. Your crying face is _ so _ not cute--”

Ann’s eye twitched. “You…”

She took a step towards him, raising her hand.

Makoto beat her to the punch - she stepped forward, her face set in a scowl as she grabbed Ryuji by the ear, dragging him away from the group and around the corner of the fence.

“Oh. He’s earned himself a tongue-lashing, it seems.” Ren said, shrugging. He chuckled lightly as he surreptitiously wiped at his own eyes. He was relieved his best friend was alive.

“I’m feeling a bit hungry…” Yusuke said.

“Then I want sauteed foie gras!” Futaba chirped.

Haru looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure you’d actually like it, Futaba-chan. But I know of a few places we can go to on the way home… We should rescue Ryuji-kun from Mako-chan, though.”

The group headed in the direction that Makoto and Ryuji had gone off to.

“Hm.” Ren murmured, looking thoughtful.

“Wildcard?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking it’s too bad the suspension bridge effect probably wouldn’t work on Makoto…” Ren said. “Ryuji mentioned things have been a bit awkward since Makoto’s sister tried to have ‘the talk’ with her about dating.”

Ann winced. “Ah, that. Makoto mentioned it, too. Well, you never know. She won’t stay mad at him for long, at least. You saw the way she reacted when we thought Ryuji was dead. I think she-- whoa!”

The group rounded the corner.

Makoto had Ryuji pinned up against the fence. She was no longer holding him by the ear, but instead had him by the lapels of his blazer. Her lips were firmly planted on his; her eyes were closed. Ryuji had his arms around her, pressing her body against his.

Ann reached over, putting a hand on Futaba’s shoulder to make her face a different direction.

“Oh, come on! I’m only a year younger than you guys, and you and RenRen are completely shameless--”

Makoto’s eyes opened at Futaba’s voice. She quickly separated herself from Ryuji. “I.. we.. er…” She looked over at Ryuji for help.

Ryuji blinked. “Uh.. ..we uh.. .. ..we were making out?”

Ann grinned. “You’re supposed to come up with a lie, Ryuji. Not brag.”

Before Makoto could scowl at Ryuji, she turned carmine at Ren’s deadpan.

“Well. Looks like I was right about the tongue-lashing.”

>>>

“Shido-san! Shido-san, can you hear me?!”

Shido blearily opened his eyes to the familiar voice of his head physician. “I… ...what?”

“Shido-san… Thank God.” The head physician said, wiping sweat off his brow.

Shido looked at the man. He was an accomplished doctor, both academically and clinically. But he was greedy - someone who was always looking to get ahead, someone who wasn’t above using favors and threats to get his next paper published, or to get preferential treatment from the university. It was the reason why Shido had targeted him to begin with; he was someone who could be manipulated with both the carrot and the stick.

That was probably Masayoshi Shido’s best talent - his ability to find and exploit weaknesses in character. Something he had used ruthlessly and repeatedly to get him where he needed to be. Something that he told himself was for the greater good, to save the country he loved.

But that wasn’t the truth, he knew. He was tragically ambitious. He cared nothing for the country; he cared nothing for any citizen. All he wanted was power. His best talent was exploitation, and he had used it purely to get power for the sake of power. The reality of his hubris settled down around him like an albatross around his neck. He raised a shaky hand, slowly rubbing his face.

“Shido-san… Your heart stopped only for a moment. We were able to--”

“What… what have I done…?” Shido said, in a near-whisper.

“...Excuse me?”

“I said, what have I done?! I’ve killed so many… ruined so many lives… I have to atone!”

“What the hell is going on here?!” Hisamoto Sugimura shoved his way into the room, past the security agents and the doctors. “Shido-san! You missed a campaign speech. Not that it matters, but I had to fill in, and no one would tell me where you were! I had to… …”

The man stared in surprise as Masayoshi Shido didn’t even look up at him - instead, he sobbed into his hands, blubbering something about having to atone, to confess all of his crimes.

“...The Phantom Thieves did it, didn’t they?” Sugimura said, quietly.

“Y-yes. It seems so…” The doctor said. “He can’t serve as Prime Minister like this. He can’t even continue the campaign… It seems as though he’s going to confess everything…”

“Like hell he will.” Sugimura snarled. “Does anyone else know he’s here? No? Good. Keep it that way! Keep him locked up in this room until the election’s over! Announce that he’s unwell, that he can’t make any other appearances. We’ll sell it to the media in such a way that it makes him look like a hero. We’re already projected to win in a landslide. After the UFP becomes ruling party, Shido can say whatever the hell he wants. He can even resign! We’ll still be in control, and we’ll still be asked to present someone as Prime Minister!”

“...R..right!”

The assembled political staffers left Shido in the care of the medical staff and security agents. Sugimura left as well, heading down a hallway alone.

He smiled coldly.

>>>

A few hours later, Futaba and Ren returned to Leblanc, where a familiar face was waiting for them outside the door, under the awning.

“Aniki, you’re back.” Yamada said, seriously. After a moment of consideration, he raised an eyebrow. “...how did it go?”

Ren looked at Yamada, with a meticulously neutral expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Yamada grinned, barking a short laugh. He raised his fist.

Ren bumped it, grinning back. “Thanks for looking out for the place, Ken-chan. Here, let’s go in. I’ll make you a drink.”

“Aniki, wait, don’t go in, it’s...” Yamada said quickly.

Ren opened the door, walking past Yamada. “What? Why--”

Leblanc was ransacked. Or at least, it _ had _ been ransacked. Yamada’s boys were carefully cleaning up - reorganizing coffee beans, putting away unbroken dishes, and even taking an inventory of the broken items so that they could be replaced at a later time. Sojiro sat at the counter, mystified as the youths worked. His surprise and confusion only grew as they turned, and upon seeing Ren:

“Aniki! Please, forgive us!” They said, in near-unison. A metal pot lid previously held by one of them - Shu, Sojiro thought he recalled - clattered to the ground like a gong. The ringing faded into an awkward silence as Ren started dumbfounded at the group.

“...For what? You guys didn’t mess this place up, so--”

“You told us to watch over Leblanc!”

“We failed! This still happened.”

“Those fuckers had guns, and that Tachibana chick also gave us this look to tell us not to interfere--”

Ren shook his head. “Guys. It’s fine. Honestly. I asked you to look out for the Boss and this place, and you clearly are. I mean-- Eiji, the hell are you doing?”

The boy was rummaging around in the kitchen. “Looking for a sharp knife, aniki.”

“...why?” Ren asked, starting to look concerned.

“_ Yubitsume. _We failed you, didn’t we?”

“Oh, okay. ..wait, what?! No! Don’t chop off your finger! Gremlin, put away your camera!”

Eiji found the knife. He took a deep breath, raising the knife and slamming it down with a blood curdling scream before anyone could stop him.

Ren stared in horror at the amputated digit on the counter, at Eiji’s bloody hand. “Holy… Fuck! Ice, we need ice! We have to get it on ice and get him to the hospital!”

Shu blinked. “Get what on ice?”

“His finger! His finger… which is a cocktail wiener.” Ren said, picking up the sausage, which was covered in ketchup. He looked at Eiji, who was now grinning. Slowly he raised his little finger before wiping the ketchup off with a napkin.

“You _ assholes _.”

The gang broke into raucous laughter; Yamada threw his arm around Ren’s shoulders, grinning.

“It’s your punishment for worrying us so much, aniki.” Yamada said. “Glad to have you back.”

Ren looked around at the gang; each of them expressed the same sentiment. They all regarded Ren with affection and profound relief that their ‘aniki’ was back from whatever he had gotten himself into. Like Yamada, each of them had a rough idea of who exactly Ren and his inner circle were, but wisely decided that knowing less was safer and easier for all of them.

Sojiro sighed, smiling. “You guys should call it a night. The kid and Futaba look beat, and so am I. Thanks for the help, guys. You’re welcome here any time.”

Yamada and the rest filed out, after extracting a promise from Ren to visit ASOBIBA or the batting cages in the near future. Sojiro looked around LeBlanc, letting out a low whistle.

“Shido’s men really tried to mess the place up. But your friends showed up just a few minutes after I got back and got straight to work. That kid, the one named Shu, he even salvaged the potted plants.”

Futaba frowned. “Where did you go?”

Sojiro shook his head. “No clue. We were basically kidnapped. They had us blindfolded on the way there, some warehouse or something. They let us go without saying or doing anything, though. Heh. He had a ‘change of heart’, I suppose.”

“Us?” Ren asked.

“Ah. Rui-san showed up when Shido’s men did. I think she’s the other reason why they didn’t do anything to smash up this face of mine. Man. That woman is scary when she wants to be. The entire time, they kept looking at her, and… ...why are you smirking?”

“_ Rui _-san?” Ren asked, his smirk turning into a grin. “Getting a bit familiar there, Boss.”

“Oh, shut up.” Sojiro huffed. “You look completely worn out. Get your ass upstairs and into bed. You’re still supposed to be dead, aren’t you?”

Ren yawned. “You know, I am pretty tired… Hey, Gremlin. Come and wake me up tomorrow morning, alright? I want to run a few errands, maybe chat with Ohya-san to see if she’s heard of anything changing around Shido.”

Futaba nodded. “Right!”

Ren headed upstairs, Mona in tow. He glanced at his phone - it was just past midnight. As he sighted his bed, his fatigue crashed down on him, similar to his fight against Akechi. He didn’t hurt as much this time, though - the bruises and contusions he had, the last reminders of Shido’s beating, didn’t ache nearly as badly. As Ren laid down on his bed, not bothering to undress, he idly wondered if it had something to do with figuring out how to properly utilize Arsene’s potential… maybe the strain was less, somehow.

“Hey, Ren. You should at least take your blazer off?” Mona mewed, jumping up onto the bed.

Ren didn’t reply, his chest already rising and falling gently with deep sleep.

Mona sighed, affectionately headbutting Ren’s shoulder before settling down himself. “Ah… I suppose it’s fine…”

>>>

December 14, 20xx 

Ann woke up a few minutes before her alarm clock, for once. And not groggy in the slightest. She sprang out of bed, moving spritely through her walk-in closet to her private bathroom. She went through her morning routine with an enthusiastic energy usually reserved for dates with Ren, the changing of the crepe flavor of the month at her favorite dessert place, or for dressing her friends (and boyfriend) up in new clothes.

The reason was simple - they had beaten Shido, and Ren was finally _ hers _.

_ ‘Well. He’s been mine for awhile…’ _ She thought, giddily. It was more accurate to say that he was hers, but now without the Sword of Damocles hanging over their young love. It was finally over - Akechi was their defeated opponent; they had stolen Shido’s Treasure. Even if they’d likely be waiting until the election to learn anything substantial, it finally felt like they could _ breathe _.

Her phone buzzed.

_ ‘Ah. Must be a text from Ren… He can’t go back to school already, can he? We don’t know anything yet…’ _

She picked it up - and nearly dropped it on reading the text.

**FS: Ann! I need your help! Ren won’t wake up!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference/Credit: Hajime no Ippo, Ippo v. Eiji Date for the 'your punches are light' discussion. Also Cowboy Bebop for Ren's final 'shot'. And keep forgetting to add this - Yusuke's use of Gorokichi's swordsmanship (his pipe morphs into a daitou when he does this) is inspired in part by Komamura's (fox dude) bankai from Bleach.
> 
> Suspension bridge effect: (From wikipedia) Misattribution of arousal is a term in psychology which describes the process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. For example, when actually experiencing physiological responses related to fear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal. The reason physiological symptoms may be attributed to incorrect stimuli is because many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms such as increased blood pressure or shortness of breath. Frequently used trope in various media.
> 
> For those following, reminder - Hisamoto is the older Sugimura. Hisahito was the younger one, Haru's former fiance. Starting to regret giving them similar names, haha.


	41. Showboating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Showboating, or the action of showing off, is something inherent to almost every sport in various forms. It can range from something fairly innocuous or joyful, such as Guts Ishimatsu’s ‘guts pose’, where he would pump his fists in the air after a victory, to the mental mind games used by Muhammad Ali to get his opponent off his game._
> 
> _Doing this recklessly during the course of a match can lead to unfortunate consequences. In 2019, Sabri Sediri was handily winning a ten round lightweight match against Sam Maxwell, when in the closing minutes, he started actively mocking his opponent and showboating. He posed, danced about, and left his chin wide open, feeling that his wounded opponent offered no threat._
> 
> _Sediri was knocked out with a one-two punch combination in the final ten seconds of the match. A premature celebration turned the professional boxer into a punchline. Literally and figuratively._

December 14, 20xx 

“Tae Takemi was widely known as one of the most talented young physicians at Tokyo University Hospital. Even though her career at the university was just starting, Takemi-sensei already had a reputation for not only her keen clinical and academic mind, but also the infallible compassion she had for her patients. She was also well-loved by the medical students and residents for her ‘tough but fair’ teaching style. Not to mention her stunning good looks and incredible fashion sense.”

Takemi sighed, apparently in irritation - but she fought to keep the amused smile off her face as she worked on her computer. She continued signing off on dictations and orders input by her residents on the ICU team, trying to ignore the surgeon sitting across from her at her desk, in her office. He was casually narrating her morning, with his own personal interpretations of course.

“Takemi-sensei sighed quietly as she worked, carefully reading over each of her residents’ notes. But why would such a beautiful mouth make such a wistful sound? Perhaps she was tired after a tough shift in the ICU? But fatigue didn’t show on her youthful, lovely features. Maybe it was a lovelorn sigh, then? The internist bit her lip as she considered this - rather, as she considered the handsome, sexy, brilliant orthopaedic surgeon who had captured the heart that beat within her ample bosom. She rolled her eyes. Likely in ecstasy, as she recalled their last date where the ruggedly good-looking surgeon’s kiss stole her breath away, just moments before he showed her what his skilled hands could—Ouch!”

Kyouya Hayakawa raised his hands, fending off the barrage of pens and paper clips that Takemi flung at him as he grinned.

“You are so full of crap!” Takemi laughed. “It’s more like you ‘kissed’ the branches of the tree you walked into, and your ‘skilled hands’ barely broke your fall when you tripped right afterward.”

Hayakawa paused, a little smile crossing his handsome features. The genuine adoration in his eyes was startling to Takemi. “I only walked into the tree because I was too busy looking at _ you, _ Tae-chan.”

Takemi blinked, her mouth agape as she blushed, caught off-guard by both his expression and the cute pet-name that didn’t fit her at _ all _. But it rolled off the surgeon’s tongue as easily as he would ask for an instrument in the OR. Hayakawa - the surgeon that Shiho had correctly identified as being into Takemi - was surprising, to say the least. Before they started dating, he seemed like a quiet and serious young doctor focused on getting his practice running. And he was - inside the hospital. In his personal life, he was a giant romantic goofball, shocking Takemi with an easy grin, warm smile, and adorkably casual way of flirting that made him seem like he was a carefree college student, not a busy surgeon. He was the polar opposite of the sort of man she thought she’d like. Except for one thing:

His outlook and attitude made _ her _ feel like she was a carefree college student, too. And she loved that.

So many other people in the hospital saw the way she dressed and acted and were put-off - women, out of jealousy for her looks and position, and men, due to feeling threatened by a female physician who was academically and clinically accomplished and needed _ nothing _ from the ‘old boys club’. It made Takemi feel like she had to constantly be on guard - sometimes it felt like everyone either wanted something from her, or wanted to tear her down.

But Hayakawa was refreshingly simple. All he wanted was for Tae Takemi to be Tae Takemi. And it seemed like he couldn’t get enough.

Takemi coughed. “A-anyway. Don’t you have better things to do, Kyouya? You’ve been following me around all night like a lost puppy. I thought you had a case?”

“Woof.” He said, playfully, before switching into work mode. Hayakawa shook his head. “My OR got bumped. I thought you knew about it? Some bigwig got admitted to the ICU last night, and they actually held an OR for him ‘just in case’ he needs a procedure. I protested, but they completely ignored me. Even when I pointed out that ‘just in case’ isn’t a diagnosis.”

Takemi frowned. “I didn’t approve of anything like that… In fact, I didn’t think we had any new admissions at all. Let me see…” She clicked through the EMR open on her laptop, sighing when she identified the attending physician. “That’s why. It’s Watanabe. His patient’s name has been redacted, and he’s managed to hijack quite a bit of equipment. He’s probably trying to curry favor with some politician… Here. Give me the name of your patient. We can’t do anything about this right now, but we can at least lodge a formal protest.”

“We?”

“It was _ my _ ICU last night, Kyouya. At least it was supposed to be. We were short a bed, and now I know why. Watanabe not only took a private room for his case, but he failed to tell me about it. No matter who his VIP is, he has to at least tell the physician who’s _ actually _ on call ...Why do you look disappointed?”

Hayakawa sighed theatrically, now also _ looking _ like a sad puppy. “I thought it was ‘we’ in the ‘we’re in this together because you’re the love of my life’ manner of speaking.”

Takemi rolled her eyes. She leaned forward in her chair, reaching to condescendingly pat Hayakawa’s head. “There, there--!”

He caught her wrist, pulling her forwards and into a kiss as his other hand rested over the pulse of her slender neck.

Takemi’s reaction made the transition from startled to euphoric - oddly similar responses, of course. Elevated heart rate, increased oxygen intake, a feeling of warmth. The difference, though… The difference was moving from warmth to _ heat. _ A small corner of her mind unhelpfully noted that this was likely because of the addition of a healthy dose of oxytocin and dopamine being released in response to this, moving along a reward pathway that had already been _ firmly _ established after she had helped him get off the ground, and into her apartment-- except this was her office. She broke the kiss, shoving Hayakawa back into his seat.

“Kyouya! This is my office!” Takemi scolded.

“Well, you _ do _ have a big desk--”

“You’re the _ worst _. And we’re still working.” Takemi said, shaking her head. She did smile, though. She glanced at her phone as it buzzed insistently - a phone call, likely from one of her residents. She picked it up, blinking as the caller ID instead listed ‘GUINEA PIG’ rather than ‘Minion #1’ or ‘Minion #2’. She answered the call.

“Good morning. A bit early, isn’t it--... Ann? Why are you…”

Hayakawa frowned as Takemi’s expression shifted from mildly amused to seriously alert.

“I’ll be right there. Stay with him.” She hung up, looking at Hayakawa. “Kyouya, I need to get back to my clinic in Yongen. Can you give me a lift?”

>>>

Ren looked up from his seat in the dilapidated boxing gym that was the current incarnation of the Velvet Room. Just a moment ago, he was falling asleep, vaguely hearing Mona say something about his blazer… Now, he was once again a prisoner in his own heart, observing the decayed remains of Takeda’s gym. The place was in even worse condition now. Anything that was metal had rust on it; anything fabric or leather was torn. Even the walls themselves were crumbling. If he looked closely enough, behind the faded paint and torn posters was grey quarry stone.

_ ‘That’s odd… Takeda’s gym is in a newer building. Concrete, not quarried rock. This looks like--’ _

“Welcome back, Trickster.”

Igor’s deep intonation forced Ren’s attention back to the ring. The ropes surrounding the platform were gone, giving Ren a mostly unobstructed view of Igor. The man(?) sat behind an ornately carved wooden desk, his fingers steepled under his round chin and long nose. As always, he bore a sinister grin. Sitting on either side of the desk, their legs dangling over the edge of the ring’s apron, were the twin Wardens. Strangely, both of them favored Ren with _ smiles _.

“I think I’ve changed my opinion of you, Inmate!” Caroline chirped, flashing a crooked grin at Ren. She held up a clenched fist in a victory pose.

“Indeed. The look on your face is that of a man who has accomplished a great deed.” Justine added, making a few notes on her ever-present clipboard.

Igor paused for a long moment. He slowly nodded. “...to think. That you’ve not only evaded all the traps set before you, but used them to fully ensnare your enemies and take revenge. Truly marvelous, Trickster.”

Ren nodded. He started to look towards the walls of the Velvet Room once again - there was something compelling, there. Something important about the ancient-looking stone walls.

But Igor’s voice reverberated through him. If the wall was compelling, his jailor’s words were _ commanding _.

“Your rehabilitation is essentially complete, Trickster. And in the nick of time.” Igor waved a hand at the Velvet Room. “As you can see, your heart and body are in shambles… You’ve disregarded my cautionary words, but still finished your vengeance by the skin of your teeth.”

“...Master?” Justine frowned. “What do you mean?”

Caroline blinked. “I know I said I’ve changed my opinion of him, but I didn’t think he was _ done _ done--”

Igor gestured sharply. The twins fell into uncomfortable silence. “It seems abrupt, does it not?” He chuckled softly. “Perhaps it was too easy, Trickster? In any event… your rehabilitation will be completed soon… So long as…”

Igor’s voice distorted. He paused. The long-nosed man’s expression changed for a split second. Before Ren could register it, the Velvet Room suddenly fell away. He didn’t wake up though, nor did he return to a normal sleep. Instead, it was like he was standing in pitch blackness; it reminded him of the pocket dimension that Madarame had sent him to during the final battle to steal his Treasure. Although he was sure he didn’t have them, he felt for his guns in case this was a similar situation.

A faint blue glow caught his eye - butterfly wings. A soft voice reassured him; changed the darkness into something comforting and warm. Like the embrace of a loved one, or the family _ kotatsu _ at the inn.

_ ‘This unjust game continues, Trickster. But your heart is still open to my voice. You have done well. Rest for now, Trickster… rest, and wait.’ _

The idea of closing his eyes again when his eyes were technically already closed in the real world was odd… but it made sense at the moment. So he did. And he rested, falling into dreams of an inn in the winter; a warm room with a warmer Ann Takamaki asleep beside him. The only future he wanted to see.

>>>

“...you know, I’d be a lot more worried about the champ if he didn’t have that stupid smile on his face.” Shiho said, idly poking at Ren’s cheek with an outstretched finger repeatedly.

“Will you stop _ poking _him?” Ann said, slapping at Shiho’s hand. “Takemi-sensei, what do you think?”

Takemi shrugged. To Ann’s chagrin, she also reached over to poke at Ren’s cheek. He mumbled something, turning over in response. “It seems like a very deep sleep, or stupor… similar to what Futaba over there was in back in August.”

Futaba nodded. She sat cross-legged at the kotatsu. “Y-yeah. But isn’t it weird that it happened to RenRen? I thought it was related to... you know, my choice of lifestyle.”

The doctor rolled her eyes.

“Yes, your lifestyle of being a computer barnacle who only feeds on instant ramen. We’ll address that at a later time.” Takemi sighed, looking at Ren. “But Futaba does have the gist of it. Whatever you all were doing at your ‘part time job’, it completely drained him. And given the events of the past few weeks, it’s probably some element of cumulative strain, too. It must have been quite a bit, given that his physical condition is far better than Futaba’s.”

“He _ did _ have his Second Awakening.” Mona said, from the end of the bed. “Or at least I think he did…”

Mona swished and flicked his tail. When Arsene materialized that pistol, miming Ren’s arm, Mona had nearly fainted at how the power reverberated through him. The sensation had a significance to it that outweighed even the feeling he had when they successfully stole a Treasure. So much that Mona barely registered anything from taking Shido’s ship’s wheel; it was as if the Treasure didn’t even matter anymore.

“Anyway… well, Shiho, what do you think?”

Shiho looked thoughtful for a moment. “He’s protecting his own airway. He’s also responding to voice, and opening his eyes to certain stimuli. He even follows some commands, if we’re persistent enough. Probably a thirteen on the Glasgow Coma Scale.”

“Right.” Takemi replied, smiling proudly at her protege.

“Coma?! What does that mean? Is he going to wake up?” Ann asked, eyes wide.

“It’s fine, Blondie. It just means on the scale from alert to vegetable, he’s basically in something like a drunken stupor. Highly suggestible. Watch.” Shiho leaned down, speaking quietly in Ren’s ear. Her tone was friendly and familiar as she gently shook his shoulder. “Ne, Ren? It’s your mother.”

“Nn..? Ka-chan?” Ren mumbled, his eyes remaining closed.

“That’s right, Ren. Ka-chan.” Shiho said. “Now, why did you go and do something silly like sleep with your uniform on? Take your blazer off.”

Ren groggily complied, before settling back into the mattress and pulling the blankets back over himself.

“See?” Shiho said, nodding to Ann. “He’ll be fine. Now your shirt.”

Ann blinked. “Wait, what are you--”

“It’s fine, Blondie. We can’t let him sleep in his uniform like that, can we?” Shiho said, reasonably. “Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“I’d be a lot less suspicious if you didn’t already have your phone out, Shiho.” Ann said, giving her friend a hard stare.

“You’re no fun.” Shiho said, putting her phone away. “But, seriously. The Shujin uniform isn’t _ that _ comfortable.”

Ann sighed. Shiho wasn’t wrong. The blonde girl quickly helped Ren take his shirt off, before tucking him back in amidst the blankets. “Takemi-sensei… is there anything else I should do?”

“...Hm?” Takemi was chewing on the end of a pen, her eyes focused on where Ren’s now-covered stomach was. “Rare for a boy his age to have abs like that.”

“Takemi-sensei!”

“Ah! Sorry…” Takemi shook her head. “Not really. You’ll just need to keep him fed and hydrated… We’ll have to figure something out.”

Futaba brightened. “Ah! I have an idea. This works on me when I’m like this.”

The orange-haired girl found an unopened bag of chips from the last gathering of the Phantom Thieves. She tore open the bag, shoving it under Ren’s arm, and then placing his other hand in the bag. She leaned in.

“Ren-ni. There’s food.”

“Mn…” Ren mumbled. Sure enough, he started munching away.

“...This seems totally unsafe.” Ann said, worriedly.

“Yeah. You kinda have to be careful what he’s holding when you tell him that.” Futaba said. “Case in point!”

Moving quickly, she exchanged the bag of chips with Mona.

“W-w-what are you doing?!” Mona yowled.

Ren sleepily started to pull Mona’s tail towards his open mouth.

“!! No! Lemme go! Ann-dono, help! I am _ not _ the emergency food supply!”

Ann extricated Mona from Ren’s arms, placing him on the floor. The tuxedo cat shot downstairs, still meowing in protest. Ann shook her head. “That’s not really what I meant by unsafe! Won’t he choke?”

“Just don’t give him a bag full of grapes and hot dogs.” Futaba said, shrugging.

“In all seriousness, I don’t think that will happen, Ann. He really is protecting his airway quite well. Though Futaba isn’t wrong - whatever you feed him, I’d recommend smaller amounts. And _ not _ a chip and ramen based diet.” Takemi said, shooting Futaba a ‘we’ll talk later’ look. “Give me a call anytime you need me, Ann. Shiho, come with me. I’ll need your help in running a few of the blood tests. I think my guinea pig’s going to be fine, but we should still do our due diligence…”

“Shouldn’t one of you stay? I mean, I know this is probably just a really deep sleep like you said, but I’d feel better if someone with medical expertise is around…” Ann said. She took a seat on the bed beside Ren, stroking his curly hair.

Ren mumbled, responding to her touch. “...Songbird…” He smiled. He nuzzled her hand like he was a cat.

Shiho smirked. “You sure you want to share this any more than you have?”

Ann glanced at Ren. He _ was _ really cute like this. But this was still concerning, and the idea that he was somehow worn out enough to be in the same stupor that the much more frail Futaba was in was more than a little scary. “...That’s not important, Shiho. I just want him to get better, and--”

“...Ann…” Ren murmured, sleepily. Another smile. Actually, a _ smirk _. “...morning… ...don’t bother getting dressed… unless you want me to take them off you again…”

Takemi smirked. Futaba gasped. Shiho grinned.

Ann put a hand over Ren’s mouth. “OnsecondthoughtI’llbefine!”

Ann sighed, as the three others left her alone with Ren in the attic. She shook her head, removing her hand from the boxer’s mouth. She looked at him for a long moment - his peaceful, sleeping face. His long lashes. She recalled fairy tales that Ba-chan told her when she was growing up - it was always the prince that woke up the enchanted princess with a kiss, not the other way around.

“Worth a try…” Ann murmured. She leaned in, her blonde pigtails brushing against Ren’s face in the few seconds before she pressed her lips gently to his. He sighed softly, but otherwise didn’t wake up. Ann sighed as well. “Shouldn’t have hoped. They’re fairy tales for a reason--eep!”

Her squeak was her reaction to Ren putting his arms around her and turning on to his side, holding her with her back against his chest. He mumbled something, burying his face in her hair as he held her tight.

“Ah... “ Ann murmured, her cheeks turning pink. She didn’t push him away, though, instead opting to settle in against him. “...Just what am I going to do with you, Wildcard?”

>>>

December 15, 20xx 

“So in summary, we aren’t exposed.” Hisamoto Sugimura said, standing in the conference room of his office in the Nagata-chō district. One of his political staffers nodded.

“That’s correct, sir. All of your dealings with Shido’s… ...resources... were generally through various charitable foundations, trust funds, and shell corporations. In many of them, you don’t even own the majority share. No ‘transaction’ was completed through a single account, so it should be nearly impossible to trace anything back to you. Even in the kind of investigation the SID could launch into Shido, they simply can’t ask for blanket access to so many seemingly unrelated companies and accounts. It would be unconstitutional.”

“Good.” Sugimura nodded. “Thank you all for your hard work. If no one has anything else, I think you’ve all earned a break. Go home early. See your families for the first time in months.”

There was a brief surprise, followed by tired laughter. Sugimura’s ‘inner circle’ filed out of the room, relieved for the break. The politician watched them go, a congenial smile on his face masking his real feelings.

_ ‘This was always Shido’s mistake. Too much stick, not enough carrot. People are better used when they’re loyal for the sake of loyalty, not when they’re afraid. Then they’ll just look for a way out… I’m going to be different. People will bend over backwards for me; they’ll willingly sacrifice for me...’ _

Sugimura’s smile turned ugly as he was left alone.

Shido’s incapacitation created an interesting opportunity for an ambitious politician. Prior to his ‘change of heart’, the man was notoriously paranoid and loathe to share any power. This created a situation where everything of significance had to go through him, first. It was ideal for the pathological narcissist, but it meant there was no succession plan, either. Shido hadn’t anticipated on ever losing his position in any meaningful way.

So the current situation left a substantial power vacuum at the top of the UFP - one that Hisamoto Sugimura was perfectly positioned to step into. The plan was simple. The UFP was already projected to win the general election with a clear majority in the House of Representatives. They would then allow Shido to make his victory speech… where he would most likely confess his sins.

It wouldn’t matter.

The UFP would remain in power - even if Shido implicated a number of UFP members in the conspiracy, it was highly unlikely there would be enough actual evidence to force enough resignations to collapse the majority government.

_ ‘And even when Shido inevitably resigns, there’s precedent for what should happen…’ _Sugimura thought, smirking as he looked out over the city from the conference room’s window. In 2011, when the Democratic Party of Japan’s Naoto Kan resigned as Prime Minister, candidates to succeed him were drawn from the DPJ’s members of parliament, leading to a short campaign and the election of Yoshihiko Noda. In the UFP’s case, there was no one but Sugimura.

Sugimura was the only one with enough political clout and enough distance from Shido to be chosen with too much scandal. Even with his son rendered useless by the Phantom Thieves, Sugimura would have the legacy and status he had always wanted.

All he had to do after the election was clean up a few loose ends: Shido, for one. While the man didn’t have much on Sugimura, his continued breathing was still _ inconvenient _. If he died soon after his confession, then the overall damage to the party could be limited.

And secondly, the Phantom Thieves. Sugimura had his heart set on the power needed to right the ship that Shido’s arrogance had nearly sunk. It wouldn’t do to have that heart suddenly changed.

>>>

December 18, 20xx 

Ren spent the days drifting in and out of his deep sleep, uncertain if what he was seeing and hearing was reality or restful fantasy. Mostly restful, anyway. Some of the dreams were tiring, but _ pleasantly _ tiring. Slowly, his eyes opened to the sight of a window with the curtains drawn back to a cloudy day. A few scattered snowflakes drifted by; it was too warm to stick. It certainly was a lot like the opening to his ‘winter inn’ dream, though he was clearly in Leblanc’s attic and not his room at the family inn in Kamakura.

_ ‘Real, or a dream?’ _ He wondered. 

He felt warm and safe. The blankets were drawn over him - that was part of the warmth. But it was more the familiar feeling of Ann Takamaki under the sheets with him. Her back was to him; one of his arms was outstretched, and the blonde girl was using it as a pillow. His other held her around her slender waist. She murmured a soft sound in her sleep, nestling back against him just a little more - trying to obliterate the few millimeters they had between them. Her hair tickled Ren’s nose.

_ ‘...freesias and pears. Still can’t be sure if this is real, or a dream…’ _

His arm tightened a little around her waist. She responded with a little contented sigh.

Ren decided that if this was a dream, it was probably fine to keep sleeping. He noticed then that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Or pants, for that matter. And Ann had stolen his long-sleeved t-shirt, as usual.

_ ‘I went to sleep in my uniform. Must be a dream, then…?’ _

She shifted again against Ren, snuggling against him. Her round hips and firm buttocks pushed back against his groin. Ren quietly exhaled at the pressure and friction - it was then that he noticed the only thing she had on other than his shirt was her underwear.

_ ‘...Oh. Must be one of _ ** _those_ ** _ dreams. In that case…’ _

His hand at her waist carefully slid up under the hem of the shirt Ann was wearing. He slid his hand up along the smooth skin of her flat stomach, slowly reaching the underside of her pert breasts. As he appreciated the feel of her, he considered how fortunate he was that this was _ familiar - _ her warmth, her smooth skin, her softness. Soft, but with a certain firmness that he could feel if he just gently _ squeezed _\--

“! Ren?!”

_ ‘Real! Definitely real! Not a dream.’ _

In a flash, Ann was sitting up, staring down at him with eyes wide and full of hope.

Ren smiled weakly, caught in the act. “Uh. Hey, Songbird. Good… ...morning?”

She didn’t respond verbally, instead clinging to him, throwing herself against him in a crushing hug.

“You’re awake! You’re finally awake…” Ann said, relieved.

“Mostly.” Ren said, yawning. “I feel like I’ve slept for days. Why do you look so worried?”

Ann sat up again, shaking her head. “Not just ‘feel like’. You literally were sleeping for days, Wildcard. It’s the 18th. Just before noon.”

Ren sat up, startled. “What?! It’s been almost a _ week?! _ What’s been happ--...and I’m going down.”

The combination of orthostatic hypotension and not eating as well as he usually did over the past five days despite Ann’s careful attention put Ren back onto the mattress. Ann smiled slightly in amusement; she stacked a few pillows behind Ren’s back to at least get him semi-upright. She then reclined with him, cuddled up against his side.

“Thanks, Songbird… Have you been here the whole time?” Ren asked.

“Whenever I could.” Ann said. She nodded at Futaba’s Yoshi plush at the end of the bed, as well as various other things that the other Phantom Thieves had brought over. “We’ve all tried to spend some time with you. Actually, we’re all supposed to gather today anyway…”

“Right… It’s the day of the election.” Ren said. “We’ll find out if we’re finally in the clear or not. If the change of heart worked enough to stop Shido.”

“Mm. Yeah.” Ann said, quietly. “...Say, Ren. About Shido.”

Ren noticed the change in tone. Ann’s eyes also dropped down, looking down instead at the corner of the blanket that she was playing with. He gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek, encouraging her to continue.

“You… you gave us all a pretty big scare, right at the end. Not with the fight. More the holding a gun to Shido’s head.” Ann said. “And pulling the trigger. For a second, we thought you were going to take the shot. None of us knew the clip was empty.”

Ren was silent for a long moment.

“I knew the clip was empty. But that man… That man tried to take everything from me. For no reason other than pathological narcissism.” Ren said, quietly. “Some part of me wanted him dead. So I pulled the trigger. Some small measure of closure, even though that doesn’t make any sense.”

Ren spoke again after a moment of contemplation. “Though, even if I had a bullet left, I don’t think I would have taken the shot. Killing him wouldn’t have changed the past.”

Ann nodded, She leaned against Ren, still not looking at him directly. “So… if it _ would _have changed the past, would you have taken the shot?”

Ren could hear the worry in her voice.

He reached across his body, carefully taking hold of her delicate chin and tipping her gaze up to his gentle grey eyes.

“This is where I’m supposed to reassure you, right? Tell you that I’m grateful for everything that’s happened, because it led me to you?” Ren said, softly. His smile was all the sweeter for the hint of nostalgic regret in his eyes.

“...I know. But I know you too well to be fooled by the lie.” Ann said, sighing. “Even if it’s a pretty one.”

”I was happy, back in Kamakura. In my old life. I had boxing, I had Reiko. I had my entire future ahead of me and planned out. When it all came crashing down, so many people were hurt. Me, Reiko, my parents, Kana-chan, Coach… Hell. Even the friends that gave up on me… some of them probably didn’t do it willingly. Shido was thorough. It would be heartless and selfish for me to say that I was grateful that all of that happened.” Ren said, quietly. He paused, noticing Ann biting her lip lightly.

He leaned in, kissing her to gently erase the anxious expression.

“Songbird… It’s true that Shido burned through everything, leaving empty places where my life used to be. But then you came along. You and Mona, Ryuji, Shiho, Yusuke, Futaba, Makoto, and so many others. All of you came and found those empty places and filled them with so much love, and joy, and hope, that sometimes I can’t do anything but stare into space and try to figure out how I deserve any of it.”

Ann shook her head at that, turning to hug him. “You _ do _deserve it. All of it, and more.”

Ren smiled, holding her tight. “We’ll agree to disagree… In any case, I’d rather focus on what I _ do _ know, rather than the hypothetical. I know that the only future I want to see is still the one where you’re by my side. I know that I love you. And I know that the world where I have the life I thought I was supposed to have can’t exist in this reality... not if I’m the guy you fell for.”

Ann nodded, her head nestled against his shoulder. Although she wasn’t present for that last conversation with Reiko, she understood immediately. He couldn’t have walked away from that woman, that fateful night. Not if he was the Ren that Ann knew.

“You can’t help but rescue strays… That’s the boy I love.”

Ren kissed the crown of her head. “You’re my number one stray cat, though.”

“Miaow.” Ann replied, smiling. “You’ll have to be gentle when you break that to Mona.”

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying their first real moment together without the spectre of Shido hanging over them. Ann broke the silence first.

“Hey, Wildcard?”

“Hm?”

“What were you _ doing _, exactly? Before I noticed you waking up?” Ann asked. She peeked up at him, raising an eyebrow with a knowing smirk.

“Oh. Uh, you noticed that. .. I thought it was a dream?” Ren replied, honestly. He then eyed Ann with equal amused, flirtatious suspicion. “And how did I end up with my uniform off, then?”

“Oh. Uh, Shiho manipulated you into taking that off.” Ann replied, her eyes flitting away.

“I vaguely remember that. Didn’t she only take care of the blazer and shirt?” Ren asked, his own brow quirking.

Ann fidgeted, tapping her the pads of her index fingers together. “Er… well. You didn’t look _ comfortable _ with the pants on. So I helped you take them off.”

“Did you do anything _ else _?”

“No!”

“...Well. That’s disappointing.”

“Ah… well. No one’s getting here until dinner, you know.”

>>>

That evening, the Phantom Thieves gathered in Leblanc after Shido’s public confession.

“Ah, before we begin, I’d like to say a few words.” Sojiro said, holding a glass of cola. “I know that this isn’t much--”

“I’ll say.” Futaba said, glumly. She eyed the celebratory meal - a spread purchased from the local grocery store. “Pretty brave of you to take charge after delivering this kinda meal, oya-ji. Supermarket sushi. Really?”

“Hey, don’t blame me! A legislator’s pin isn’t worth a whole lot. And who’re you calling old man?!” Sojiro asked, frowning at Futaba.

Futaba shrugged. “It’s what Ren-ni calls _ his _ dad.”

“...Oh.” Sojiro said, an embarrassed smile spreading across his face. “I suppose that’s alright, then.”

Ren grinned. “You realize she manipulates you with that, right? You bought her a solid state drive the last time she called you ‘dad’.”

“And why did you smile as stupidly as Boss when she called you Ren-ni?” Shiho asked, grinning. “Like coffee-dad, like coffee-son?”

“We’re getting off topic.” Sojiro coughed, starting again. “As I was saying, I know this isn’t much, but we have a lot to celebrate today. Today, you all brought down Masayoshi Shido--”

“...And I avenged my father.” Haru said, somberly.

“...And mom, too.” Futaba added, wiping at her eyes.

Ann smiled through tears of her own. “We all worked so hard for this. And you two were so strong…”

Makoto looked up at her sister. “...This _ will _ finish Shido, won’t it, onee-san?”

The elder Niijima sister sighed. “It will be difficult. Even with his full confession and resignation from the UFP, so much of what he’s admitting to is purely just his own word. It’s hard to establish causality, and as you all know there’s never any critical evidence left behind from crimes that happen in the Metaverse. On top of that, the government has a lot to lose by letting Shido get convicted.”

There was a brief silence as the group exchanged worried glances.

Sae shook her head, straightening up. “Difficult, but not impossible. There’s no way that Shido got where he is purely based on using the Metaverse. I’m certain he’ll even tell us where to look in regards to his crimes in the real world - I promise you, I’ll bring him to justice. You’ve all done more than your part - it’s up to us adults to get our act together.”

“Onee-san…” Makoto said, smiling. This was the Sae Niijima she remembered growing up with.

Sae glanced at her phone. “Speaking of the investigation… I should get going. I have a lead.” 

“Ah… wait. What about the kid’s education? Can he go back to school?”

Sae nodded. “It should be fine, for now. He was detained, but not officially arrested. Most of the paperwork was fudged. Even with an apparent ‘suicide’, they didn’t want the records to be overly accurate… documentation can be a hindrance when you want to make someone ‘disappear’... And Sojiro-san raises a good point. Now that this is over, all of you should focus on your studies again.”

She paused at the door, casting a slightly worried glance at Makoto and Ryuji. She shook off the impulse to say something, remembering her promise to table the discussion until after finals.

Yusuke frowned, looking at his glass. “...Are we going to have the toast?”

Sojiro perked up. “Ah. Right. So as I was saying--”

“Kanpai!” Ryuji cheered.

“Kanpai~!”

“W-wait… ah, nevermind. Kanpai!” Sojiro said.

They drank, laughing.

Mona jumped up onto an empty spot on the table. “Hey… while we’re all gathered here. I wanted to say something too.”

They turned to the tuxedo cat.

Mona sat down, flicking his tail. “Taking down a corrupt prime minister… that’s as big as it gets! And… I think it’s fitting for our finale as Phantom Thieves.”

“...What are you saying, Mona?” Ryuji asked. “Don’t you want to get to the bottom of Mementos…?”

“There’s no guarantee that if we do that, I’ll get closer to being human. ...The truth is, you’ve all gotten more powerful, but things keep getting more and more dangerous. I… I can’t stand the idea of losing a single one of you.” Mona said, all the while fighting against some part of his inner nature. “I think it’s a good time to do as Makoto’s sister said, and leave things to her and other adults on our side. I’m not saying we should _ permanently _retire. If someone needs our help, we’d step in, obviously. But...”

There was a stunned silence as the group understood what Mona was saying. It was highly unexpected - Mona was the member of the group that always seemed most ready to go into Mementos or into a Palace.

“...He’s not wrong.” Makoto said, the first to break the silence. “Maybe it’s time to stop actively looking for targets for a while. Ren, what do you think?”

Ren crossed his arms, rubbing his chin for a moment. “...Honestly, I was thinking along the same lines. Even just considering myself… That time against Akechi, I slept for two days. This time, I was out for nearly a week. There’s no telling what happens if things keep escalating. It doesn’t sound much like a hero or reckless gentleman thief... But, well. I have a lot to live for.”

Ren smiled across the table at Ann.

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Laaaame. Come on! Let’s party!”

“Well, _ I _ thought it was sweet.” Ann said, smiling back at Ren, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

“Of course _ you _ do. You’ve had your ‘post-sex face’ for the entire time I’ve been here.” Shiho scoffed.

Ann startled. “I… I do _ not!” _

Shiho looked over at Ren for confirmation.

Ren looked up at the ceiling with over-exaggerated innocence; Ann rolled her eyes.

“Some help you are, Wildcard.” Ann grumbled, before flinging a crumpled up napkin at Shiho. “I swear to God, you’re like some kind of weird bloodhound for embarrassing dirt.”

“You don’t know the half of it. I’m still working on the slideshow.” Shiho said, grinning.

“Slideshow?!”

Ren smiled slightly as he watched his chosen family devolve into friendly bickering and chatter. Apparently, none of them were overly sad to put a halt to their Metaverse activities. It made sense - as a group, they had been through a lot, and each of them had been forced to grow up too fast in different ways. It was nice to just focus on being normal students. Or so he thought.

>>>

December 19, 20xx 

“Oh man, it _ sucks _ being normal students again!” Ryuji groaned, setting down his can of hot tea with a clunk on the desk he was sitting at on the rooftop. It was lunchtime during Ren’s first day back at school, and the Phantom Thieves were having lunch. “I completely forgot about finals!”

“How did you _ forget _ about finals, Ryuji?” Mona meowed. “That’s pretty careless…”

“I dunno… there was just so much going on, y’know?” Ryuji sighed. 

“He’s not wrong.” Ren said, thoughtfully. He eyed the two breads in his hands again, going over the usual debate of which to eat first: melon versus curry. “We literally used Makoto’s sister’s brain to fake my death and trick a psychopath. And then we took down a corrupt politician who basically had a hand in screwing up the lives of everyone in our little family. And on top of that, there was that huge distraction.”

A flash of a blonde pigtail and a whip-quick hand ended the melon versus curry debate. Ann snatched the melon bread from Ren as she arrived with Shiho, Haru, and Makoto in tow.

“Hey!” Ren protested.

“It’s yer returnin’ to school tax, Kamakura Killer.” Ann said, winking as she spoke in an imitation of the terrible accent that Ren had once again used to get the bread from the school’s co-op. Apparently his reputation still stood, despite his absence. “Oh, don’t pout, Wildcard. ...Or actually, do. It’s really cute.”

Ann ‘booped’ Ren’s nose and kissed his cheek before she sat on the desk he was seated in front of, kicking her legs playfully. She tore open the bread package. “So what are we talking about?”

Ren focused on Ann’s legs, admiring their shape in her red leggings. He absently ate his curry bread. “Hm? Oh, just agreeing with Ryuji that exams seem pretty anticlimactic after what we’ve all been through. The Phantom Thieves stuff, and then the thing that happened after we took down Shido.”

“Oh. _ That _thing.” Ann said, nodding sagely.

“Right... “ Shiho said. “_ That _.”

Makoto nodded. “Yes. Ren’s sudden incapacitation was quite concerning…”

“Oh, no. That’s not it at all.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“...Then…?” Makoto asked.

Ann smirked a little at Ryuji and Makoto.

Shiho outright grinned. “It was our little Mako-chan playing tonsil-hockey with RyuRyu again. This time in full view of the public. Did you two really think I of all people _ wouldn’t _ find out? So how was it? Too much tongue? Not enough? Just right?”

“It looked like just enough.” Ren said, thoughtfully.

“It seemed like it. Points for the lapel grab, too.” Ann said. “That’s one of my favorite moves, too.”

“But did RyuRyu go for the booty?” Shiho asked. “That’s what the audience _ really _ wants to know.”

Makoto and Ryuji summoned Agnes and William, simultaneously irradiating and electrocuting the entire roof of Shujin.

Or at least, that was what they imagined. Sadly, their three friends still stood there, grinning at the two of them.

“Like you guys are any better!” Ryuji said, pointing an accusing finger at Ren and Ann. “All the times in the Metaverse, the times where you’ve ‘disappeared’ at school…”

Ren and Ann looked at each other. They shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by this. Though they weren’t as bad as they were in the Metaverse, they were well past the stage of blushing every time someone pointed out a kiss.

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Ren. Were you aware that while under the influence of the truth serum they injected into you, you told my sister _ everything?” _

“Well, yeah. That’s what sodium pentothal is sort of known for.” Ren said, frowning. “What does that have to do with this?”

“No. I mean, you told her _ everything _. An extremely detailed day by day retelling of your experience in Tokyo.” Makoto said, her lip quirking faintly.

Ren blinked. “..._ Oh _ .” He started to recall something about _ long, shapely legs _, and how a certain blonde made a certain sound when he bit her...

Ann was surprised to see a blush forming on Ren’s cheeks. “...What did you tell her, exactly…?”

“Anyway, speaking of Sae-san,” Ren said, coughing, “how’s the investigation going?”

“Slowly.” Makoto said, now grinning openly at having gotten Ren this time. “But she’s determined to make things right. I think we can rely on her.”

“It’s a little unsettling, though.” Haru said. “Few people are talking about Shido negatively… They seem to be more worried about the country lacking leadership than they are about the Prime Minister-elect being completely corrupt.”

“Media coverage has been pretty limited, even after the confession.” Ren said. “I would have thought it would be all over the news.”

“They’re probably doing everything they can to do damage control. It’s humiliating for the government, both domestically and internationally for the PM-elect to be caught up in a scandal this fast.” Makoto said. “But we should have patience. They can’t keep this under wraps forever, especially not with my sister on the case. In the meantime, we should focus on finals. I’m sure you’ve all been studying?”

“I was pretty much unconscious for a week. But before that, I was.” Ren said, seemingly unconcerned.

Ryuji grumbled, eyeing Ren. “Somehow I feel betrayed…”

Ann frowned, looking at Ren. “Me too.”

Ren smiled at the two longest serving Phantom Thieves, other than Mona and himself. “Study group after school, then?”

Makoto sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to come, too. The exams won’t have changed much from last year.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just taking the excuse to spend time with your boy?” Shiho asked, nudging the brunette with a little grin. “Maybe a little footsie under the table?”

“The day you get a boyfriend, Suzui...” Makoto grumbled. “There will be a reckoning.”

“But today is not that day~” Shiho sang, grinning. “Study group it is!”

>>>

“Ah… sorry I didn’t remind you about finals, kid.” Sojiro said. “But it looks like you kept up with your studies anyhow. And you seem to like these study groups.”

Futaba sat across from Ren, playing with her phone. It was after school, just before the team’s scheduled cram-session. She looked up at Sojiro, smiling. “Study group means you’ll bring us snacks and drinks, right?”

Sojiro sighed. “You’re not even in school right now. You don’t have exams.”

“Consider it practice for when I go next year? _ Otou-san _?” Futaba added, with a cherubic smile.

“Fine, Futaba…” Sojiro said, shaking his head with a rueful grin. He knew he was being manipulated, but he liked being called ‘dad’ in various forms too much at the moment to do anything about it. He looked toward the door as the bell above it rang - the Phantom Thieves (plus Shiho) walked in. “Welcome. Make yourselves at home - and feel free to flip the sign to ‘closed’ over there.”

“Thanks, Boss!” Shiho said.

“You’re being so generous, Boss. What about your customers?” Haru asked, looking concerned.

“_ What _customers?—” Ren started to say, with his usual snark. He had to stop speaking in order to dodge the tea towel that his guardian flung at his face. The two exchanged a brief laugh, and the group settled in to study.

Makoto took charge, as usual. “This is completely last minute, so we’ll just focus on the things that I’m sure are going to be on the exam. We can’t cover everything, and we can’t afford to waste a second… though, Ren and Shiho have pretty good grades to begin with.”

“Oooh. A high stakes gamble!” Futaba exclaimed.

Ryuji sighed loudly. “A gamble…? We could live or die by this…”

Ann sighed also. “Yeah… I don’t wanna die…”

Haru blinked. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“This is every day for them.” Yusuke said, dryly.

“Dude, that’s cold.” Ryuji said. “We’re not as bad as we used to be!”

“I suppose that’s true, Ryuji. Both you and Ann have been spending a lot of time with Makoto and Ren, respectively. In fact, I’m not sure why the two of you are so worried…” Yusuke said, as he took out his sketchbook. His exams were done, but he came along to spend time with his friends and show some solidarity - much like Futaba.

Shiho snorted. “Do you really think RyuMako and AmaMaki are really going to spend _ all _ their alone time studying?”

Ryuji and Makoto exchanged embarrassed glances, but didn’t deny it this time. Part of the reason why Ryuji had forgotten about finals was due to a series of dates they had gone on while Ren had been out of action.

Surprisingly, Ren objected. “Pardon me, Shiho. Ann and I study plenty.”

“Really?” Shiho asked, clearly in disbelief. “What do you study?”

Ren nonchalantly took out his notebooks.

Ann started to look for a pen, but abruptly fumbled with her pencil case, spilling writing instruments and other miscellany flying onto the table when she heard Ren’s deadpan answer.

“Anatomy.”

>>>

The team worked for two solid hours, buoyed by Haru and Makoto’s prior knowledge of the exams - with Makoto’s eidetic memory being a key asset.

“Man… English is _ rough _. It’s hard enough already without Chouno’s random obsessions.” Ryuji grimaced. “Like this Tennis guy.”

Yusuke frowned. “What does a racket sport have to do with learning English…?”

Makoto shook her head. “You mean _ Tennyson _ . Chouno-sensei has a tendency to glorify heroic or romantic stories, and expects you to memorize certain poems. For Alfred Tennyson, it’s certain to be _ ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade.’ _ “

She recited the poem in English, before speaking the Japanese translation. “It’s about a failed cavalry charge by the British… The Light Brigade was sent on a frontal assault that was doomed to fail, but they bravely carried out their orders regardless. Exactly the kind of thing Chouno-sensei likes to glorify.”

Futaba stared at Makoto, mouth open in shock. “You remembered all of that just from what Ryuji said about Tennis? Your brain is like a computer… it’s super-cool!”

“Beep-boop.” Ren said, grinning.

Makoto flicked eraser bits at Ren, mock-scowling at him.

“But y’know, this is exactly what I was complaining about earlier. They make us learn all this stuff in school, and it really doesn’t have any use. I mean, we learned a whole bunch as Phantom Thieves that’s way more useful than some poems…” Ryuji said.

“Sometimes it’s more about the process, Ryuji.” Sojiro said, starting to place cups of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in front of each of the teenagers. “And speaking of the process, how about taking a break?”

Makoto glanced at the clock. “Hm. You’re right. We’re due.” She set a timer on her phone.

“So whaddya mean by ‘the process’, Boss?” Ryuji asked, sipping at his hot chocolate.

“Ah. Well, it’s true that memorizing the translation to _ ‘The Light Brigade’ _might not help you get a job or save your life. But sometimes being made to sit down and think about things, and having to apply yourself and study can develop critical thinking skills. Basically, you’ll actually go through life making sound decisions instead of just reacting to your basic desires and greed.” Sojiro said. He sighed, placing a hand on the polished wood counter he stood behind. “Unfortunately, all of you have already had to learn how nasty adults who haven’t learned that can be…”

Haru smiled. “That’s a great point, Boss.”

Sojiro looked over the group, with more than a little pride in his eyes. In a way, he felt like they were all his kids, too. “Someday, you’ll all graduate high school and become adults. Heh… if you get married, the ability to act instead of just _ react _ will be important…”

Ryuji looked thoughtful. “Huh. Marriage.”

He looked over at Makoto, his mouth moving before his mind caught up to the implications of what he was saying. “Hey, Makoto, would you want--”

Makoto looked sharply at Ryuji with a shocked squeak.

“...! Uh, I mean, uh… …” Ryuji looked at Ren. “_ Ren. _ Do you wanna get married?”

Ren pushed his glasses up, raising an eyebrow. “Why? Are you asking me? At least take me out for dinner, first. And you’ll have to explain things to Ann.”

“Har har. Stop evading the question, bro. Or are you chicken?” Ryuji asked, grinning.

“Fine. Do I want to get married?” He looked across the table at Ann, a little smile lighting his face. “Definitely.”

>>>

The sky was dark by the time the Phantom Thieves finished up.

“Ah… that’s the last subject.” Yusuke said, breathing out a sigh.

Ryuji whistled, flopping his head back onto the back of the booth’s seat. “Man. I’m beat…”

“I think we managed to cover all the important parts.” Makoto said, nodding. “You’ll all be fine.”

“That sure took a long time!” Ann said, smiling. “But I feel like we really covered a lot of ground.”

Shiho nodded, closing her books. “Sure did!”

Ryuji grinned. “But y’know, thanks to all of you, I finally have a good feeling about exams, for once. You know what they say! Fall down seven times, stand up six.”

The group stared in silence at Ryuji.

“...You know? Like if at first you don’t succeed…”

Ren smiled. “...You’re supposed to stand up eight times, buddy. Kinda like the song.”

Mona snickered. “You’re hopeless, Ryuji…”

As Ryuji and Mona started to bicker, Ren sighed. “I do feel pretty confident, though. Feels like I managed to increase my knowledge.”

There was a soft musical chime that immediately punctuated Ren’s statement.

Futaba blinked. “Oh! That’s my phone! Sojiro! We gotta go, we’re gonna miss my show!”

She took off like a shot, practically leaving her outline in Leblanc. Sojiro sighed, rubbing his face with his palm.

“Hey, kid. Can you close up? The rest of you should probably head home anyway, it’s getting late.” Sojiro said.

The team packed up, giving their thanks and farewells to the owner of Leblanc as they filed out the door. Ann hung back. She waved at Sojiro, smiling.

“I’ll stay and help Ren out, Boss. I don’t mind!”

“Thanks, Ann-chan.” He turned, heading to the door. He paused, flipping the sign to ‘closed’ before heading out.

Ann joined Ren in the kitchen, drying dishes as Ren washed them. She glanced over her shoulder and around. “Where did Mona get to?”

“He headed out as well.” Ren said. “He said he had something to do… Don’t worry, though. He promised me he wouldn’t be doing anything dangerous.”

“Ah. That’s good.” Ann said. She eyed Ren sidelong, as he continued washing. She smiled slightly, thinking of what he had said during the study session.

_ ‘Definitely.’ _ Just like that. He had met her gaze directly, smiled slightly in that soft, warm expression that she knew was reserved expressly for her, and then spoke without a hint of irony or doubt. Even though their relationship at this point was well-established, things like this… they still made her heart do somersaults in her chest, made her want to simultaneously crush Ren in a hug and then hide away in a corner from him, just to make him find her. It was a weird, happy, loving, scary feeling. There wasn’t a real word for it. Maybe ‘squee’?

He caught her looking at his profile. He turned to her, smiling at her again in that way of his.

Yes. Definitely ‘squee’.

Ann looked down at the plate in her hands again, quickly.

“...Hey, Wildcard?”

“Mmhm?”

“I don’t really want to go home tonight.”

Ren’s hands entered her field of vision, taking the plate from her and putting it away - so he could pull her into a soft kiss. From her hand on his chest, Ann could tell that his own heart was pounding, too - for her, she knew. She smiled against his lips before he broke the kiss, moving to whisper in her ear. His voice was low; his breath tickled her skin.

“I wasn’t going to let you, anyway.”

>>>

Mona sat on his haunches in a quiet corner of Shibuya station, near where the Phantom Thieves typically made their entry into Mementos. He wasn’t planning to make a solo foray - he had promised Ren. But the duality of his nature still haunted him. Even now, he could feel something inside of himself pushing him to enter Mementos… But not alone. Whatever it was, it _ demanded _ he take Ren inside, told him _ that _ was the real ‘finale’ of the Phantom Thieves.

It would be better if the entire team went in - but that feeling of _ rightness _ would still be there, even if it were just Ren. It had to be him. Mona realized it at the time of Ren’s apparent Second Awakening - it wasn’t just his own purpose Mona was trying to fulfil. There was something he was supposed to lead Ren to, too.

Mona shivered, despite the heating in the station. The part of him that he felt was more ‘human’ didn’t like it at all. He was truly worried about his friend when he was in his deep sleep… And he was terrified at the fact that the other part of him felt like he wasn’t _ supposed to care _ what happened to the livelihood of Ren Amamiya. To that other part of him, the side that was just a tool to be used, unlocking more of Ren (and Arsene’s) potential was worth any cost.

And, as Mona stared at the path to Mementos, he realized what his second nature was telling him: It didn’t matter if Ren survived. All that mattered was the purpose they had set out to fulfill… Whatever that purpose happened to be.

Mona bristled, standing up. He turned tail defiantly.

_ ‘I won’t. I won’t bring it up ever again. He deserves to be happy. They all do. I won’t bring them back here!’ _

>>>

_ ‘Ne, ne! Mama, can we go visit Daddy at the gym today?’ _

_ ‘Mm. If you finish your vegetables, Momo-chan~’ _

_ ‘Ew.’ _

_ ‘You won’t be strong like Daddy if you don’t, sweetie.’ _

Ann blinked awake slowly, late in the evening. The surroundings of the attic weren’t unfamiliar anymore - she had long since lost count of the number of times she’d fallen asleep here either on his bed, or on _ him _ . But the vivid dream had her momentarily confused. She had been in a kitchen, looking after a cute black-haired girl with blue eyes. For a moment, _ that _ seemed familiar and the attic alien. She shifted slightly, as if to confirm that she was indeed lying alongside Ren, using his arm as a pillow. She was facing him, blankets drawn up over their naked, entwined forms.

Ren stirred also, awakened by her movement. “...Ann? Something wrong?” He asked, half-asleep.

Ann shook her head. “No… Nothing.” She said, shaking her head. She leaned forward, kissing the hollow of Ren’s throat. “Just dreaming…”

Ren yawned. “Exam dreams? I get those too, sometimes.”

“No. Nothing like that.” Ann said. She started running a finger on the skin of his hard chest. “It was a good dream. At least… I was happy. Really happy.”

“Mm. Was I in it?” Ren asked, smiling drowsily as he started to drift off again.

“Not directly…”

“...kay..”

“...Hey, Wildcard?” Ann murmured, shyly.

“...Nn?”

“What do you think of the name ‘Momoko’?”

“...cute, I guess? Why?” Ren mumbled.

“I thought so too. For a baby girl…”

Ann yelped as Ren sat up straight, now _ very _ awake.

Ren started to ramble. “I thought you were on the pill?! It’s going to be a girl!? I couldn’t even tell, you haven’t gained an _ ounce _. Ann, I swear, I’ll take responsibility. We’ll get marr--”

A slender finger on his lips interrupted him. Ann was sitting up also, the blankets drawn up over her breasts. She raised an eyebrow at Ren. “I admire your enthusiasm, Wildcard. But it was just a dream. Relax…”

Ren chuckled sheepishly, lying back down.

“It’s probably because of what you said during the study break earlier tonight about wanting to get married one day…” Ann said, lying back down as well. She turned on her side, using his arm and shoulder as a pillow again. Her palm rested flat on his chest. “I had a dream about a little girl, named Momoko. Momo-chan. She called me Mama, and asked if we could visit ‘Daddy’ at the gym. She had your unruly black hair, and my eyes.”

“Heh…” Ren said. He sighed softly. “That sounds like a pretty good future. But why Momoko?”

Ann shrugged. “It kinda makes sense. It sort of combines our names…”

“I thought you wrote your name with the character for ‘apricot’?” Ren said. “Most people write ‘momo’ as ‘peach’.”

“I’d write it like this.” Ann said, gently tracing kanji on Ren’s chest with her index finger. “With the character for ‘apricot’, from my name. And then this character for ‘love’. You can pronounce ‘apricot’ as ‘momo’ instead, and when you write ‘love’ this way, it can be pronounced as either ‘ren’ or ‘ko’... I know you write your name with the character for ‘lotus’...”

“...But you like the idea of our hypothetical child having ‘love’ in their name. I do too.” Ren said, softly. He kissed Ann’s forehead gently. “And ‘Momoko’ sounds nicer than ‘Anren’.”

“Mm.” Ann said, smiling. “We see eye to eye. The dream didn’t give me a boy’s name, though.”

“Seiji.” Ren said, after a moment of consideration.

“That’s a bit out of left field. Like this?” Ann asked, her fingers drawing out the usual spelling on Ren’s chest - the meaning was ‘lawful and just’. “Bit of a strange choice for a criminal mastermind and head of a wannabe yakuza gang.”

He laughed quietly. “No. Like this.” Ren turned to face her, pulling her closer so he could write different characters on the smooth skin of Ann’s back. Ann shivered pleasurably at the feeling of his fingers running over her spine; she nuzzled Ren’s neck as he ‘wrote’. She recognized the characters for ‘sincerity’ and ‘intention’.

“Spelled like this, it means something closer to ‘good faith’, even if the name still sounds like ‘justice’.” Ren said. “If we have a son… I’d want him to remember that justice is important, but only if backed by a true heart.”

Ann hugged him. “...We… We really can do this now, can’t we? It’s finally safe to start having these kinds of dreams and hopes?”

“Well… At the end of second year, I’ll have to move back to Kamakura.” Ren said, sighing. “...But that’s a long way off. And after what we’ve been through, I think a one to two hour commute to see you doesn’t really seem that daunting.”

“Really? It won’t be too much? I know you want to get back to boxing if you can, and your parents will need your help with getting the inn up and running again.”

Ren smiled, kissing Ann. “Songbird… God himself would have to stop me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have to admit - I made Ren sleep for a week partly for foreshadowing/plot reasons and partly because it gets me out of giving him something to do for a week until the election results, haha.
> 
> I always imagined Sojiro as a closet sentimental sap who melts at Futaba calling him 'dad'.
> 
> Ren smiled. “...You’re supposed to stand up eight times, buddy. Kinda like the song.” --> Referring to Chumbawumba. Now it's in your head. Enjoy. :D
> 
> At some point, I'll have to do notes/an overall author's impression of the entire series, why I did certain things, made certain choices. I also owe you all bonus content for the number of hits anyway. Need to pick another character to do a fighter profile/faux interview.


	42. Michael Buffer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Michael Buffer is an American ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. He is known for his distinctive announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other inflections to a fighter’s name. Impressively, he has earned more than most of the fighters he has announced, with over 400 million USD in revenue from licensing his trademark alone._
> 
> _And that trademark, of course, is for his signature catchphrase:_
> 
> _“Lllllet’s get ready to ruuuuumbbbbblllllle!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOLO - be on the lookout

December 22, 20xx

The chains suspending the heavy bags in Shinoda’s gym made Ren think of Arsene, lately. While the dominating sound in the empty gym was the snap of his fists against the leather, the shuffling of his feet, and his sharp breathing, there was always the jangling and creaking of the chains above him in the background. It made him feel like his other self was watching over him as he worked out, late in the evening. In a strange way it was comforting - it was as if he could feel Arsene’s wings just outside the nimbus of light from the fluorescent tube just over his head.

That feeling of security made the boxer feel like his workout was almost meditative. He hadn’t trained for awhile in the real world, but his hands quickly shook off the rust. He slipped into old habits, his body moving of its own accord. He let his mind drift as he fired combination after combination into the bag, pausing to rest only when the automated three minute timer on his phone rang. Exams were done, but he felt… unsettled.

_ ‘...I was really counting on Shido-san, you know? I guess all we can do is hope that he recovers and steps up to lead this country.’  _ A man on the train had said that, not a single note of sarcasm in his voice.

_ ‘...still waiting for official word from the Prime Minister-elect, Masayoshi Shido. Now in today’s entertainment news, just what is this sparkling new accessory Risette has?! Earrings? A stunning new necklace? Here’s a hint - she’s really going to be  _ ** _ringing_ ** _ in the New Year! Details after the break!’  _ Some news anchor, completely unconcerned with the fact that the elected Prime Minister was a confessed murderer and head of a massive conspiracy, the likes of which Japan had never seen before.

_ ‘Besides, if any of that was true, he probably would have been arrested already. I wish they would hurry and clear this up - we need a Prime Minister to lead us!’  _ A student, at Shujin.

_ ‘Something’s not right. The Phantom Aficionado Website is basically dead… People should be posting comments left and right. But it’s completely silent! I don’t like this, Ren…’  _ Mishima, via text.

On its own, each statement was… odd. But not really noteworthy. All together, though… It was disturbing. Ren winced; his left faltered slightly as he struck the bag, his timing off just enough to make him feel a twinge of discomfort in his wrist. He frowned in irritation before setting his jaw, squaring his shoulders, and focusing in again.

Ren’s right hand snapped against the bag in crisp, quick straights, his muscle memory automatically having him punch, slip, and move his feet as if he was fighting his hero and ideal boxer, Mamoru Yamanaka. He slipped outside of an imagined right-jab, striking with two fast left hooks to the body and a short right uppercut to where his opponent’s chin would drop to. Ren placed his right shoulder tight to the bag, imagining his deltoid pressing against the axilla of Yamanaka’s fearsome left arm. The southpaw boxer was deadly with his left, straights and hooks coming out of nowhere. He wasn’t called the ‘Left Hand of God’ for nothing. Ren relentlessly drove hard left hooks into the bag, fighting now like a flat-footed infighter - far less elegant than his usual way of keeping distance and dominating with his reach, timing, and speed.

But even this way of fighting had a rhythm.

Compact, tight hooks and short uppers pounded the bag from point-blank range. The heavy bag bounced on the chains as Ren used the scant inches he had, his punches becoming more explosive as he got used to the distance. He willed himself to stick to it, to not back off.

Taking distance against Yamanaka was a good way to eat a left. Ren focused in harder. Focused…

_ ‘But I wanted to show you a problem with your boxing. You’re too focused on your opponent, to the exclusion of your surroundings… ...They think that the way to achieve the defeat of your opponent is to see nothing but your opponent. And, they’re not wrong. Not completely. It’s a good way to win. Not a good way to get out unscathed, though…’ _

The timer on Ren’s phone buzzed.

Ren paused, blinking. He stepped back from the bag, a gloved hand gently steadying the swinging. The creaking of the chains stopped, leaving him in silence.

“...Too focused. What am I missing…?” He mused, quietly to himself.

Mona meowed, from off to the side. “Did you say something, Ren?”

Ren blinked - he had forgotten that the tuxedo cat was there. He smiled over at his friend and roommate. “No. Nothing, Mona.”

Mona licked his paw before grooming his ear. “Did you already get something for Ann-dono? For Christmas? You know you won’t be able to, tomorrow.”

“It’s taken care of.” Ren said, nodding. “I’ve got her gift under my bed.”

“Right, beside your manga…”

“Kana-chan’s manga.”

“You know, you keep saying that, but we’ve all met Kaname now. I don’t think she’s really the type to read those kinds of things…” Mona said, shaking his head.

Ren nodded in agreement, his expression serious. “I know, it’s weird right? The little ball of hate, being so into romance and pretty people falling in love. It isn’t surprising that she wanted to stash it all with me. I’d be embarrassed too.”

Mona rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant--”

Ren talked over Mona. “Anyway, it won’t be a problem. We can just hang out with the others tomorrow without having to try to secretly shop for Ann.”

The gang was going to gather in Shibuya tomorrow for some well-deserved rest and relaxation - exams were over. They finally felt like they could celebrate properly. It wasn’t only the end of the term, but also their victory over Masayoshi Shido. Not that it really felt like one, yet. After all of their previous heists, the aftereffects were felt immediately. Right now, it felt simply like life was going on… media outlets were more interested in how celebrities were dressing their pets, and how Risette was getting engaged to some relatively unknown silver-haired school teacher. When they did mention Shido, it was to express how the only news at this point was a lack of news.

And the public… the public didn’t seem to care about the scandal. They saw Shido confess in that news conference. And yet, the primary concern was that Japan lacked a leader, not that Japan’s Prime Minister-elect was a criminal. No one was talking about the press conference, and no one was talking about the Phantom Thieves anymore - not even on the website. Even after the dramatic calling card and Shido’s very public change of heart.

Ren frowned, rolling up his hand-wraps as he finished his workout. He looked over at Mona as the cat helpfully stuffed his boxing gloves in his gym bag, the velcro strap gripped tightly between his pointy teeth.

“Hey, Mona?”

“Mmfm?”

“...It’s really over, right?” Ren asked. He swore as he fumbled his hand-wrap, the cloth tumbling down and unraveling on the floor. He bent down to pick it up.

As a result, Ren didn’t see Mona bristle and tense up for a split second. By the time Ren looked back up, the tuxedo cat was finishing up with the gloves. Mona turned back to Ren.

“Yeah, it is. Why would you ask that, Ren? It’s like we talked about. We just need to wait for Makoto’s sister to launch her investigation and arrest Shido.” Mona said. His heart, or soul, or  _ something _ screamed at him to tell his most trusted partner about Mementos. There was something in Mementos that demanded their intervention. Mona refused to give in, concealing his agitation by grooming himself.

“...Ah… No reason. Let’s go home.” Ren said, smiling. “Thanks for packing my gloves, buddy.” Ren held the bag open for Mona; the cat jumped in.

>>>

December 23, 20xx

It was late in the morning when Sae Niijima was called into the office of Tomohisa Arai, the SID director. Though, she supposed it wasn’t really his anymore - all of his personal effects had been removed and returned to his widow and family by now. The barren room now belonged to the acting SID director, Daisaku Suzuki. At least, for the moment. Sae couldn't believe this man would last in this position. Sae barely concealed her disgust as she looked at him, seated at the desk. He was a short, fat, and thoroughly unpleasant pencil-pusher - his rise through the ranks in criminal justice had largely been based on his considerable middle management skill, budgeting acumen, and opportunistic brown-nosing rather than actual casework.

He reminded Sae quite a bit of the late Kobayakawa - a man motivated by position, not principle. Something made evident by the current conversation.

“What the hell do you mean, I can’t question him?” Sae snapped.

The man sat back in his chair - he hadn’t even bothered to stand up when she entered, either out of sloth or disrespect. He gestured at the other person in the room, a doctor wearing a navy blue suit.

“You heard Watanabe-sensei.” Suzuki grunted.

Watanabe nodded. “Shido-san is in an extremely unstable state at the moment. I can’t allow you to get in contact with him. If you need to speak with someone from the United Future Party about the investigation, Sugimura-san has made himself available--”

“This isn’t an  _ interview _ .” Sae said, scornfully. “I don’t need to ask about the state of the UFP, nor do I want some sanitized statement from another politician. I want an  _ interrogation _ . You heard what Shido confessed to! He’s orchestrated corruption on a scale that’s never been seen in Japan! He’s  _ murdered _ people, even if it wasn’t by his own hand!”

“Shido-san has been under an abnormally high amount of stress!” Watanabe said, shaking his head. “He’s taken the burden of the entire country upon his shoulders. Anything he’s said can hardly be taken at face value. This is my opinion as his head physician. The health of the Prime Minister must be our first priority.”

“Health of the prime… He isn’t a martyr. He’s a criminal!” Sae snarled, gesturing sharply. “What’s wrong with the two of you?! In fact, this entire division! Our job is to--”

“Even  _ if _ Shido-san was somehow involved in such a scandal, do you really plan on convicting the man? This country needs a Prime Minister, and he is who the public chose.” Suzuki said, interrupting Sae dismissively. “It’s for the greater good, wouldn’t you say?”

“Are you insane?! This country needs to be governed by the rule of  _ law _ , something that no citizen is immune to! Even one with a cult of personality behind him! You still want to protect him?! I can’t believe it. Do you even know what happened to the man who you replaced? Once Shido’s done with you, he’ll--”

“You’re off the case, Niijima.”

“What?!”

“You’re off the case.” The fat man said, smirking. “You’re clearly getting too  _ emotional _ about this. So emotional that you clearly can’t understand what’s at stake, here. And then there’s rumors that you helped one of the Phantom Thieves escape.”

“You son of a bitch.” Sae growled, clenching her fists.

“Now, now. With a pretty mouth like that, how can you say such nasty things? You’re still unmarried, aren’t you? Why don’t you take this time off to go and find a man? Aren’t you tired of being the ‘prosecutest’? Everyone still calls you that, you know.” The acting director said, waving a hand. “Now leave. Before I have you escorted out.”

Sae turned, leaving the office without another word. She glanced at her phone. It was no longer the default lock screen - instead, it was a picture of her and Makoto. She sighed, checking the time.

_ ‘Makoto and the others will be out, right now. Suzuki’s not a complete idiot. He won’t leave this at ‘time off’... If he’s even halfway competent and as in deep with the UFP as he seems to be, all of us are in danger. I need to make sure they’re safe, and I need to talk to them.’ _

>>>

In Shibuya, the Phantom Thieves gathered in a corner of Jonathan’s, the diner that served as one of their usual hangouts. It seemed wise to leave the open areas of Shibuya for something more out of the way - the police officers were on the lookout for someone, or a group of someones. It raised Ren’s hackles sufficiently that the boxer had led his friends into the restaurant shortly after they arrived in Shibuya, away from prying eyes.

“Gremlin… can you find out what’s going on out there? Why are the police this active  _ after _ an election?” Ren asked, glancing at the door to Jonathan’s for the umpteenth time.

Futaba was on her computer. She shook her head slowly in shock. “No. This can’t be right…”

“Futaba-chan?” Ann said, softly.

Futaba just tapped the volume control on her laptop. The speakers on her computer came to life.

“...there, they announced the poor health of the Prime Minister-elect, Masayoshi Shido. The career politician collapsed from exhaustion after a hard-fought campaign. As such, the Diet opening ceremony has been postponed until he recovers, or until an interim replacement has been named. The Imperial family has released a statement asking the public to show patience and to reassure everyone that their elected government will not collapse. They have also encouraged all of Japan to pray for Shido-san’s quick recovery…”

“ _ Postponed _ ?  _ Pray for his quick recovery?! _ ” Makoto said, incredulously. “That… that means they have no intention of arresting him. This is completely different from what my sister said…”

“There… there’s more.” Futaba said. “The net’s flooded with well-wishers for Shido’s health, with people concerned with what Japan will do without their ‘capable leader’... It’s like the press conference and confession never happened.”

“How can people still believe in him?!” Yusuke said.

“This is crazy…” Ann said, as Futaba read out a few more examples of people desperately hoping for Shido to return. “No one’s talking about us. It’s as if the Phantom Thieves never existed…”

Haru looked up, nodding. She held out her phone. “That’s exactly it, Ann-chan. Listen to this. ‘No link among the ‘change of heart’ incidents… coincidental psychiatric disorders only… The Phantom Thieves only use those rumors to their advantage…’”

Futaba’s fingers flew across her keyboard. “It’s not just the mainstream media. It’s also the official stance of the government, the police, the SID… everyone.”

“And people are just buying this shit?!” Ryuji exclaimed. “Didn’t everyone see the press conference? What the fuck.. ...it’s… it’s like mass mind control, or something…”

Mona bristled. “I agree with Ryuji. This isn’t normal. It’s like people are being distorted in reality in the same way they’re distorted in Palaces… There’s nothing we can do but wait until we hear from Makoto’s sister, though.”

Haru’s phone buzzed. The heiress looked at it - Tachibana was calling. She picked up.

“Ah. Rui-san? What’s--...” Haru’s eyes widened. She hung up, standing. “We need to go.  _ Now _ .”

>>>

Outside the Okumura estate, a gardener worked patiently on the weeds at the edge of the property. He seemed to be carefully pulling each one by hand, and then inspecting the roots to ensure he had gotten everything. It was a process that would take hours. Nearby, one of his groundskeeper colleagues frowned - his power washer was apparently broken. With a sigh, he took out a rough-bristled nylon broom, using it to start slowly scrubbing at the driveway. Both of the men wore large vests, with the front unzipped despite the cool weather.

From inside the estate, Sojiro peered out the window at the two visible men. Two more were stationed at the back, doing yard work casually. He glanced over his shoulder at Tachibana. “Those are really your colleagues, huh…?”

“They are.” Tachibana said. “They’ll let me know if anyone comes within a hundred metres of the house. And you should probably step away from the window, Sakura-san.”

Sojiro sighed, letting the heavy curtain fall back into place over the window. “Hoo, boy… It’s like we’re in a spy novel… And you should probably call me Sojiro. Technically, Futaba’s ‘Sakura-san’, too.”

“...Ah. Yes. Of course.” Tachibana said, coughing. She reflexively looked over at Futaba and the others. The Phantom Thieves were sitting in Haru’s living room, under the watchful eyes of Tachibana and Sojiro.

“Are they really safe here, Rui-san?” Sojiro said, sighing.

“Yes.” Tachibana said, matter-of-fact. “My contacts within the police department have informed me that the orders are simply to detain teenagers matching their description, but no names, addresses, or known associates were included on the orders. Ostensibly it’s to try to track down perpetrators of ‘vandalism’ during the election... The UFP is still trying to keep this as quiet as possible, so it’s unlikely they’ll try to kick down any doors. Even less likely, here.”

“...Makes sense why you brought us here, then.” Ryuji said, glumly. “They wouldn’t have the guts to go after Haru. At least, not yet. I can’t believe this. We risked our lives, and now we’re on the run from the country we tried to save.”

Futaba typed away at her laptop. “It’s just getting worse online, too. It’s a storm of criticism; people are even saying it’s good that Ren-ni committed suicide, and that the rest of us should be hunted down and killed, too…”

Makoto glanced up from her phone. “My sister’s on her way. She’s saying that the case is at a complete standstill, now… The UFP is still the majority government, and they’re using all of their influence to keep Shido from being questioned, let alone prosecuted.”

“I do not understand…” Yusuke said, quietly. “Even if they get away with this, Shido cannot function as Prime Minister, now. Not while he’s so wracked with guilt.”

“Yusuke’s right.” Mona meowed, flicking his tail. “He should be useless as a leader. Who’s making all of this happen?!”

A sudden, sharp breath from Ren caught the attention of the group. This was the first noise he had made since Haru had led them out of Jonathan’s and into Tachibana’s waiting car.

“Shit…” Ren took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. Everything came crashing together. Everything made sense. “...That’s exactly right.”

“Ren…?” Ann said, looking at the set of his shoulders, the furrow of his brow. He was tense; upset. She glanced briefly in the direction of the door as Tachibana cocked her head to listen to the radio earbud she was wearing before the woman headed to the entrance of the house.

“We were too focused on Shido.” Ren said. “He’s just one man, even if he was at the top of all of this. It was naive of us to think that by just cutting off the head we’d win. There’s precedent of what happens in Japan if the Prime Minister resigns; there’s no rule that differentiates between a Prime Minister who’s been in office for one day versus one year. It’s all the same. Shido’s the Prime Minister. If he can’t perform his duties, they’ll elect someone from within the majority party.”

“...And chances are, the rest of the UFP’s just as corrupt as Shido was.” Ann said. “But who’s taking over, then?”

“Hisamoto Sugimura.” Sae said, as she walked in the room, escorted by Tachibana. “It’s Sugimura.”

Haru shook her head. “I should have known. He was always obsessed with his legacy and power. With his son out of the picture, he’d just look for other ways to seize both. It’s even how Akechi and I were able to hire those mercenaries so quickly when I was double crossing him… It was through Sugimura. He thought it would tie himself to Okumura.”

“So, what if we changed his heart?” Ryuji asked. “Wouldn’t that take care of this?”

Sae shook her head. “It’s not just him. He was just the most well-positioned person in the UFP to seize power after Shido. No one wants to challenge him. But if you take him out of the picture completely, I don’t doubt that there’s a few more waiting in the wings to step up. I’ve even identified likely candidates, and they’re just as corrupt as Shido and Sugimura.”

“So it’s like Hercules and the Hydra.” Ryuji said. He  _ had _ been studying with Makoto, after all. “We can keep cutting off heads, but they’ll just keep growing back.”

Sae blinked, looking at Ryuji with some surprise at the reference. “...Yes. Exactly. And really, if we want to guarantee a case against Shido and uncovering the crimes of the UFP at large, we need the support of the general public. If there’s enough of an uproar, we can still pull this off.”

“And that won’t happen, the way things are now.” Futaba said. “It’s like everyone’s just scared of not having a leader. Like they’re afraid to think for themselves.”

“Yes… And there’s more I need to say.” Sae said. She then bowed deeply, to everyone’s surprise. “I… I’m sorry. I also have to tell you that each of you is at risk of being arrested. Sugimura is already moving to silence any threat to his power - and that includes all of us. We know too much. It’s my fault they have your names. I had all of you written down in my reports to Director Arai, when I was still working to arrest the Phantom Thieves. I didn’t name any of you as Phantom Thieves, only suspects or possible associates, but it’s my fault.”

Sae paused, biting her lip. The next part was the most difficult, especially as she looked at her sister.

“After everything I said about leaving this to me and my team… I’m now forced to stand here and beg you all to act as Phantom Thieves. To risk your lives one last time. We need to do something to shift the opinion of the general public. It’s our only chance.”

Silence hung heavily in the air. Ren set his glasses down, his grey eyes dark.

“...Sae-san… I don’t know if there’s anything we  _ can _ do. We can change the hearts of individuals. Even if we went after every member of the UFP, that would take too much time, and…”

Mona closed his eyes, only half-listening to the conversation. His heart pounded. The answer was right there. His purpose demanded it. His very nature demanded it. But it meant that Ren might...

But ‘might’ wasn’t the same as ‘would’.

_ ‘...Please. Please keep defying fate. Please keep making the impossible possible… Please come back alive.’ _

Mona took a deep breath.

“...Mementos. We have to go to Mementos.”

>>>

Ren laid on the bed in one of the guest rooms in Haru’s estate. Each of the Phantom Thieves were sleeping over at the mansion, resting up for their final foray as Phantom Thieves tomorrow. This was the only way that Tachibana and Sae could guarantee they wouldn’t be arrested before they could have the opportunity to dive into the Metaverse again - even Sojiro was somewhere at the estate. The man had been reluctant to leave Leblanc and his home unguarded, but he realized that the Phantom Thieves would fight better if they didn’t have to worry about him.

Tomorrow, they would venture forth into Mementos with the aim of seeking out the depths, finding the public’s Treasure… and collapsing the Palace that belonged to everyone, in the hopes that this would somehow halt the mass delusion affecting Japan. There wasn’t any guarantee that this would work, but they had no other option, and no time to think of anything else.

Ren smirked slightly at the situation.

_ ‘To think. We started all of this by fumbling in the dark, charging into a Palace under equipped and under the gun. And then we pulled off a train heist and a space-ship hijacking… ...and now we’re back to fumbling in the dark, charging forward into God knows what with no time to lose. Full circle…’ _

The boxer glanced over at the chair and writing desk in the room. His Phantom Thief gear was there - his custom 1911s, thieving tools and other items. Tachibana had simply shown up at his door just before bedtime with a carefully packed gym bag, giving Ren the curt nod that she reserved for someone she recognized as another fighter. It was surprising - Ren  _ thought _ he had hidden his gear quite well, on top of one of the rafters in Leblanc’s attic. Tachibana was truly a formidable ally.

_ ‘It’s too bad we can’t bring her with us…’ _ Ren thought, shivering slightly as he thought of his fight against the cognitive version of Tachibana. Even after facing down Akechi and Shido, she was still the most dangerous fighter he had come across in terms of pure skill.  _ ‘I have the feeling that this isn’t going to be the same as the other times… We’ll need all the help we can get.’ _

Mona hopped up onto the bed beside him. “...Hey. You still up?”

“Yeah. I’m going to sleep, honestly. You don’t need to say anything--”

“It’s not that.” Mona said, quietly. “I… I just wanted to say that you’re really something, you know? You dodge everything that your enemies throw at you, and you just keep going… They even tried to kill you in the real world, and you just came back stronger.”

“Only because I have all of you, Mona.” Ren said, reaching over to scratch his friend’s head.

“You keep doing that, Ren. You keep selling yourself short. You… you’re the glue of this team, you know? I just wanted to say that I’m really glad I met you.” Mona said.. “I… I also just wanted to say I’m sorry. When we first met, I just thought of you as a means to an end. Just a convenient tool. But now… now I can’t stand the idea of losing my place with you and everyone else.”

“We all feel the same, Mona. We aren’t a family unless it’s all of us together, you know?” Ren said, smiling.

“...Good. So… tomorrow, we’ll watch each other’s backs, okay? We’ll all come back together.” Mona affirmed, before settling down on the bed beside his friend. He wasn’t sure if he believed it anymore, but right now, both he and Ren needed the scant comfort that the sentiment provided.

>>>

December 24, 20xx

The team stood at the entrance to Mementos, standing eight abreast. It was more eerie than usual. Eerily  _ silent _ . Mementos could be many things, but ‘silent’ wasn’t usually on the list. The ever-present whispering wind was absent today. Nor could they hear the distant rattle of subway cars on tracks, or even the quiet, guttural sounds of wandering Shadows. Now that those things were gone, the Phantom Thieves realized how the creepy noises had actually become somewhat comforting.

The silence made it feel like something was waiting for them.

Ren cocked his head to the side, trying to hear something, anything, in vain. He then glanced briefly over his shoulder, trying to dispel the sensation that something was watching them. Feeling that way wasn’t unusual in Mementos - but the truth was that ever since Igor’s threatening words last night in the Velvet Room, Ren felt like a malevolent eye was watching their every move.

_ ‘How fickle, your species… your reality distorted so easily by the weakness and ignorance of the masses. It seems, Trickster, that while you have completed your Rehabilitation, you have failed to reform society. Through no fault of your own… perhaps humanity is simply not worth saving.’ _

Igor’s face twisted into a mix of mockery and scorn at that; then Ren had been unceremoniously dismissed from the Velvet Room. Ren frowned. If they already failed - then what exactly were they going to find when they reached the depths? Was there any point to risking their lives again, like this? Mona interrupted his thoughts.

“Are you all ready? We’re really going to do this, right?!” Mona said moving forward and turning to face the team.

“You can count on us, Mona!” Ryuji said, clenching his fist.

“Indeed.” Yusuke nodded. “We are with you to the end.”

“...Right. To the end.” Mona said, quietly. He then raised his voice, pointing onwards with a paw. “...Let’s go, Phantom Thieves! Come on!”

>>>

The Phantom Thieves rode down the escalator to the final floor of Mementos. The platform they were leaving behind was just like all the other ones before it - quiet and boring. Nothing that indicated the level they were approaching was the final one. The only reason they knew was due to Futaba’s scanning.

“This is a little weird.” Ryuji said. “I mean, this looks just like all the other escalators.”

As if on cue, the escalator tunnel turned pitch black. The Phantom Thieves still descended, though.

“H-hey! I didn’t say there was anything wrong with that!” Ryuji protested. “Turn the lights back on!”

“Guys… look.” Ren whispered, pointing forwards. The escalator was taking them down to the entrance to another floor; it glowed an ominous dark red. “Get ready, everyone.”

The Phantom Thieves reached the bottom - they immediately streamed out, weapons ready. They took firing positions behind cover while Ren and Makoto appraised the situation. In this case, their cover was parked subway cars in a massive station platform that dwarfed all the previous platforms. As far as their eyes could see, hundreds upon hundreds of empty subway cars lined the platforms, on multiple levels. All of their windows glowed red with light; every one of the cars was empty.

“There’s… there’s thousands of them.” Makoto said. “And if each of them carried the usual 150 to 250 people…”

“...It’s enough for the entire population of Tokyo.” Futaba mumbled, shaking her head. “And that’s if we assume there weren’t trains going back for more people…”

“But where did they all go? It’s still so quiet.” Yusuke asked. He pointed into the distance. “And what’s that, in the distance? An unusual design. Like a painting, or a sculpture...”

The team followed Yusuke’s gaze - a massive wall sealed the end of the platform. It was carved from black stone and webbed with glowing red lines. Carefully, the teams approached. Ann shivered slightly at the sight of the lamp posts - each of them resembled a human rib, jutting up from the train platform. Soon, they stood at the foot of the massive wall.

“Tch… There’s no way past this.” Ryuji said, placing a hand on the wall. “What are we supposed to…!! Whoa!”

The wall slid up into the air slowly, revealing a long tunnel. Ren started to walk forwards but came to a stop as Futaba abruptly halted, just before the threshold.

“...Guys. This door… this door won’t open from the other side.” Oracle said, quietly. “If we go through…”

“...If we go through, we have to succeed. Otherwise we’re not going home.” Ann finished, biting her lip. She looked at Ren; he held out his gloved hand.

Ren let out a slow breath, giving Ann a gentle smile. “...I think we all knew that going in anyway, Songbird.”

Ann nodded. She took Ren’s hand, and the team stepped through.

The gate rumbled down behind them. The black stone slammed down into place, sealing the Phantom Thieves within. They moved forward together, taking in the eerie quiet - a silence that was maintained even as they saw the long lines of Shadows - Shadows of the entire population of Japan, apparently, waiting to gain entry into what looked like a prison. All of them looked like normal citizens, except for their blank, lifeless expressions. They marched forward slowly, one by one. At the entrance to the prison, each of them held out their wrists - almost eagerly - and accepted the shackles that were locked onto them before being led into the prison by the guards.

The prison itself was hewn from obsidian stone, spider-webbed with red veins. The same veins that tunneled down through all of Mementos gathered here, pouring towards the central chasm. They flowed down, far beyond where the eyes of the team could see.

They stood at the edge of the chasm.

“Is there any way down?” Ren asked, looking at Futaba.

“Not from here.” Futaba said, looking through the HUD in her mask. “We’re too high up. We have to work through the Palace… It looks like we can get around that security checkpoint, at least. Once we get low enough, there should be a way into the very bottom.”

“There’s… there’s something down there. A tremendous presence, bigger than any of the Treasures we’ve taken before.” Mona murmured. “That’s what we have to get to. I can feel it.”

Makoto nodded. “Then… Let’s go.”

>>>

_ ‘This place… this place is wrong.’  _ Ren thought, as he led his friends further down into the depths.

The entire prison was wholly unsettling in a way that outstripped even the perverse distortions of Kamoshida’s Palace. All of the Palaces they infiltrated before were twisted in their own ways, that was true. But at the root of each of them was a human mind. Clearly human desires and perversions. So while they were twisted, they were still confined to the boundaries of the human imagination. Those Palaces were a devil the Phantom Thieves knew, as it were.

This place was different. The ceilings were all too high. The stairs were cut at heights and angles that were just enough to be awkward for human traversal. The lines of the walls were etched in maddening angles; despite the overly-high ceilings, the prison somehow felt claustrophobic. The red veins on the walls seemed to form patterns if you stared at them long enough - but the deep red was so unnerving that it forced you to look away before you could understand anything. Until the patterns caught your eye again, and you felt compelled to study and stare at them once again….

Yusuke paused, leaning against a wall. He pushed his mask up, closing his eyes rubbing his face with a gloved hand.

Ren stopped beside him. “Fox?”

“Ah… my apologies, Joker. I am battle ready. It’s just…”

Ren nodded. Yusuke was their ‘tank’, as usual, and the team had made quick work of the Shadows acting as guards thanks in no small part to Yusuke. But right now, the artist’s greatest strength - his keen eye for details - was making the Palace’s design nearly intolerable. “I know, Fox. You’ve been incredible. It’s this place, though, isn’t it?”

“It is… difficult… to look at our surroundings.” Yusuke said, softly. “I don’t know how a human could have created this. It’s completely alien, but utterly compelling. I can  _ feel _ how we do not belong here. And yet, it is as if this place is trying to convince us that we do.”

“It’s like you can’t take your eyes off of it. You start to feel like you just might want to stay...” Ren added.

Yusuke nodded. “Like the ‘captives’ we have been seeing along the way.”

Both Ren and Yusuke looked around at the cages in the distance, suppressing involuntary shivers.

“Joker! Get over here! Now!” Ryuji called.

Ren clapped Yusuke on the shoulder. The two of them ran to catch up; Ren snapped his wrist blades out while Yusuke drew his sword. Instead of finding battle, though, they found a large chamber beside a massive jail cell, packed with hundreds of people. On the way through the depths, they had run into several other cells that were identical to this one. Each of them had been filled with people asking the teenagers questions like ‘Why are you trying so hard?’ or ‘Why don’t you come and join us? It’s safe here. We don’t have to think… We don’t have to make decisions anymore…’

The team quickly learned to move past these cells - there wasn’t anything they could do to help, first of all. And second of all… the benign questions, the passive voices… if one stopped to listen long enough, they started to make a strange sort of  _ sense _ .

So it struck Ren as odd that the other six Phantom Thieves stood in front of the cell, seemingly frozen in place.

“Skull, you scared the crap out of me. What’s so… ...important…” Ren trailed off as he identified exactly  _ who _ was so important.

On the other side of the bars opposite the Phantom Thieves stood Masayoshi Shido.

“Shido! Are you behind this?! What is this?!” Ryuji shouted.

Shido shook his head. His expression was bland and strangely peaceful. “No… I am responsible for many crimes. But this place… this isn’t one of my deeds. Nor is this a crime. Does this look like captivity to you? Have you heard anyone asking to be released?”

“Then what is this place?” Ren asked.

“...It is supposedly called the Prison of Regression.” Shido said. “Though, it is hardly a prison. In here… in here, everyone has the ultimate freedom. Freedom only obtained by giving up free will. We don’t have to make any decisions anymore… we don’t have any ambitions to worry about. It’s… beautiful. But there are some fools who can’t stay where they belong. Escaped convicts… ...my former self. The others would have been here, too, if I didn’t have them silenced in the real world.”

“...W-wait! So you were behind their deaths, too?!” Mona asked, his eyes wide.

Shido nodded. “Kamoshida was a liability from the start. We had one of our men in prison beat him into a coma. We ensured that brain death was diagnosed… No one blinked an eye, because pedophiles and rapists are treated poorly by the general population in prisons anyhow. Madarame was already frail… All that was necessary was a minor medical complication to finish the job. Kaneshiro, Akechi caused the bus crash. He also killed the man we had set up as ‘Medjed’. And Okumura…”

“I know the details.” Haru said, sharply. Her knuckles tightened around her bardiche.

“This isn’t real freedom…” Makoto said, shaking her head. “This just means someone else is controlling you. Who made this place, then?”

“Isn’t it obvious…? It’s all of us. Every one of us.” Shido said, calmly. “The prisoners themselves created the prison… You can criticize our freedom all you like. But you can’t deny the results. Here, there is no happiness… no sadness. No joy. No anger. All we have to do is exist… And without this place… how could this kind of reunion be possible?”

Shido gestured - another figure moved through to the front of the crowd to stand beside the politician.

The Phantom Thieves recoiled as if the man had presented them with a venomous snake.

Goro Akechi, the Detective Prince himself, stood within the cell. He regarded the Phantom Thieves with the same passive indifference that was on the face of his father. It was a far cry from the practiced, slightly smug smile. It wasn’t even close to the madness and scorn they had seen in their final encounter with him on the  _ Ark of the Elite _ .

He simply looked… empty.

“Akechi… What the hell happened to you?” Ren asked, a cold pit forming in his stomach. He felt Arsene recoil in disgust at the shell of his former nemesis. He knew immediately that Akechi no longer wielded Loki or Robin Hood.

“I was set free…” Akechi said. A peaceful smile crossed his lips. “Wouldn’t you like to be free, too?”

“I don’t understand…” Ann said. She looked at Mona. “I thought that if you have a Persona, you’re not supposed to have a Shadow? This is Akechi’s Shadow, isn’t it?”

Mona shook his head slowly. “I don’t get it either. This shouldn’t be possible.” As he looked at Akechi, he felt a wash of pity. “It’s like he’s had something ripped away from him. Akechi… Who did this to you?”

Akechi gestured placidly. “I did. When I failed to stop you. I failed, so… ...so I gave up my Personas. It’s what I chose. This way, I don’t have to feel anything. I don’t have to feel guilt. I don’t have to feel jealous. I don’t have to feel unloved.”

“Seriously, man? You’re gonna go out like this?! This is a waste of time.” Ryuji said. “He’s the last guy I wanna feel sorry for. We should go--”

“Akechi…  _ who _ gave you the choice?” Ren asked, a quiet urgency coloring his tone.

“I… told you.” Akechi said. One of his hands started to clench into a fist. “I… did. I chose.”

“No. That’s not what you said. You said you failed to stop us, so you chose to give up your Personas. Who did you fail? Who did you fail that actually had the power to  _ take  _ them from you?” Ren said.

“I… ...I… can’t remember.” Akechi finished, wincing. He held a hand to his head. “...hurts. I’m going to go back, now. It was good to see you again. You all… you all should come to this side, too. It’s better, here.”

“Wait. Wait, Akechi!” Ren called, gripping the bars of the cell. “Wait!”

Mona’s paw tugged on Ren’s coat. “Joker… it’s useless. The prisoners here can’t help. I’m surprised Shido even told us as much as he did. I… …” The cat-bandit trailed off. “...I remember trying to talk to the prisoners.”

Ren blinked, looking at Mona. “...You  _ remember _ .”

Mona startled. “Y-yeah. I’ve… I’ve been here before.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Ann asked, taking a knee in front of Mona so that she could speak to him at eye level. “Doesn’t that mean you’re getting closer to your goal?”

_ ‘...Yes. But not the goal you think.’ _ Mona thought. He affected a smile. “I guess it does, Ann-dono. Come on, you guys. We should keep moving.”

>>>

“So, you can’t find them?” Sugimura said, speaking on his phone. He grimaced, as Suzuki responded. Somehow, the fat man’s voice sounded  _ greasy _ , even though he was on the other side of the city.

“That’s correct, sir. They’ve gone to ground. As you ordered, we just put out a BOLO on teenagers who match their descriptions, but no warrant. Unfortunately, this doesn’t allow our men to set foot on private property.” Suzuki replied.

“Then what about that cafe? The one that Niijima frequents, the one she mentioned in her report?” Sugimura said. “Can’t we send someone there to investigate? They could pose as a customer.”

“I’ve looked into it, sir. The cafe is closed today.”

“Tch. I suppose it doesn’t matter. The public is eating up everything we’re feeding them, for whatever reason. Is Watanabe there?”

Sugimura waited as the phone was passed over.

“Sugimura-san?”

“Sensei. How is Shido?”

“The same, Sugimura-san. Every time I try to speak with him, he just starts going on about his crimes. He’s refusing to attend the Diet. He can’t be inaugurated in this state.”

“I thought as much. It’s fine. We’ll proceed as planned. Shido can say whatever he wants. It’s his last day on this Earth, after all.”

>>>

“So, Joker, that just happened, right?”

“Yeah, Skull, it happened.”

Ann shivered. “Unfortunately.”

Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief as they left behind the smoking ruin of a Shadow; its form gradually faded into immaterial wisps. “That’s good.”

“How the hell was that  _ good _ , Skull?” Ann asked, disgustedly. She produced a small travel-sized bottle of hand-sanitizer, using it to vigorously clean her hands and whip. “We  _ literally _ just fought a giant green penis on a chariot. Ugh.”

“I mean, it’s good that it actually happened. I was worried what it would mean if I just imagined all of that.” Ryuji said, shuddering.

Yusuke sighed. “At least we’re all in good condition. The battle wasn’t that…  _ hard _ .”

Futaba shook her head slowly. “No. Please, no.”

Ren nodded seriously. “That’s right. The Shadow went down pretty easily. It was a little  _ premature _ .”

Ann pushed her mask up so she could pinch the bridge of her nose. “Stop. Just stop. I love you, but stop.”

Makoto smiled slightly to herself. At least Ryuji wasn’t--

“I dunno, RenRen. Things were pretty  _ tight _ there for awhile. If we get  _ cocky, _ we could run into real trouble later. Might get  _ shafted _ .”

Makoto twitched. “Alright. That’s it.”

Mona smirked, about to say something as well - but the cat-related pun slipped out of his mind as they reached the next chamber. He stepped forwards quietly, standing before a large, elaborate door. It was solid metal, and bolted shut permanently. It didn’t seem to bar the way of the Phantom Thieves - in fact, the door just seemed to lead to a single, small cell that was enclosed on all four sides.

“MonaMona?” Futaba asked, looking forward to the smallest Phantom Thief. Futaba was currently in the middle of throwing an empty disposable ramen bowl at Yusuke.

Makoto stepped forward, letting go of Ryuji’s ear. Likewise, Ann unwrapped her whip from around Ren’s arms and body. The boxer moved to join Mona - jumping slightly as Ann surreptitiously pinched his butt. He shot her an amused look, before concern crossed his face. Mona was standing shock-still, absolutely silent.

“Mona? What’s this?” Ren asked.

“Doesn’t this cell seem… different?” Haru asked.

“Could this be the Quarantine Cell?” Makoto asked. “The one the prisoners keep mentioning…”

“Where supposedly the most dangerous, most sinful inmate resides…” Yusuke breathed.

“...This place smells familiar.” He took a slow breath. Memory flooded back to him, pouring over the levee that had been constructed within his mind. His soul. He remembered… He remembered waking up, just outside this cell. Guards charging at him, yelling - a confused mess of spellcasting and gunfire. A reckless ascent to get away, out of this place. Better-formed memories of wandering the Metaverse and Tokyo, fascination with these creatures called humans.

And then, meeting Ren - the bearer of Arsene. The conduit…

_ ‘...Conduit?’ _

“Mona?”

Mona blinked, looking up at Ren. He sighed, turning to put a paw on the door. “I was born here.”

“Born here? Are  _ you _ the dangerous inmate!?” Ann asked, eyes wide.

“No. No, it’s not me. I woke up, just outside this door. I was created as a guide… a guide for all of you.” Mona said, quietly.

“A guide…?” Haru asked.

Mona nodded. “This… this is it. Getting you all here, getting into the depths. This has been part of my purpose, the whole time. My ‘unfinished business’.”

The group was silent as they considered the implications of this. What would it mean for Mona, when they reached the end?

Mona shook his head, breaking the silence. “We should keep going. We can’t back out. We’re sealed in here, and the only way to go is forward.” He said courageously, stuffing his anxiety away.

Ren recognized what Mona was doing. He nodded respectfully. “...Right, Mona. Let’s do this.”

The Phantom Thieves turned to leave the chamber. Mona tugged at Ren’s coat - the two of them brought up the rear of the group, out of earshot of the others.

“Ren… There’s something you should know. I… I’m not sure…” Mona said, trying to speak around the lump in his throat and the ice in his heart. “That is, I don’t…”

“...You don’t know if I’m going to survive this.” Ren finished, keeping his eyes ahead. He smiled at Ann, who glanced back at him. The boxer kept his face and posture poised; his hands were stuffed in his pockets with his trademark lackadaisical veneer. The ‘Joker’ look that was so natural to everyone, that hid a quick wit and a quicker blade. He couldn’t lie to Ann verbally; he hoped he could lie with his body language.

She returned the smile before looking forward again.

Mona waited for Ann to turn before he looked up at Ren in shock and dread. “How did you know?”

“I’ve had a feeling since the fight against Shido, Mona. Ever since Arsene used that gun. Even before I was in that deep sleep, I thought it was weird. Arsene doesn’t have any gun skills… And then afterward, when I woke up, I realized something. That  _ still _ wasn’t the Second Awakening. Arsene is still Arsene…” Ren said, still keeping his expression carefully under control. “I only used a fraction of the power available to me. And if a fraction was enough to put me under for a week…”

“Ren…” Mona breathed. “M..maybe you won’t need it again. Maybe you won’t have to…”

Ren smiled at Mona; he reached down fondly pat his friend’s head. “Thanks, Mona.”

They walked on, in silence. Ren didn’t have to tell Mona what he was thanking him for. Not for the guidance; not for telling him what he knew.

It was for the gentle lie.

>>>

The final chamber dwarfed everything they had seen up to this point. It was reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum. Like with everything else in the prison, the structures were hewn from obsidian stone, covered in red veins. But the walls… the walls were composed of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of prison cells. They each glowed red; inside each cell stood the Shadow of a normal person. Each of them stared blankly into the center of the arena-like structure.

There, stood a massive chalice. A strange mechanism encircled it; a thick layer of tarnished corrosion coated the metal.

“How are we going to carry that thing outta here…?” Ryuji murmured.

“If we can’t carry it… We’ll just have to destroy it.” Yusuke said, grimly.

“Yeah… that will work.” Mona said, drawing his sword. He paused - at the hostile action, the inmates surrounding them started to murmur.

Spotlights mounted on the chalice abruptly flared up. The inmates started to chatter and shout.

Futaba frowned. “This thing isn’t just going to sit back and let itself get destroyed! Get ready!”

The Phantom Thieves started to draw their weapons.

“Wait.” Makoto said. “Something’s off. Shido said the masses are controlling this prison. But it doesn’t make sense. A human mind couldn’t have come up with such an alien place. And how could so many people be operating such a coordinated response against intruders…?”

Disembodied laughter reverberated through the arena.

“What was that?!” Ann shouted.

“We can’t worry about that.” Ryuji said. “We need to destroy this thing!”

Mona nodded. “Give it your all, everyone!”

>>>

“We’ve almost got this!” Futaba said. “It’s nearly done… Just one more hit!”

The battle was going well. The Treasure hit hard for what seemed to be an overgrown chalice, but it wasn’t anything that their healing magic and items couldn’t handle. Ren drew his guns, aiming to finish the job.

“Stop! Stop it!”

“Don’t touch the Holy Grail!”

A chorus of voices shouted and screamed from the walls, the protests pouring down on the Phantom Thieves like rain. Red veins descended upon the chalice, growing into the previously empty vessel. All of the Phantom Thieves’ damage was immediately undone in a single flash of healing light.

“Holy… did it just completely heal up…?” Ryuji said.

A booming voice resonated through the arena, coming from the Treasure. It bored into the consciousness of each of the Phantom Thieves; the words pounded into their minds, resonated in their chests. The voice momentarily tore any thought of continuing the battle from the minds of Ren and his allies - it was all they could do to not fall to their knees.

“Fools. Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of humanity… Repent! I am revered as the granter of dreams for all who behold me. The Holy Grail… The Prison of Regression is representative of the collective desires of humanity. They wish to be chained down, surrender their cognition, neglect the world around them. The shared heart of the masses has fallen into an excess of indolence and transformed into a prison…”

The voices around the arena increased in volume and fervor.

“Yes! Yes, give us freedom!”

“It’s so beautiful…”

“They’re… they’re worshipping it…” Yusuke whispered. “This is horrific…”

“The only suitable end for them is to perish within the prison they wished for themselves. Who are you to fight against this desired fate…?”

The Holy Grail hummed; gemstones mounted on the cup’s rotating mechanism shined with a threatening glow.

“It’s coming! Get ready!” Mona shouted.

The Phantom Thieves mounted a valiant offense - they attacked as a unit, complementing each others’ strengths and weaknesses perfectly. But it was all for naught - each time they seemed close to victory, the ‘Will of the People’ flowed down the red veins, healing it. And each time, the Grail grew brighter; more powerful.

Its attacks devastated the Phantom Thieves; it shrugged off their most powerful attacks.

As the Grail finally shone in golden brilliance, the inmates started to chant and jeer loudly.

“Leave…”

“Get out of here…!”

“Get out!”

Mona battered and bruised, standing with the other Phantom Thieves. He panted, barely on his feet. “If… if this is how the people feel, then there’s nothing we can do… We can’t change their hearts.”

“Do you understand, now? Your justice is undesired… This is the will of the children of man who have fallen into Sloth. My shine is proof that they desire my existence. As long as humanity yearns for me, I shall never perish…”

“Is… is this what everyone really wants? To stop thinking, and give up their free will to the Holy Grail…?” Makoto said. She clutched her side, where an Arrow of Light had shot through her.

Ren shook his head. “Don’t listen. Don’t let it fool you. We’re still in this! We’re still fighting!”

“I… I won’t. I will  _ never _ agree!” Makoto snarled, before wincing at another stab of pain from her ribs. “..U..ugh. We’re… we’re with you, Joker.”

Ren looked over his team. Every one of them was injured - but every one of them looked at Ren with absolute loyalty. Each of them nodded fiercely. The battle was impossible, but every one of them was willing to lay their life on the line.

_ ‘...I can’t let them sacrifice themselves. Not like this. What was I so afraid of? Why should my survival matter…?’ _

There was only one move left. Ren stepped forward.

“Still? Still you resist? Indolent, foolish humans… You will offer your hearts to me!”

The central gem on the chalice pulsed - a beam of blazing light lanced out, sweeping across the Phantom Thieves. It blew them back, knocking them off their feet. All of them - save one.

Ren stood fast, the Black Wing deployed. Wisps of smoke rose from the armguards where he had blocked the blast of holy light. Arsene floated just above him, waiting on his command.

Ann watched, feeling now in full force a cold fear that had been there since she had looked over her shoulder at Ren and Mona. It was his smile. His gentle smile, the one reserved just for her… Her mind’s eye flashed back to that moment.

The smile was different. There was something there that Ren had never looked at Ann with before:

Regret.

“Wildcard... Ren. Don’t…” Ann murmured, weakly. She reached her hand out. She desperately summoned the strength to stand. If she reached just a little further, her fingers would be able to grasp the tail of his coat.

Ann’s fingers only clutched air, just missing the fabric as Ren moved forward.

“Now, the time for the Fusion has come!” The Holy Grail announced.

Ren dashed in, his eyes flashing gold as he opened his heart to the torrent waiting for him. He felt it blaze through his soul, a painless fire that consumed every inch of his being. He let it work through him; take control of him. The Black Wing disappeared; reformed. The light of power around him made it nearly impossible to see him.

Ann couldn’t look away. She forced herself to her feet, nearly collapsing again as the stifling presence of Arsene grew in counterpoint to the Holy Grail’s dominating force. The opposing powers were indescribable - it made Ann want to fall prostrate, to shield her eyes and beg for mercy. She felt like it would tear her apart, leaving nothing but scant molecules. But she pushed on. Her feelings pushed her on. As much as Ren had lost track of where his heart ended, and Ann’s began, the girl had always known - her heart was in front of her, beating in the chest of the boy who was about to sacrifice everything. She staggered forward, her hand outstretched.

It was harder and harder to see. The power around Ren; the pulsing fire of the Holy Grail… it was almost too bright to look at. But she forced herself to look. She had to. In her heart, she feared it might be the last time.

As Arsene and Ren raised their guns. Ann could just barely make out the silhouette of black-feathered wings and armored cuirass. She couldn’t be sure if they adorned Arsene, or Ren… or both.

A single shot echoed, and everything faded to white.

>>>

December 24, 20xx

It was the off season for tourists in Kamakura, relatively speaking. The town was never really  _ cold,  _ per se. The average low in December was around six degrees Celsius, and snow was always a noteworthy event. So, the sight of snow lazily falling down around the Amamiya  _ ryokan _ was rare indeed. Fat, drifting flakes settling down to the sound of waves gently lapping the shore of the nearby ocean. It was peacefully beautiful - if anyone had been around to see it.

The inn was empty. People rarely stayed around Christmastime. Kenji and Inoue were away, taking advantage of the slow season to take a well-deserved vacation. While Inoue was hesitant to spend Christmas away from their only son, especially this year. But Kenji, ever on the lookout for a good deal, snapped up a last-minute booking for Bali.

And so they left the inn in the care of their son - and his lovely fiancee.

Ren slowly opened his eyes as he woke up, with a quiet, comfortable sigh. He was facing the window; the curtain was pulled back. He watched as the snowflakes gently drifted by the window.

_ ‘Colder outside than usual…’ _ Ren thought. Fortunately, he was quite warm where he was. He felt his fiancee pressed against his back, a reversal of the way they usually slept. Her left arm was over him; her hand gently clutched his bicep. Ren smiled, looking at her slender ring finger. The engagement ring sparkled in the morning light. Thankfully, the winnings from a successful second year pro boxer were more than enough to get her the ring he felt she deserved.

He took her hand with his own, bringing it to his lips.

She stirred, murmuring softly. He felt her press her lips to the nape of his neck in response.

“Mm… Morning, Ren-kun.”

Ren smiled, turning in her arms to look at her. He swept some of her long, black hair back so he could kiss her properly.

“Morning, Rei-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please put away your pitchforks. Chapter 43 is well on the way ^^;
> 
> As I predicted, the pace is picking up as I start getting into the stuff I've outlined months ago. It's less thinking about what events need to happen, and more about how I want to execute certain things. I'm pretty excited about the end - it's a weird feeling. I'm writing this, so I know how it ends. But it doesn't feel like it's really there until I put proverbial pen to paper, I suppose.
> 
> Some thoughts - it didn't make sense to me in canon that Sae would warn of an impending arrest, and yet the gang just wanders around for another day until school's out. So I had them hole up in Haru's mansion. Presumably, the Okumura name would still offer some degree of protection.
> 
> For those of you unsure of what's meant by Prime Minister, majority government, etc - the really short version is that Japan is a constitutional monarchy. There's an Imperial family, but they don't hold any actual power. The democracy itself is composed of several parties - if the ruling party has enough seats that they can pass a motion without needing ANY votes from the other parties, they're considered a majority government. It becomes incredibly challenging for the opposition to do anything. Things become more complicated in minority governments - it forces either cooperation, or a non-confidence vote and re-election. I didn't want to get into this in the body of the text at the risk of boring people to death. Basically, the only way our heroes can stop the UFP is if they can show the scandal is big enough that it knocks the UFP out of majority rule (forces enough resignations of seated party members)
> 
> These chapters are honestly going to be light on fisticuffs. It just isn't as important as the conflict starts to reach into the metaphysical. It's less about Ren and company kicking ass, and more about Ren completing his emotional/spiritual journey.
> 
> And finally, more random thoughts. Pound for pound, the best (mentioned) fighters in the story (real world, not Metaverse):
> 
> Tachibana >>> Yamanaka > Ren
> 
> Tachibana and Yamanaka were created somewhat in the vein of Hiko Seijuro from Rurouni Kenshin. Badass enough that if they were directly involved in the conflict, this would probably be a pretty short story. If these two ever fought - outside the ring, Tachibana wins handily. Inside the ring with the rules of boxing, Yamanaka for the first bout. If they have a rematch, it's closer. If there's a third one, then probably Tachibana.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	43. Going the Distance (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _‘The distance’, in boxing, refers to the full number of rounds in a match. It is frequently used in the expression ‘going the distance’, which means fighting a full bout without being knocked out. In title fights, this is also called ‘the championship distance’._
> 
> _Like many other terms in boxing, ‘going the distance’ has become a well-known idiom. It now refers to the ability to take a task to completion, with the added connotation of pushing through adversity to the very end - win or lose._
> 
> _The notion of ‘going the distance’ was probably most popularized in the 1976 film ‘Rocky’, wherein Rocky Balboa says in reference to his upcoming title fight against Apollo Creed:_
> 
> _“Nobody’s ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.”  
_
> 
> Part 1 of 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some new terminology and also review so people don't have to go back into previous chapters
> 
> Ryokan: Traditional-style inn. The Amamiya Ryokan is a modernized version, trying to cater to both traditional and Western tastes. Most people will take their meals in private, but there's the option of the dining room a front foyer/common area. Dining room is somewhat modular, can expand/open up to an outdoor area.  
NHK: National broadcasting company of Japan, has radio/TV/etc  
shikishi: Autograph board/card  
4000 yen: ~36 USD  
kōtōgakkō sotsugyōteidoninteishiken: Hoo. Mouthful. Like a GED degree/certificate  
Minä rakastan sinua: rarely used, profound way of saying 'I love you' in Finnish  
Aishiteru: Similar sentiment as above, Japanese  
SEES: Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (Persona 3 reference)  
seppuku: Suicide by ritual disembowelment
> 
> T/W: Darkest timeline :/ Mentions of rape/murder/bad stuff.

December 24, 20xx

Ren stood in the kitchen of the family quarters of the Amamiya  _ ryokan _ . One hand deftly flipped the pancake in a frying pan, while the other quickly stirred the berry compote in the adjacent saucepan. He smiled, enjoying the simple pleasure of making breakfast. He rarely  _ had _ to cook for himself anymore; usually Kaname arranged his meals, all carefully planned and measured to optimize his fighting condition. The diminutive trainer would have had an aneurysm at the sight of what he was making - not a scrap of protein in sight.

But even she knew she had to back off for this week.

Ren started to sing as he cooked.

_ It’s only a paper moon _ _   
_ _ Sailing over a cardboard sea _ _   
_ _ But it wouldn’t be make believe if you believed in me _

Ren nearly dropped the last note. Something about  _ ‘Paper Moon’  _ bothered him. He shrugged it off, continuing to sing.

_ ‘Must be out of practice.’ _

He heard quiet footsteps behind him. Someone trying to be sneaky. He smirked, flipping the last pancake off the pan and taking the compote off the stove. He took a casual step back, apparently half-turning to reach for his coffee as he continued to sing.

_ Without your love _ _   
_ _ It’s a honky-tonk parade _

He instead snatched the wrist of the girl hiding around the corner. He tugged Reiko into the kitchen, who ‘eeped’ at the ambush, stumbling and falling into Ren. Ren grinned, holding her in the basic closed position of the waltz as he danced with her.

_ It’s a Barnum and Bailey world _ _   
_ _ Just as phony as it can be _ __   
_ But it wouldn’t be make believe _ _   
_ __ If you believed in me

Reiko stared up at him as if he had grown a horn or third eye. Her pretty face looked shocked; a rosy blush formed over her cheeks.

“...What? That bad?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...N-no! The opposite!” Reiko said, her eyes flickering away bashfully. “Normally you stop singing right away when you notice me coming. I… I really liked it. You’re handsome when you sing.”

“...Oh. Right.” Ren said. He normally hated it when people heard him sing. He shrugged, flashing his most charming smile at her. “So. I’m not handsome at any other time, then?”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Reiko said. She looked up at him, glancing at his hands. She giggled happily as he continued taking her through the steps of a basic waltz. “You’ve been practicing.”

“Mmhm. Ever since Kana-chan told me I looked as graceful as a hippo on greased roller skates. She told me she’d kill me if I embarrassed you.”

Reiko giggled, her hair trailing behind her as Ren took her through a spin. “Not bad, Ren-kun. I think--!”

She gasped, feeling him squeeze her backside. She slapped at his hand with a pout. “That is  _ not _ part of the standard waltz.”

“Neither is that outfit.” Ren replied, raising an eyebrow.

Reiko blushed. She wore just one of his shirts,  _ sans _ pants. “Well. I couldn’t find anything else. And we’re alone, so…”

“I’m not complaining, Rei-chan.” Ren said, smiling. “Here. Let’s eat.”

Ren flicked on his father’s radio for some background noise, sitting down at the Japanese-style table beside his fiancee. Reiko’s eyes lit up at the taste of the pancakes.

“This.. this is really good!”

“Don’t get too used to it.” Ren said, smiling sheepishly. “Technically this is breaking the rules of my diet.”

“Ah… So I shouldn’t mention this to Kana-chan?” Reiko asked, teasingly.

“Please don’t.” Ren said, looking a little pale.

Reiko giggled. “It’s hilarious how even now, the twenty-one year old welterweight national champion is petrified of his 150 centimetre, adorable head trainer…”

Ren rolled his eyes. “She’s adorable to you because she loves you now. Remember how she used to not even want to say your name?”

Reiko sighed as she remembered the hostility. “I’m glad we get along better now.”

Reiko’s eyes wandered across the walls of the family quarters. There were so many pictures of Ren, his parents, and the Takedas. She smiled slightly to herself as she looked at where she started appearing in the family photos as well. Even so, she started to feel a little self-conscious. Certainly under-dressed, in the home of her future mother and father in-law.

“...I’m just going to go get dressed, Ren-kun. We have a big day ahead of us, don’t we?” Reiko said, tugging at the hem of Ren’s shirt. The gesture did little to cover her long legs.

Ren chuckled. “Heh. You know, you don’t have to be so self-conscious. We’re alone, like you said. And in a week, this is going to be your house, too.”

Reiko smiled. “...Doesn’t it worry you? Living together. What if we find out we can’t stand each other?”

“Never happen.” Ren said, easily. “But you’re right. We have a lot to finish up today. We have the rehearsal on the 26th, and then the wedding itself on the 31st…”

Reiko leaned over, kissing Ren’s cheek. “We’re finally getting married. It’s like a dream. I… I love you, you know?”

Something in the way she said that gave him pause. Somehow it made him think of an amusement park.

“Ren-kun?” Reiko looked at him, with a little expectant smile.

Right. That statement merited a response. He hesitated for a second.

“I know.” Ren said, performing his best Han Solo impression.

Reiko rolled her eyes. She turned away, heading toward Ren’s bedroom. “This is what I get for letting you pick  _ ‘The Empire Strikes Back’  _ for movie night.”

Ren grinned. “I’ll clean up out here. Go on and get ready. My parents are back from Bali tomorrow. Kaa-chan will be in a panic if we don’t have everything ready by the time they get back, even though we told them everything would be taken care of.”

Ren reached for the radio. He stopped before turning it off as he heard the familiar tone preceding the NHK news report.

“And in national news, the special Diet session for Prime Minister Shido’s inauguration following his re-election was held early this morning. In their second election campaign, the United Future Party under Masayoshi Shido strengthened their hold on the National Diet with an unprecedented ninety percent majority. The Prime Minister was gracious in his speech. But just as he did four years ago, he asked that any celebrations be delayed out of respect for the two Tokyo students who lost their lives in a tragic double-murder/suicide on the eve of his first inauguration… In an open letter read after Shido-san’s speech, both the involved families thanked the Prime Minister for his consideration on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy, and…”

_ ‘...That’s right. Four years ago, those two girls were raped and murdered by one of their former classmates. He killed himself before the police could catch him.’  _ Ren recalled.

It was a tragedy - one that was burned into the collective memory of the nation, especially because it occurred on Christmas Eve, before Shido’s inauguration. It galvanized support behind the newly elected Prime Minister, who responded with grace and compassion. He also introduced policy aimed at keeping more youth from becoming violent and disenfranchised. Although it took away some of the freedoms previously enjoyed by the population, it was lauded as an incredibly swift and appropriate response. Perfectly scaled to the degree of the tragedy.

_ ‘...Almost as if he knew it was going to happen.’  _ Ren mused, the thought coming unbidden to his mind. He blinked, shaking his head. Why had he thought that?

“Ren-kun? Aren’t you going to get ready? We’ll miss the train.”

“Right. Coming, coming…”

>>>

Ren walked alongside Reiko in Setagaya, multiple shopping bags looped over his forearms. She carried several as well in her left hand as she thumbed her phone in her right to check their to-do list.

“That should just about cover it, Ren-kun.” Reiko beamed. “We’ve got the gifts for the groomsmen, and the bridesmaids… And…”

Ren was distracted, glancing off in the direction of the Sport Science University.

_ ‘Just a short distance from here. Less than three minutes at a jog, actually…’  _ His lips curled slightly at a funny memory.  _ ‘He said he’d be fine. But after the run, he horked in those bushes.. ...who was that? I don’t usually run with a partner…’ _

He realized that Reiko had stopped walking; he nearly blew right past her. She regarded him with an odd look for a moment - a mix between fond amusement and mild regret. It was gone in a flash, though. She crossed her arms, giving him an admonishing look that was more adorable than cross.

“Kana-chan gave you the month off, and you don’t have a title defense until the spring… But you were looking in the direction of Shinoda’s, weren’t you?”

Ren smiled sheepishly. “Heh. Yeah…”

“Boxing glove for a brain.” Reiko teased, grinning. She took Ren’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go! We should say hi to Shinoda-san, anyway. And maybe you’ll see your hero? Yamanaka-san and his trainer work out of Shinoda-san’s gym now, don’t they?”

They walked the short distance towards the gym. Ren frowned, gently redirecting Reiko so that she was on his other side. The reason was up ahead - a tall, haggard looking-man was at a makeshift shop, apparently selling sketches, caricatures, and paintings on the street. He might have been good-looking, once. But now he was painfully thin. Drawn-out.

_ ‘And probably strung out.’  _ Ren thought, noting the wild look in the artist’s eyes. While Shido’s policies kept most young people in gainful employment, a few people still fell through the cracks for various reasons. He kept himself between the artist and Reiko.

The man looked up, seeing Ren and Reiko approach. Messy dark blue hair obscured part of his vulpine face.

“You… Would you like to buy a painting? Or perhaps a sketch of the lovely couple?”

“No, thanks. Merry Christmas.” Ren replied politely, intending to move along. He paused at the artist’s sudden entreaty.

The artist bowed deeply. “Please…. Please, wait. You’re the first person to even speak to me in the past week. It shames me to be so insistent, but please. Isn’t there anything I can interest you in? You two… you are beautiful together. Perhaps I could…”

The artist took out a sketchbook.

Ren wanted to keep walking, but there was something entrancing about the way this man drew. His hands were clearly skilled; his eyes keen. Ren couldn’t understand how he was on the street. The pale man rapidly drew Ren’s likeness, capturing his broad shoulders and kind eyes. He looked at Reiko, starting to draw her as well.

He started to detail her face, when he froze, the tip of his pencil snapping off on the paper.

“...No. No. This is wrong. I can’t. I can’t draw this. I can’t draw you.” He mumbled.

“That’s fine. We’ll just--”

“It’s WRONG! It’s WRONG!” He started screaming, tearing up the page. He threw the sketchbook on the ground as if it were on fire. He started frantically stomping on it, screaming and sobbing. Completely unhinged.

Reiko gasped; Ren pushed her behind himself. He dropped his bags, raising his hands in his familiar Detroit hitman stance.

Somehow, the threatening stance  _ calmed _ the artist. He looked at Ren as if he was waking up from a vivid dream.

“...I… ...what was I saying? I… I‘m sorry. That was inexcusable. Please. Take this as an apology. I… ...Merry Christmas.”

The artist randomly grabbed one of his works, hastily rolling it up and shoving it into a cardboard mailing tube. He pushed it into Ren’s hands before he started to pack up his shop, glancing nervously down the street. There, a passerby was speaking to a patrolling police officer, pointing in the artist’s direction.

Ren blinked. “I can’t just accept this. Wait.” The boxer put his shopping bags down, reaching into his wallet. He also rummaged through the bags, finding the curry bread that he favored. He gave the bread as well as four 1000 yen notes to the artist.

“Please, take this. For the artwork.” Ren said, gently. He disguised charity as a transaction in an attempt to give the man some semblance of dignity.

“...Yes. Thank you.” He said.

Reiko sighed quietly as she and Ren walked away. “You’re always the same, Ren-kun.”

“What do you mean?” Ren asked.

Reiko smiled at him. She hugged his arm. “You have a big heart. You tend to collect strays. It’s one of the things I love about you…”

_ ‘Collect strays? Who else says that about me? Kaa-chan, and…’ _

“...Wildcard!” A girl’s voice, light and happy, called from ahead.

Ren startled, dropping his bags in surprise. He felt a flash of something like hope and nostalgia at the nickname. He looked up at the source, hoping for… ...for something. Not a pack of schoolgirls, at least. They excitedly walked up to him and Reiko. Each wore an almost garish tartan skirt with crested blazer; they introduced themselves as students from Shujin Academy. They predictably asked for autographs from the Japanese champion, who they referred to by his ring name.

He found himself searching their faces, as if he was looking for someone familiar.

“Ren-kun?” Reiko handed him a red permanent marker.

“Ah. Right…”

He frowned, patting himself down for a scrap of paper or something else he could sign. Reiko stifled a little laugh. She helpfully reached into her purse, where she kept a few blank  _ shikishi _ boards for just this eventuality. The girl was already well-prepared for a life beside a famous boxer.

The girls thanked Ren - and also Reiko, taking time to fuss over her engagement ring - before they left, chattering excitedly.

“Is everything alright? You look like you saw a ghost.” Reiko said, as they approached Shinoda’s.

“Ah, it’s fine. I thought I recognized one of them, I guess?” Ren said. That must have been it.

“I’m not surprised.” Reiko said. “They’re from Shujin. That school always gets mentioned around this time of year, after that horrible incident four years ago…”

“Right. The Principal… Kamoshida, I think? He always holds an assembly in honor of the girls who were killed, doesn’t he?” Ren said.

“Yes.” Reiko said, shaking her head sadly. “He has for the past four years. The original principal at the time resigned out of shame, and Kamoshida took over.”

“Right. Right…” Ren said, as he pushed open the door to Shinoda’s. Understandably there weren’t many boxers training on Christmas Eve - in fact, just Yamanaka and his trainers worked in the ring. Shinoda approached, scratching his bushy mustache.

“Ah, hey! The Japanese champ. How’s Shin-chan doing?”

“Good, Coach. He’s handing more and more duties over to Kana-chan, though. I think Hana-san is pushing him to retire.” Ren replied.

“Oh. I feel sorry for your boxers…” Shinoda murmured, shaking his head. “Whoever’s able to endure it is going to be pretty strong, though. You here to see Yama-kun? He’s just finishing up with Hirose-kun in the ring. I’m sure he’ll want to say hello. Just have a seat anywhere.”

Ren led Reiko over to a bench, taking a seat there. He watched Yamanaka shadow box. The ‘Left Hand of God’ was brilliant, as usual. His movements were so crisp and precise that Ren could see the world champion’s opponent.

“He’s like you, Ren-kun. He can show us his shadow.” Reiko said, smiling.

_ ‘Ren-kun. Not the heavy bag. Show me your shadow.’  _ Reiko’s voice, in his memory. Something she must have said to him before… They had spent so much time together, it was difficult to remember when this was. But was there ever a time where she sounded so wistful? So sad?

“Sorry. What did you say?” Ren asked, blinking.

“I said he’s like you?” Reiko replied.

Ren smiled slightly. “That’s a bit insulting to Yamanaka-senpai. It’s more like I’m the one imitating him… It’s still a bit weird to see him in this gym, you know? I’m used to seeing him over at the Ogino Boxing Club.”

“I never knew that you visited that club before.”

“...Oh. I meant that’s where most of the footage of him training is.” Ren replied, uncertainly. It was true. He hadn’t been there personally. Had he?

“You don’t belong here.”

Ren blinked, looking up. Yamanaka stood there, his boxing gloves off but his hands still wrapped up. He held a towel draped over his neck, panting slightly as sweat beaded on his skin. His gaze was intense, as usual, his face framed by his well-groomed goatee. He stared down at his kouhai.

“...I’m sorry? Senpai?”

Yamanaka grinned broadly. “I mean, aren’t you getting married in less than a week? Why are you waiting around to talk to a sweaty boxer?”

Reiko stood up, smiling. “We just wanted to drop by to say hello, Yamanaka-san.”

Yamanaka nodded. “I’m sorry that I can’t make it to the wedding, Reiko-chan. I have a title defense the day after.”

“We know.” Reiko said, laughing. She started fishing around in a shopping bag. “It’s all Ren-kun can talk about. Sometimes I wonder if he’s more excited about our wedding or your fight! Here. We wanted to give you a thank you gift regardless, for everything you’ve done for is. It’s-- oops.”

She dropped the wrapped item in front of Ren; she knelt down to pick it up. As she stood, Ren caught her hands, freezing her in place - kneeling in front of him, looking up.

_ ‘...I’ll never be scared of you, Ren. And you’ll never be alone. You… you have me.’  _ Someone said that to him here, once. Someone who cared for him. Right before she…

Ren stared at Reiko, trying to imagine her there. Looking up at him with no fear… just love, with tears in her eyes for his sake… It just didn’t work. Reiko never had cause to look like that.

“...Ren-kun?”

Ren blinked - he let go of Reiko’s hands, startled. He hastily stood up, giving Yamanaka the wrapped parcel. “Ah. Sorry. Here, Yamanaka-senpai. Best of luck in your defense. We’ll all be watching!”

Yamanaka smiled, bowing politely. “Thank you. Now go on. You have other places to visit.”

Ren and Reiko headed for the exit.

Yamanaka caught Ren by the shoulder, stopping him. “Oh. And Amamiya-kun?”

Ren blinked, turning halfway.

Yamanaka’s face looked grim for a split second.

“You don’t belong here.”

>>>

Reiko and Ren passed the remainder of the day in Tokyo, running a number of errands. Reiko patiently led Ren through different wards in the city - most of the time, the young boxer had a haunted expression on his face.

Everything felt  _ off _ . He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Something like déjà vu. Memories kept drifting by, just beyond him. As if he was lying on the bank of a gentle river, his reach just shy of something floating past. Just enough to touch, but not enough to grasp.

Reiko seemed to not really notice his distracted state of mind.

Towards the end of the day, they stopped in Yongen-Jaya.

“I heard there’s a great little coffee shop here, Ren-kun. It had some great reviews online.” Reiko said excitedly, leading him by the hand. They had stashed their shopping bags in a locker in the nearby train station. “It’s called Leblanc, and-- Oh! I’m so sorry!”

They ran headlong into a young woman with distinctive auburn hair, in a style that Ren could only describe as ‘floofy’. She was clearly well-to-do, with brand-name clothes and accessories. She was just exiting the hole-in-the-wall cafe that Reiko was leading Ren to when the pair of them inadvertently knocked her to the ground. Reiko crouched down, frantically helping the woman gather her things. The woman spoke quickly, obviously chagrined.

“No, no. It’s fine, it was my fault--”

She cringed as Ren reached towards her. Like a frightened animal.

Ren blinked. Slowly, he reached past her, picking up the woman’s purse for her. He returned it to her as Reiko helped her to her feet.

“Miss… are you alright?” Ren asked, gently.

“F-fine. I’m fine.” She said, nearly at a whisper. “Thank you. You… both of you… thank you. I… I need to go. I’m late. I really should go. He’s…”

Ren just caught her words as she left.  _ ‘He’s going to be so angry with me…’ _

Reiko watched her leave, frowning slightly. “She… she was wearing a lot of makeup. Lots of concealer. And she was really scared.”

Ren frowned. He started to walk after the woman, nearly running into a local police officer. The few seconds he took stepping around the man prevented him from reaching her - she got into a luxury sedan, cringing again as a man in a white designer suit waiting for her appeared to yell. He raised his hand to slap her. The door shut before Ren and Reiko could see any more, and the car disappeared into traffic.

“...That’s terrible.” Reiko said, quietly.

“Y-yeah…” Ren said, shaken. There was something in the way she said ‘thank you’. Her perfectly polite inflection, even though she was emotionally shaken...

_ ‘They’re perfect, Ren-kun. Thank you. You… everyone… thank you. I… I’ll go hang these up. I really… I really should go study.’ _

Whose words were those…? Why did they sound like that young woman’s voice? How did she even know his name?

Shaking his head, Ren pushed the door open to the little cafe. The name above the awning was ‘Leblanc’.

Reiko tried not to gasp in surprise. She must have been reading an old review; this didn’t look like a well-kept, moderately successful coffee shop. The place was run-down and dingy. Some of the coffee siphons appeared to be broken. The place where an espresso machine  _ should _ have been was simply empty, with a discolored place on the counter where it used to be. Ren suspected that the machine had been sold to make ends meet.

All of this was presided over by a young woman behind the counter. She had pale, smooth skin - except for the worry lines and shadows already under her unique reddish-brown eyes. Her brown hair was shoulder length, tied into a practical ponytail. She wearily read a dog-eared textbook. Overall, she looked as worn down as the cafe itself. The nametag pinned to her apron read ‘Niijima’.

“Oh!” The woman looked up, as if surprised to see new customers. She quickly slammed the book shut, hurriedly wiping down the counter. “Welcome to Leblanc! How… er, I mean, what can I get you?”

“Uhm… Whatever you recommend? I heard that the coffee here was excellent.” Reiko said, politely. She sat down at the counter. Ren took a seat beside her.

The young woman, Niijima, nodded tightly. “...I… alright.”

She brewed two cups. As she worked, Ren glanced at the book the woman was poring over. It was a study guide for the  _ kōtōgakkō sotsugyōteidoninteishiken  _ high school equivalency test, for adults who had never written the university entrance exam… or for adults who had dropped out of high school.

Ren took a sip, suppressing his grimace. “Thank you. It’s good.”

Reiko nodded in agreement, her expression carefully controlled. 

The young woman lowered her eyes. “You both are too kind. The coffee here isn’t good. Not any longer.”

She started to ramble on - she was clearly lonely and spoke in a way that ranged between awkward and impulsive.

“When my sister used to come here, it was excellent. The cafe was owned by a local man, Sojiro Sakura. He still owns it… He just rarely drops by anymore, ever since his daughter passed away. He was kind enough to give me this job, but hasn’t been able to bring himself to train me very much. You see, he blames himself. He thinks he busied himself too much with Leblanc instead of spending time with her… ...Ah. I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. I spend most of my time trying to read and don’t talk much with others. So I just.. I’m sorry.”

Ren shook his head, his voice kind. “It’s fine, Makoto-san. We don’t mind. Sometimes it’s easier to tell things to strangers.”

“...Er, how did you know my name?” Makoto asked, blinking.

“It’s on your nametag.” Ren said.

Makoto nodded hesitantly, glancing down at her apron. “...But it just has my surname?”

“...Oh. That’s odd.” Ren said. “You probably remind me of someone I know.”

“Ah… anyway. Thank you for listening to me. Please, stay as long as you like.”

Ren and Reiko passed a little time at Leblanc before politely saying their goodbyes to the barista. Ren paused at the door, watching Makoto mop the floor. There was something in the controlled, circular movement. The woman had a certain grace and economy of motion.

Somehow, it made him think of a perfect  _ mawashi geri _ , flying towards his face.

He shook his head, leaving with Reiko.

>>>

December 26, 20xx

“And so… and so this  _ idiot _ spends two whole rounds just screwing around! Just dancing around this Jiro guy, until Rei-nee shows up!” Kaname slurred, her cheeks red. She was standing beside the table in the Amamiya ryokan’s dining room. The pint-size trainer of the Takeda boxing gym grinned as her audience - the Amamiya, Takahase, and Takeda families - all laughed. The wedding rehearsal was complete, and now they all gathered for dinner. The last gathering before the big day.

“He stalled during a high school championship fight just so he could show her his flicker jab… ...and… ssscchopping right!”

Ren rolled his eyes, nimbly slipping the chopping right head-slap aimed at him. He didn’t even have to get up from his seat.

Kaname frowned. Ren smirked at her. Kaname then grinned fiercely as she immediately grappled Ren from behind in a rear naked choke. “Didja think you could dodge me so easily, Renpai!?”

“Grrk! Kana-chan! Air! Air!”

Kaname giggled drunkenly. She let go of Ren before plopping back down in her chair beside Reiko. Ren’s head trainer was frightening when she was sober. When she was drunk, she was an  _ absolute terror _ who didn’t know her own strength.

Shinji Takeda grinned. “I remember that fight pretty well. I thought that Jiro kid was going to figure you out, brat. But you took him down pretty handily… You always fight better with Reiko-chan watching you, you know.”

Kenji Amamiya’s voice boomed with laughter. “Can you blame him?! Look at these two… they look almost as good as  _ we _ did at their age, Inoue-chan. Aw. Look at her  _ blush _ !--Ow!”

Inoue smacked the back of Kenji’s head. “Don’t be rude, Ken-san! And look! Saitou-san’s glass is empty!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry.”

Saitou Takahase’s eyes widened. His face was  _ very _ red. “Er.. N..no. I really shouldn’t. I…”

“Come  _ on! _ It’s a party, a party!” Kenji laughed, filling his glass. “It’s a grave dishonor to our family if the father of the bride is able to  _ walk _ out of here!”

Ren sighed, shaking his head.

Reiko smiled, squeezing his hand under the table. In the lively celebration, their side conversation was audible only to each other. “It’s cute, in a weird way. To see them this happy, I mean.”

“I’m glad they can talk about that night without your dad wanting to kill me.”

“Well, it was an interesting way for them to find out we were.. ...spending  _ time _ together.” Reiko said, her eyes flitting to the side. “Him finding you shirtless in the kitchen…”

“Heh. Yeah.” Ren said. He sighed. “The night of the inter-high championship…”

Reiko smiled. “Mmhm…”

Ren frowned. The fight was just over four years ago, so it was understandable that he didn’t recall all the details. After the bout, there was the celebration, and then he walked Reiko home… And then he was in the Takahase home in the morning, shirtless, in a staring contest with Saitou Takahase. “...Say, Rei-chan. That night. Where were your parents--”

“Hey! Ren! You two think about having kids of your own, yet?!” Kenji shouted, grinning.

“ _ Ken-san!  _ You’re going to make poor Reiko-chan implode!” Inoue said, shaking her head.

Indeed, Reiko had turned crimson. She stared down at her drink. “Ah… it’s fine, Okaa-san. Yes. We’ve talked about it...”

Inoue smiled. “Oh! Have you thought of any names?”

“I’ve always liked ‘Karin’ for a girl.”

“Oh, that’s a good one.”

Hana Takeda looked at Ren, smiling. “And you, Ren-kun? What do you think?”

“Hm?” Ren asked, distracted. He was still thinking of the night of the inter-high. For some reason his mind just couldn’t fill in the blank. He walked Reiko home, and then...

“Names for children.”

“Oh. ‘Momoko’ and ‘Seiji’, probably.” Ren replied, distractedly.

“Whoa!” Kenji said, laughing. “That’s a pretty quick answer there, kiddo. You’ve been thinking about this for awhile, haven’t you?”

Inoue looked thoughtful. “Seiji makes sense. It sounds like ‘justice’, but you’d probably write it as ‘sincerity’ or ‘good faith’?”

Ren smiled. “Yeah. That’s what I was thinking.”

“But what about Momoko?” Reiko asked. “It’s a cute name, but seems a little random.”

The memory of her voice was like a salve. For a brief moment, it smoothed over his uncertainty, his sense that everything was  _ off _ . Her warmth against his side. A slender finger tracing kanji on his chest.

_ ‘It kinda makes sense. It sort of combines our names…’ _

And then it was gone. He felt emptier for it.

“I.. ...It’s just cute, I guess.” Ren mumbled.

There was a brief pause in festivities as everyone picked up on Ren’s shift in mood. Inoue perked up, smiling slyly.

“You know, Seiji makes a lot of sense. It’s the name of the protagonist in one of your manga, isn’t it?  _ ‘Good Ending’ _ ?”

“Oh. You mean the manga that--”

“--That  _ Kana-chan _ lent you.” Everyone started laughing as Ren began to pout.

“Bleergggh!”

“Oh no! Saitou-san!”

>>>

Later that evening, Ren drove Reiko and her father home. Saitou was passed out in the backseat, held up only by the seat belt. The man snored loudly.

Ren pulled up to the Takahase residence. Carefully, he helped carry the inebriated man up the stairs and into the house.

“Thanks, Ren-kun.” Reiko said, sighing as she tucked her father in on the couch.

“No problem, Rei-chan. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Mm.” Reiko said, nodding. “We don’t have much more to do. Just one more visit to Tokyo on the 30th, since they didn’t have the placecards ready yesterday.”

“Ah. Right… Night, Rei-chan.” Ren said. He held his arms out for a hug and kiss out of habit, but his heart just wasn’t in it. To his surprise, Reiko instead gave him the cardboard tube from the disturbed artist.

“You left this in the shopping bags, Ren-kun.” Reiko said. “Don’t you want to have a look?”

“Ah, I wasn’t even thinking about that.” Ren said, looking down at the cardboard tube. “I just wanted to make sure the guy had something to eat, and enough to get a warm place to stay for a couple nights…”

Reiko smiled at him. A brief flicker of sadness in her eyes - Ren assumed it was for the artist. “...I think he’d appreciate it if we looked.”

“Right…” Ren said. He walked over to the Western-style kitchen table that the Takahase family used. He pulled the painting out of the tube, unrolling it on the table.

“Oh, my. That’s quite beautiful, isn’t it? But a little sad…” Reiko murmured, her slender fingers tracing the landscape. “I think… I think this is the view from that hill at the Aoyama Cemetery. You can tell from all the cherry blossoms.”

Ren nodded slowly. 

_ ‘...She would have loved to see this view.’ _

“Anyway, Ren-kun. See you tomorrow.”

>>>

December 30, 20xx

“So why are we headed to Aoyama, Rei-chan? I thought the printer for the placecards was in Arakawa.” Ren asked, as they disembarked the subway at Aoyama-Itchome.

“Ah, well. Ito-san felt terrible about the delay, so she wanted to meet us somewhere a little more convenient for us. Arakawa’s a bit more out of the way than this.” Reiko said, nodding. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, staring off to some point in the distance.

“...Rei-chan?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry, Ren-kun. I’m just not very familiar with this area. I think it’s this way?”

“Ah, no. That takes us to Shujin Academy.” Ren said, automatically. He turned. “It’s actually this way.”

Reiko paused, looking at Ren quietly for a moment. She then nodded quickly. “You’re absolutely right. It’s this way.” She took his hand, leading him down the appropriate road to the southwest. “You… you know, the place that artist painted is nearby.”

Ren nodded slowly. “It is, isn’t it?”

“We’re early.” Reiko said, smiling. She wiped at her eyes. “Ah. It’s dusty, here. So… ...why don’t we have a look?”

“It isn’t cherry blossom season, Rei-chan.” Ren said, shaking his head. “It’s going to be pretty barren. Besides, I’m sure we can find a cafe or something to pass some time--”

“No.” 

The forceful tone that Reiko took suddenly caught Ren’s attention; he turned to her, surprised at the steel in her eyes.

“You need to see something.”

>>>

Ren started walking toward the gate of Aoyama Cemetery. The trees were indeed barren; the branches were reminiscent of skeletal fingers, reaching down.

“Ah. See, Rei-chan? Not very scenic. We should—“

Reiko abruptly pushed him into a small alcove in the hedge just before the gate. A gloved finger rested lightly on his lips in the universal sign for ‘stay quiet’. She half-turned, looking towards the street corner.

Ren followed her gaze - there, a police officer stood casually. He started to turn towards them; Reiko tensed. The alcove was only partial concealment.

A teenaged boy in a red ‘Get Smoked’ cap ran up to the policeman. “Please, come quick! An old man just fell down! I think it’s his heart!”

The officer nodded crisply; he followed the boy away.

Reiko breathed a relieved sigh. She led Ren inside the cemetery.

“Rei-chan, what was that all about? Why are you so worried about the cops?”

“It’s not important.” Reiko said. She gently smoothed out Ren’s coat, just a little disheveled from her sudden shove. “So, we should walk around.”

“Alright…” Ren said. “Hm. That direction looks familiar. Like something out of that artist’s painting.”

Reiko followed Ren down a little-used path of the cemetery. She spoke softly, not really looking at him. “This has been really nice. Running around, getting things ready for the big day with you. Talking about what our kids would have been like.”

“Yeah…”  _ ‘Would have been…? Not will be?’ _

“It’s been like a beautiful dream.” She came to a stop. A small offshoot of the path led to a secluded area of the cemetery, clearly little-used and poorly maintained. “You should have a look here, first. I’ll wait for you.”

Ren nodded. He walked down the path, such as it was. Cracked flagstones barely poked through the overgrown weeds and grass. Many unkempt and untrimmed branches hung overhead. They barely let any light through now - in the spring, the leaves wouldn’t have let any sun through at all.

There was just a single grave in the small dead end at the end of the path. The name was barely visible on the badly vandalized headstone.

“Ryuji Sakamoto…”

A twig snapped behind Ren. He threw himself to the side on instinct, barely dodging the blow of a cane.

A tall man with grey hair scowled at Ren, brandishing a cane in his left hand. The boxer immediately noticed that his attacker was missing part of his small finger; he also had a gecko tattoo just above the collar of his turtleneck.

“You fuckers… have some respect for the dead! I don’t give a shit what you think the kid did, you don’t fuck with someone’s grave!”

He approached Ren menacingly despite his obvious limp.

Ren held up his hands. “I wasn’t! I wasn’t… I don’t even know…”

The man blinked. He lowered his cane to the ground, sighing. “You know… I believe you, for some reason. Shit. Even though you’d be the only idiot in this worthless country that doesn’t know of Ryuji Sakamoto. Especially this time of year.”

_ ‘Right… Second year, by your uniform, same as me. I’m Ryuji Sakamoto, by the way.’ _

The man frowned. “Tch. By the look on your face, you  _ do _ recognize the name. But as long as you aren’t here to bust up his headstone or piss on his grave…” He sighed. “I’m Munehisa Iwai. Ryuji was my employee for awhile. And before you ask… No, I don’t believe for a god damned second that the kid raped and murdered those two girls.”

Iwai started to clean Ryuji’s grave, nodding curtly to Ren as the boxer started to help. He continued speaking.

“Personally, I think it was that Kamoshida asshole. My brothers tell me the police won’t touch him… they’ve also heard what happens to the girls he’s bored with…”

“Brothers?” Ren asked.

Iwai indicated his partially amputated small finger and his bad knee. “Yeah. Some ‘brothers’. It’s hard to leave once you’re in… And if you try to go back, there’s a price to pay. But that’s old news. Ryuji… he was a good kid. Fuckin’ Kamoshida got him expelled, and I found the guy just lookin’ for work. Never seen someone so creative. Miles ahead of the usual gun otaku, y’know? I used to run an airsoft place. Anyway… Even though he was expelled, he kept in touch with those two girls. He was their friend. Maybe their only one. From what he told me… ...things weren’t so great for them. Kept gettin’ worse, too, if you know what I mean. Better if you don’t, though.”

Iwai paused, sighing.

“Until Ryuji had enough. He told me he was gonna stand up to Kamoshida. I told him to back off, to keep his nose out of it. ...He didn’t listen. Next thing you know, it’s all over the news. Manhunt for a double murder/rape. Then news that he ‘committed suicide’.” Iwai spat, away from the grave. “Shit. I shoulda stopped him, or helped him. Or something. S’why I couldn’t bring myself to visit his grave until this year.”

“What made you come?” Ren asked.

“His mom died this year. They say overwork. I say it was a broken heart. She used to visit on the anniversary of his death to clean up, and to keep away the pieces of shit coming here on courage games or to vandalize his headstone.” Iwai said. “So… It falls on me, I guess. Heh. Y’know… I think the kid had an idea things were going to end up this way.”

Ren watched curiously as Iwai reached into his trenchcoat, pulling out something wrapped in brown paper.

“This was Ryuji’s last project. He was obsessed with it, spent hours on it gettin’ it just right… Even broke into a place on Tatsumi Port Island to get the parts for it. Fuckin’ amazing work. But he kept tellin’ me not to sell it. ‘No matter what’.” Iwai said, shaking his head. “He said ‘you’ll know what to do with it when the time came’.”

Iwai stared down at the package for a long moment. Abruptly, he shoved it into Ren’s hands. “The fuck was that supposed to mean!? God damn it, Ryuji… Here. Just take the damned thing. I’m tired of lookin’ at it. Just reminds me of the kid. Reminds me of a lot of things I don’t deserve to remember…”

Ren stared blankly at the parcel. It had a certain heft to it; it felt strangely familiar. He looked up at Iwai - the man was already leaving.

Wisely, Ren let him leave ahead of him. With one more glance at the grave, he left the small path behind, meeting up with Reiko again. She smiled at him.

“You’re done? Let’s go, then. We don’t have much time.”

“Rei-chan? Much time for what…?”

Reiko just shook her head, not looking at him. She led him up the hill, until they finally reached the view that the artist had drawn. Even without the cherry blossoms, it was breathtaking. At the crest of the hill rested a single grave; this headstone was a simple cross crafted from polished white marble. Flowers adorned the grave; sunlight bathed the peaceful little clearing.

Ren and Reiko paused at the end of the path. He turned to her.

She still wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. She smiled wistfully; she nudged him forward. “Go on, Ren-kun. It’s okay… I’ll… I’ll be right here.”

Ren stepped forward, standing before the headstone. On it, the name and epitaph were quite clear; the grave was beautifully maintained.

“Ann Takamaki. Lost now, but loved forever.” Ren said, softly.

He gently touched the inscribed words, feeling a dull pang of grief. As if the feeling was locked away behind a wall. His eyes traced the stone, wondering what the significance of this was. It was sad, certainly. The tragic murders of Ann Takamaki and Shiho Suzui was well-known. But this somehow felt more… personal… than he expected.

A glint of light off metal caught his eye.

On each arm of the cross hung a ring, suspended by a silver chain. One man’s ring, thicker, with the four card suits engraved on it. The other, thinner and more delicate, inscribed with a stylized bird. On impulse, he reached for the thicker band. He stopped, mid-way.

_ ‘But… I want to wear yours. And you should wear mine.’ _

He instead reached for the woman’s ring, carefully taking it off the arm of the cross. It felt warm - strange, for a winter day. He looked over his shoulder at Reiko.

She gave him a reassuring nod; she turned away, wiping at her eyes again.

Ren slipped the chain over his neck.

It felt like the weight of the world around his neck. It drove him to his knees. Memory broke through; the gently flowing river became a flash flood that overwhelmed him.

Memory of laughter, jokes, and companionship that filled spaces he thought forever empty.

Memory of danger, fear, and overcoming insurmountable odds.

Memory of  _ her. _ Of freesias and pears; of softness, of warmth, of a shared heart. Of whispered words in the dark.

_ ‘ _ _ Minä rakastan sinua…’ _

_ ‘Aishiteru.’ _

Ren wept. His cries tore out of him, poured forth from the space where the pieces of his broken heart resided. He had years of happy memories, of living his life alongside Reiko in blissful ignorance. All the while, Ann had suffered pain, indignity, and cruelty that he couldn’t even begin to imagine, until her life was cut short. Thrown away when Kamoshida was done with her, when he and the conspiracy had more to gain from her death than from whatever perverse use he had for her when she was alive.

And she was gone. She had  _ been _ gone for four years… Ren hadn’t even known. Sobbing, retching, he collapsed forward onto his hands. He clawed at the dirt, clutched the cold marble of her headstone, hoping against hope that somehow, somehow, he would feel her warmth. That he would hear her call out to him one more time. That she would forgive him for the choice he made.

“Ann… Ann…”

Gentle arms pulled him back to his knees, embraced him. Tried to soothe him. But it wasn’t her. It wasn’t…

“Ssh… Ren-kun. Ren…” Reiko whispered. “Do you remember?”

“I… Rei-chan? Where… what is this?” Ren mumbled, confused.

“Do you remember that night? The night of the inter-high championship…?” Reiko asked, quietly. She still held him around his waist; her face was buried against his back.

“...I walked you home. Your parents were home, so I left you there. And then… ...then I saw Shido, and that woman. I… I chose to walk away…?” That was wrong. It sounded wrong. Felt wrong. Even though it was burned into his memory, even though everything that happened in this life followed from it. “...No. I didn’t. I couldn’t ignore her… 

He felt her nod against his back. She took a deep breath before she stood, helping him up.

When he looked at her again, her expression was resolute.

“Ann-chan… She isn’t dead, Ren-kun. You don’t belong here.” Reiko said, looking past him, at the expanse of the Aoyama Cemetery below them. “This place… It’s not real. It can’t exist.  _ He  _ wanted you to stay here. So he tried to give you the life you could have had if you had chosen to walk away that night. A life with me.”

She moved past him a little, so that he could only see her back.

“He assumed all he would have to do is show you the things that would make you happy. A successful boxing career. Your family… Me. But he didn’t account for a few things.” Reiko said, continuing. “First of all, this world… this world is still based on  _ your _ heart. Your big, stray-collecting heart.”

“...Your friends… they fill so much of the space in your heart that their feelings… they reached you even here. You weren’t meant to learn what happened to everyone. You certainly weren’t meant to visit here.” She smiled ruefully, wiping at her eyes again. “And the second thing… Well. You’d think an all-powerful, malevolent being would account for the fickle nature of causality.”

“...What do you mean?” Ren asked.

“I mean that destiny really is a mixed bag, Ren-kun. We have free will. And there are certain points in life where you really can make whatever choice you want. Both small and big choices.” Reiko said. “You might feel like a coffee one day, a latte the next. You might choose to study literature or law. You might choose to stay in a world created to make you happy, or you might choose to leave.”

“But there are certain critical points that cannot,  _ will _ not have an alternate outcome. You theoretically have a choice, but your very nature will not allow you to make the other decision. Not without going back so far that both you and the world look nothing like they did in the first place.” Reiko smiled slightly. “Futaba-chan would understand. She’d say it’s like having a save point right before one of three possible endings, but if you want the other two endings, you actually have to go back several more saves.”

“Heh…” Ren said, the corner of his lips turning up a little despite his confusion. Futaba  _ would _ say something like that.

“So, without getting into the details of it… In a world where Masayoshi Shido is trying to take Japan, Ren Amamiya will  _ always _ be on that road. He will  _ always _ have to choose whether or not to save that woman.” Reiko turned back to Ren, giving him that sad smile. “And there’s no world where Ren Amamiya would ever choose to ignore someone in need. Powerful or not, he can’t fool you into believing in a world where you made the choice to walk away. It goes against what makes you,  _ you _ .”

Ren nodded slowly. “...So can I leave?”

Reiko moved closer to Ren. She gently caressed his cheek, nodding. “You have everything you need, Ren-kun. Just keep having faith in your friends, and you’ll find your way out. Don’t be afraid. Good luck.”

She stepped around him, starting to head back down the path.

“Wait. Rei-chan…” Ren said, watching as she startled, freezing in place. She didn’t turn, but her shoulders tensed. “If this was a trap… if I was meant to stay here forever… why are you helping me? Wouldn’t he have made you part of this? You haven’t really tried to fool me. You didn’t have to show me Yusuke’s painting. You didn’t have to take me here.”

Reiko bit her lip, letting out a slow breath through pursed lips. “I was afraid you’d ask that.” She turned back to him. The tears that she had been stifling for seemingly forever flowed freely, now. “He didn’t account for one final, undeniable truth.”

She approached him once again; she carefully smoothed his lapels, allowing her palms to rest on his chest afterward. She spoke in a quiet, broken voice.

“There isn’t a single world where Reiko Takahase doesn’t want Ren Amamiya to be with the one he truly loves.”

She stood on her toes; the distance between them narrowed… she embraced him. She didn’t kiss him, instead whispering in his ear. “I hope we can meet again. In another time, another life.”

Reiko backed away, smiling at him through her tears. “Go to her. Be happy.”

Sounds from further down the path caught Reiko’s attention.

“I think they went this way!”

“Hurry…!”

“Ren-kun. I’ll stall them as long as I can. Go!”

Ren watched as Reiko charged down the path. She yelled loudly before running in a direction opposite from Ann’s grave.

“Ren-kun! Quick, this way! They’re coming!”

“After them! They’re running that way!”

He heard her pursuers take off after her, away from him.

_ ‘...So how the hell do I get out of here? I have everything I need…? Have faith in my friends--’ _

Ren realized what she meant. Ren took out the parcel he obtained from Ryuji via Iwai - he unwrapped it quickly, revealing a custom Colt M1911. Hair trigger, extended magazine, and compensator. Red accents instead of silver, of course.

Faith.

“Have  _ faith _ in my friends…” Ren shook his head, a mystified smile on his face. He ran a thumb over where the name of the pistol was inscribed. He blinked. It didn’t read ‘Faith’.

“...SEES…?”

He heard voices from down the path again. Apparently they had seen through Reiko’s ruse. Ren ejected the magazine.

_ ‘Shit, Ryuji. An empty magazine? How the hell did you think I was going to shoot my way out with this?’ _

Ren pulled the slide back - there a single round chambered.

“Jesus…” Ren murmured, understanding now what Reiko meant when she had told him to not be afraid.

The footsteps drew closer.

Ren took a breath. With his left hand, he clutched the Songbird ring around his neck; with his right, he raised the gun to his temple.

He pulled the trigger.

>>>

February 28, 20xx

Ren, grinning again, started the walk home. Life was good. Inter-high champion, beautiful  girlfriend, loving family. He was  _ probably _ going to pass his exams.

He rounded the corner, frowning as he saw an unusual car on the street. In his part of town, while the people weren’t poor, no one could afford a Bentley. It bore a sharp contrast to the well-cared for but humble street - Ren would always recall first of all, the car. The sharp lines, the shining metal. As if it was the only real object on a night that years later, still felt like the start of some bizarre fantasy.

“Just get in the fucking car, whore!”

“No! Stop it, let go!”

The unmistakable sound of a slap and frightened whimper followed, by the slurred speech of the first voice.

“Get. In.”

Ren started to step forward--

_ ‘I’ve been here before.’ _

He remembered everything. All the pain that would follow this decision. All the grief. All of the trials, culminating in a seemingly impossible battle.

He remembered his final sacrifice; his final shot. He remembered watching the melding of Shibuya and Mementos, watching his friends disappear one by one.

Ann, vanishing slowly. Her last pained cry disappearing into the ether. The despair of failure.

But most of all, he remembered freesias and pears; he remembered a promise he made to the girl he encountered under the awning, after he tried to take his own life. There was so much pain ahead of him. But so much love, and joy, and most of all… hope.

Without hesitation, Ren moved forward. “Hey!”

>>>

December 24, 20xx

Ren gasped. His eyes snapped open as he bolted up into a sitting position. The air was damp and cold. He wore only the black and white stripes of a prisoner.

It was appropriate. He was locked in a jail cell, in the center of the decaying boxing gym that was the Velvet Room. The gym was barely holding together - none of the heavy bags were suspended anymore. The walls were now all bare, quarried stone - stone that was in much sturdier condition that the gym they contained.

Ren remembered, now. He had almost forgotten. The first version of the Velvet Room he had been shown was a prison.

“Ungrateful.”

Ren turned - in front of his cell was Igor, seated at his carved wooden desk like it was his throne. The long-nosed man smirked at Ren.

“Even after you failed… you deny my offer of a pleasant purgatory. Can you not accept that you have lost the game? You were meant to bring change to mankind… you were meant to reform the world. But it seems that was too much for you, Trickster. In accordance to the rules of the game, the defeated must pay a price…”

Igor smiled cruelly. “Your life is forfeit. I sentence you to death.” He stood, picking up the kodachi sword that had been laying sheathed on the desk. He flung the blade down disdainfully; as it clattered to the floor, the final remains of the boxing gym shattered. They revealed the original form of the Velvet Room in its entirety - a circle of small prison cells set in quarried stone, surrounding a plush royal blue carpet and Igor’s desk.

“You will take your own life in atonement for your failure.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “Death…? If… if that’s what our master wishes… I suppose… ...This just means you weren’t an upstanding prisoner!”

Justine frowned. “I suppose… But…”

Igor raised an eyebrow. “What is the matter? Take him out of his cell, and see to it that he completes the deed.”

“Are we really going to let him kill himself?” Justine asked, meekly.

“Don’t falter! It’s his own fault for losing the game!”

The twins opened his cell. They dragged him to the middle of the room, where Igor’s desk had already vanished. They dropped him in front of the kodachi. 

Ren stared down at the weapon. He was clearly intended to commit  _ seppuku _ .

“What are you waiting for, Trickster? Do it.” Igor said. His voice rang with command. It reverberated through Ren’s very soul. The pain was excruciating; Ren felt it pound behind his eyes. Every second that he didn’t choose to kill himself, every second he spent in defiance, he paid for it. It hurt too much to even grasp the weapon.

“Just… ...do it your own god-damned self!” Ren snarled, in a final act of rebellion. He spat. “Coward!”

Ren’s prisoner’s outfit blurred… and then shifted into the outfit of a Victorian gentleman thief. The Black Wing materialized.

Igor sneered. “Insolent fool. You bare your teeth like a dog, but you cannot even stand. I will not dirty my hands with your filthy blood. Justine. Caroline. Make him carry out his sentence.”

“If our master orders so… then it cannot be helped.” Justine said.

“Y-yeah... “ Caroline said. “Prisoner! Obey!”

“No..”

Caroline’s baton slammed into his chin, knocking him to the floor. His head rang from both the blow and Igor’s voice.

“Kill yourself, Trickster!”

“Fuck… off!” Ren snarled, spitting blood.

Justine struck next; a hard kick into Ren’s midsection.

Coughing, the boxer struggled to his knees again. He stared at the kodachi.  _ ‘...Serrated edge. I’ve seen this weapon before. Of course…’ _ Ren smiled fiercely, before glaring at Igor and growling again.

“You heard me! I won’t give you the satisfaction! Do it your own fucking self.”

Caroline hesitantly raised her fist.

“What are you waiting for? Pain will persuade him…”

Justine’s hand caught her sister’s wrist. “Caroline… you feel it too, do you not? Our duty is not to preside over his death.”

“Why… why am I doubting myself?” Caroline said, lowering her hand. “Is there… ...is there another duty left to us?”

Justine turned to Igor. “Master… have you forsaken humanity? Something speaks to me in my mind. Our true duty is not to hasten this man’s death.”

A few tense seconds passed. Justine and Caroline nodded to each other after a moment of unspoken communication.

Caroline pointed her baton at Igor. “We’ve decided! We will  _ not _ forsake humanity!”

A spectral butterfly appeared between the two. It shattered, with the sound of tinkling glass.

Caroline and Justine grimaced, each falling to a knee. Slowly, they looked at each other.

“Your right eye… and my left. We are mirrored…”

The twins nodded again, rising to their feet.

“I finally remember…” Caroline began.

“How we were torn apart.” Justine said. “We were originally one, and yet we were torn asunder…”

Caroline pointed her baton at Igor again. “By malevolent intent!”

“We will reclaim our true form!” Justine said. “Trickster… you must fuse us together. By your own hands.”

“...By my own hands? How…?”

The twins stepped forward, approaching Ren. He was still on his knees, too weak to stand.

Each twin took one of his hands; each one raised one of his arms, closing his hands into fists. Just inches away from each of their hearts. Ren’s eyes widened.

“...What?! No!”

Caroline narrowed her eyes. “Man up.”

“Are you insane?!”

Justine smiled. She reached forward, touching Ren’s cheek. “Your heart is too gentle, Trickster. It is tragic, how these cruel responsibilities have been forced upon you. You aren’t killing us.”

Caroline nodded. “You’re setting us free.”

After another moment of hesitation, Ren nodded, slowly. He closed his eyes.

Twin black blades lanced out.

He opened his eyes, surprised at the lack of feedback. No blades tearing into flesh. No splash of hot blood. Just twin clouds of spectral butterflies, joining, flying amongst each other. Glowing too brightly to see. When Ren’s vision cleared, before him stood a little girl with platinum blonde hair long enough that it was past her waist. She wore a simple blue dress; she carried Justine’s gracefulness, but had the fiery confidence of Caroline within her eyes.

“I am Lavenza. You have done well, Trickster.” She favored him with a smile. “Your heart remained open to my voice.”

Her golden sight focused on Igor. “ _ You _ . Now that my sight has been restored, your lies will work no longer! You will return my master’s name!”

Igor laughed. He floated into the air, his eyes glowing white. “The game isn’t over yet. Whether the human world is left as is, or destroyed and rebuilt, it is all sport to me.”

“And who are you, exactly?” Ren asked, now pulling himself to his feet.

“In your simple words, I am the Holy Grail that grants wishes… ...No. It may be more accurate to say that I am a god who responds to desire and holds rightful dominion over man. I hoped that seeing a righteous thief vanquish evil would spur mankind to change their own indolent hearts. However, as you yourself have seen, nothing you have done was of any consequence to the ungrateful masses. They remain victim to Sloth. They should be met with nothing but ruin.”

Igor shrugged. “But you continue to surprise me, Trickster. You were truly a prisoner that did not bore me… Instead of your death, or a purgatory that you will reject, I will offer you a deal. I will return the world to its prior state, one rampant with its distorted masses. The Phantom Thieves will be praised, and gain fame. In return, I ask only that you no longer oppose me. What say you…?”

Ren replied quickly. “I refuse.”

“Such irredeemable foolishness. You choose death--”

“Shut up.”

“...What?! Insolence, I--”

“You’ll what? Try to get me to kill myself again? Try to get me to choose to stay in a fake reality?” Ren said, shaking his head. Somehow, the voice of the Holy Grail no longer penetrated his mind; he was able to think clearly. “If you’re so powerful, then why stoop to using such an elaborate fantasy? And once I got out of it, why did I have to kill myself? Why not do it yourself?”

Ren kicked the kodachi toward Igor. “Here. You can still do it yourself. Right now. I’ll let you, if you can.”

The Holy Grail glared at Ren, but didn’t move towards the blade.

“I thought so.” Ren said, shaking his head. “You should have kept Akechi in isolation, away from any chance of meeting me. He told me he  _ chose _ . He  _ chose _ his fate. That’s really it, isn’t it? You claim to be all-powerful, all-knowing. But all of us still have to  _ choose _ to give up our free will. You showed humans an easy way; you tell half-truths and make empty promises. And when that doesn’t work, you inflict pain until you get us to give it up. You’re not a god. You’re a swindler.”

“Say what you will, human, but--”

“I’m not finished yet.” Ren said. “And now, you’re trying to make a deal, with the only stipulation being that I will ‘no longer oppose you’. To me, that tells me one thing: you can be beaten, and you know it. So let me make a counter-offer. You leave, right now. You call forth all your minions, your angels, whatever you want. And you wait for me, because I’m coming for you.”

The Holy Grail scowled. “Foolish bravado in the face of inevitable doom.”

“I’ve been told that before.” Ren said, waving a hand flippantly.

“Fine, then! Come. Come and die.” The form of Igor(?) vanished into shadow and smoke.

Lavenza blinked, staring at Ren. “Er.. ...I’d say ‘well said’, but you quite literally threatened a god.”

Ren blinked. “...Heh. Yeah. Got a little carried away, I guess?”

“I’d say so. What do you think you’re going to do? Challenge him to a boxing match? Shoot him in the face? You do realize that he only holds no real power in the Velvet Room because this place represents  _ your _ heart? Out there, it will be a different story. He won’t have to try to fool you.” Lavenza rolled her eyes, before smiling slightly at Ren. “Though, a Wildcard user isn’t a Wildcard user without  _ some _ irrational bravado. Or so my siblings tell me.”

In a flash of light and swirling black chains, the form of Igor  _ reappeared _ behind Ren and Lavenza.

“...Master!”

The long-nosed old man blinked blearily, as if waking from a long sleep. “Oh… oh my. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to return home.”

Ren stifled a little laugh. This one’s voice was kindly… Kindly, and  _ rickety. _ It somehow called to his mind a comfortable rocking chair.

Lavenza smiled, gesturing. “This is the rightful owner of the Velvet Room and true aid on your journey, Trickster.  _ This _ is the true Igor. And this is finally the true form of the Velvet Room.”

“True form…?”

“Yes.” Lavenza said, waving. “Your heart resembles this. The boxing ring, the arenas, the gym… They were all a veneer. An illusion created by the Holy Grail in an attempt to weaken your resolve and corrupt you.”

“But… a prison? Why?” Ren asked, frowning.

Lavenza hesitated. “All will be revealed, Trickster. But you must release your allies, all of whom have been imprisoned here also.”

Igor smiled. “This place exists between reality and dreams, mind and matter… While they may have faded from the cognition of the masses, they cannot be erased from your heart. Find them. Bring them back so that they may face the truth at your side.”

>>>

Ren and all but two of the Phantom Thieves walked along the halls between the prison cells, looking for Ann and Mona. Futaba walked at Ren’s side, as he described what had happened in ‘purgatory’.

Futaba peered up at Ren, her goggles pushed up on her forehead. “Wow. That sounds pretty messed up. You woke up in that world, and then you woke up in your past, and then you woke up here. At some point, did you also wake up in the back of a trundling horse cart moving through a mountain pathway? With crisp, northern air, and your wrists tied together? And then as your vision clears, some dirty Viking-looking dude says, ‘Hey, you. You’re finally awake…’ ”

“No, why?” Ren asked, confused at Futaba’s cheeky grin.

Futaba blinked. Her eyes widened. “...Seriously? Oh, man. Ren-ni. When we get outta here, I’ve got  _ so _ many videos to show you.”

Ren shook his head. They rounded the corner; Ren’s heart skipped a beat.

There she was.

Ann was lying on her back in her cell, unconscious. She was in her Phantom Thief outfit; her head turned to the side. She was utterly still - her mask was off, held in her right hand. Her left clutched Ren’s ring, still worn on a delicate chain around her neck.

Haru gasped. “Oh, no... Ann-chan! This… this is different from how we all were.”

Ryuji shook his head. “Oh man… ..were we too late? Or was she the only one who didn’t stop believing, and she kept fighting…”

“How terrible…” Yusuke murmured.

“Mmhm.” Ren replied, simply.

Makoto blinked. “Seriously? The love of your life looks like she’s on death’s door, and that’s all you have to say?”

Ren pushed open the door to Ann’s cell. He knelt down beside her.

She was still breathing. Shallow, but breathing. Her perfect lips were slightly parted, beckoning.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

She remained still, except for a very faint movement of her eyes beneath her closed lids.

He gently gathered his beloved in his arms. She was still warm; as warm as he remembered. The contour of her waist, as usual, seemed to fit perfectly in the crook of his arm. He leaned in.

“Oooh. This is like one of those sleeping princess stories…” Futaba said, peering around Makoto’s hand.

Closer. He cradled her against himself. He neared those familiar lips; so close to satiating some part of his sweet addiction for her.

He licked the tip of her nose.

“!! Oh,  _ gross! _ ” Ann cried, grimacing and squirming. She wiped at her nose with one hand. She slapped at Ren’s chest with the other. “Seriously?! What the hell, Wildcard! You’re supposed to  _ kiss _ the sleeping princess, not--Mm…”

It was desire. It was passion. It was hope, and relief, and gratitude. The kiss they shared was somehow a lifetime of feeling compressed into a single moment. He kissed her like she was his salvation; she kissed him like he was her only question and her only answer. As she released her mask to hold his hand, and as he held her as close as he could against his body, they both realized, most of all: it was love.

Ann smiled, nearly breathless as she brushed her fingers through his hair. “Hey, Wildcard.”

Ren grinned back, stealing one more kiss. “Hey, Songbird.”

Ryuji coughed  _ loudly _ .

Ann stuck her tongue out at their friend; Ren helped her up. He eyed her costume.

“No inspirational speech needed?”

“Maybe at the start.” Ann said, shrugging. “But when you didn’t come right away, I just thought of everything you’ve said before. The time you saved Shiho. The time you saved  _ me _ , before I went to Kamoshida… When I realized how pissed Shiho would be if she saw me moping, well… This happened.” She gestured at her costume. She frowned, bending down to adjust a boot.

Ren nodded. He stood in front of Ann, indulging in one of his favorite views. “Never been happier to see that catsuit.”

Ann looked up, following Ren’s line of sight. She rolled her eyes, standing up and playfully flicking his forehead. “I bet. So. What’s next?”

Lavenza’s voice echoed through the prison. “It seems you’ve found all your teammates. Please return to the central chamber.”

Ren frowned. “We haven’t found Mona…”

The Phantom Thieves returned to the central chamber.

Yusuke blinked. “What is this place?”

“My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room.” He said, gesturing politely at the surroundings. He was a far cry from the imposter’s disdainful, mocking attitude.

“And I am Lavenza. Another resident of this place. We have been waiting for all of you… My master has just been released from a long period of captivity. He is still recovering from his wrongful imprisonment. Thus, I will speak for him--”

“Where’s Morgana?” Ann interrupted, overcome with worry.

Lavenza smiled. “Would you like to see him? Morgana, please come out.”

Morgana stepped out of one of the central cells.

Ryuji looked over, relief washing over his features. “You were hidin’ out here the whole time?”

Mona nodded. “...I was born here. I was created by my master - Igor - with a singular purpose: to find the Trickster, and help him defeat the malevolent force that was threatening humanity’s spirit. I really remember everything. When the evil god was about to take this place over, my master mustered the final remnants of his strength, and mankind’s hope, to create me.”

Lavenza crossed her arms over her book. “Trickster… you deduced correctly. The being that calls itself the god with rightful dominion over man… It does have the power of a divine being. But it has no  _ right _ to rule. It can only command the strength of those who have willingly given over their free will to their distorted desires. It hopes to attain ultimate power and eternal peace by filling reality with those who have stopped thinking for themselves.”

“Wait… The Holy Grail is a  _ god _ ? It isn’t a Treasure?” Makoto asked.

Lavenza shook her head. “No. He most certainly originated as the collective distorted desire of mankind. He is the core of Mementos itself.”

Haru frowned. “So… did it become a god because the masses wanted to be ruled over?”

Lavenza frowned, thoughtfully. “That… is unclear. Did the masses truly desire to be ruled over, giving him a will of its own? Or did he gain power by tricking the masses with an ‘easy way out’? A life of security, in exchange for servitude and emptiness? It is hard to say. In any case… When he gained enough power, he challenged my master to a game to decide the fate of the world.”

“Each side was to have a champion. For the Grail, Goro Akechi. He was to incite further distortion of the masses. If he won, the world would be destroyed and remade. His opposition was to be a Trickster who would stand against him and the Grail. Ren Amamiya.”

“If Ren won, that was supposed to be the end. The human world was supposed to be left as is… But the Grail knew his own vulnerability.” Mona said.

Lavenza looked upon Ren with sympathy. “...So the evil god rigged the game. It took the Velvet Room and approached you himself. It set you on a course meant to prove the powerlessness of man and cast you into despair. You were correct, Trickster. The Grail couldn’t force you. You had to give over your free will of your own volition.”

Ryuji clapped Ren on the shoulder. “Like this guy would fall for that crap. So… We’re good, then, right? We can still stop this?”

“Your real world has already been fused with Mementos. You do not exist because the evil one has manipulated the cognition of humanity to the point where the Phantom Thieves have been forgotten. ...But there is still hope. You must challenge him and reclaim humanity’s free will. Will you accept?”

Ren nodded, firmly.

Igor chuckled. “There is nothing to fear. You already possess the strength to oppose the evil one… Go forth, Trickster.”

“...Master. There is one thing. If I may?”

Igor raised an eyebrow. His smile towards Lavenza was…  _ kindly _ . “Ah… That. Have you grown so fond of this Trickster, Lavenza? Do you truly believe this will help him in his task? Your sentimentality may simply make him hesitate.”

Lavenza shook her head firmly. “Master. I believe in him.”

Igor nodded. He gestured for Lavenza to go on.

Lavenza looked at Ren sternly. “Trickster… You already know, do you not? What will happen when you call forth the power you will need to defeat the Grail.”

The Phantom Thieves, save Mona, looked at Ren with curiosity. Mona simply regarded Ren with no small amount of regret.

Ren nodded. “I won’t survive, will I?”

Ann gasped, her one hand going to her mouth. Her other clutched Joker’s elbow. “...This is why you smiled the way you did, isn’t it? In Mementos…”

“Sorry, Songbird.” Ren said, softly.

Lavenza nodded. “As you are, you may win, but you will not survive.”

Ann shook her head. “Ren. Ren, we’ll find another way. We’ll--”

“How do I call forth what I need?” Ren interrupted. “What do I have to do?”

“...You must call on a power older and stronger than the god. You have already started to open yourself to this; you’ve always had the potential. It is why the Grail targeted you and tried to weaken your heart.  _ His _ name will come to you when it is time, Trickster. I dare not speak it now. I will not draw his eye to this place before it is time, even if He fights for our side.” Lavenza raised a hand, indicating that she had more to say. “But your resolve gives me hope, Trickster. I said you will not survive and win -  _ as you are _ .”

She gestured at the Velvet Room. “This is your heart. You asked me earlier why it is a prison. But you already know the answer.”

Ren shook his head. “I.. No. I don’t.”

Lavenza approached. She reached up, lightly laying her palm over Ren’s heart. “You do.  _ Listen _ .”

“Listen to what? You’re…”

The beat of his heart thrummed in his ears. The song of his soul flowed through his blood.

He still blamed himself.

He still didn’t think he deserved the life he had.

His heart was a prison forged from his own feelings of guilt and self-loathing.

Lavenza took her hand away. She gestured again, indicating the floor in front of her.

Ren blinked, cocking his head to the side. “I’m sorry..?”

Lavenza rolled her eyes, in a very Caroline-like expression. She stepped to the side, lightly kicking at the back of Ren’s knees. “Down, you oaf. What are you? Like two metres tall?”

“175 centimetres, actually. I just seem taller because you’re pretty short—”

“Shut it. Get down here.”

Ren took a knee, mildly amused. He blinked, as Lavenza rested a palm on Ren’s shoulder, now able to look at him at eye level. She coughed lightly, once again taking on her serene tone.

“You heard your heart, didn’t you? It is… unfortunate, Trickster. The purpose of the Velvet Room is to nurture the human mind. The Grail corrupted its function - he showed you all sides of your true self. But instead of leading you to accept and assimilate them, he pushed you to loathe. To fear. To build more walls…” 

“If you don’t believe you deserve a place in this world, Trickster… You won’t have one.” The girl looked back a Ren, meeting his eyes with her golden gaze. “But despite the Grail’s machinations, you held fast. You survived. You learned to harness your other self, learned to become the conduit. So there is hope.”

“So what can I do, Lavenza?” Ren asked.

Lavenza smiled, looking at each of the Phantom Thieves in turn.

“What you have always done, Trickster. Have faith in your friends. In your love. And most of all, in yourself. Your faith will be your armor.”

>>>

The Phantom Thieves emerged from the Velvet Room, finding the twisted combination of Shibuya and Mementos. Blood rained down from a crimson sky; the fossilized spines of titanic beasts wrapped around the skyscrapers. The spines and ribs spiraled up towards a massive Coliseum-like building in the center. The team saw it for what it was - the temple that contained the Holy Grail.

“How awful…” Haru breathed.

“It’s like the end of days…” Makoto said. “It’s a nightmare.”

Yusuke sighed. “Well, at least it’s a straight pathway up to the temple. No visible traps, or fights, or--”

“Inari!” Futaba hissed. “That’s a flag!”

“Hardly. What are the chances--”

Beams of light shot down from the sky. A host of angels wielding flaming swords and glowing spears descended upon the pathway to the temple. They glared down at the Phantom Thieves, daring them to ascend.

Futaba glared at Yusuke before sliding her mask down, running scans. “...They’re tough. We’ll have to give it our all. There’s no tricks here. It’s just a straight up fight.”

Ren gazed up at the pathway. He glanced at his friends, lined up on either side of him. They had faced tough odds before, but this was literally apocalyptic. Complete with an angelic host bearing divine weapons. The Phantom Thieves were prepared to follow their leader into anything… but this was beyond any of their imaginations.

Ryuji broke the anxious silence, speaking boldly.

“Cannon to the right of them. Cannon to the left of them…!”

The Phantom Thieves looked at Ryuji in surprise. He wilted under the scrutiny, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ah, sorry. I just thought--”

“Cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered.” Makoto continued, stepping forward. She smiled at Ryuji from behind her mask, before leaning over, pecking his cheek lightly. She looked expectantly at Ann. The blonde also had to study the poem, after all.

“...! Oh!” Ann gasped. She closed her eyes, recalling the next lines. “...Stormed at with shot and shell, boldly they rode and well…”

Ren nodded firmly, standing proud. “Into the jaws of Death. Into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred!”

He then turned to Ryuji, grinning. “Hey, buddy. You know that the Light Brigade was almost completely obliterated, right?”

Ryuji shrugged. He pulled out his shotgun, firing an explosive slug into an angel that had dared to venture close to the Phantom Thieves. It plummeted to the ground, where Haru ruthlessly slammed her bardiche into its spine to finish it.

“Poems are open to interpretation, right? Let’s fuck ‘em up, RenRen.”

Ren grinned. “You heard him, rogues! It’s showtime!”

>>>

The Phantom Thieves stood just before the entrance to the temple. Behind them were the charred remains of the conquered battlefield; the pathway to the temple was riddled with craters, bullet holes, and torched bone. Ren looked over his team with pride. Not a single injury of note. He strode forwards, reaching the obsidian bridge that led to the final confrontation against the Holy Grail.

“Joker… Ren. Are you ready for this?”

Ren turned, looking at Mona and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. His eyes settled on Ann; to him, her blue eyes sparkled; her smile calmed any last vestiges of anxiety in his heart. When he spoke, there was no lie.

“Let’s do this. Let’s do this and go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For people who've been following on, 'Paper Moon' was always meant to be the 'there's something wrong' song in this. Intended to use it this way right from the start.
> 
> Certainly the 'darkest timeline'. For people who want things less implied and more obvious:  
Yusuke: Used up by Madarame, identity stolen and sold. Forced to live on the streets, barely scraping by. Increasingly erratic due to drug use.  
Makoto: Drops out due to stress/pressure, not knowing what she wants out of life. Also Sae ends up developing an actual gambling problem, forcing Makoto to work to cover the debts. Tries to study to get her high school equivalency, but keeps failing the exam despite constantly studying. Keeps wilting under the pressure.  
Haru: Forced into originally planned marriage.  
Futaba: Passes away due to self-imposed starvation in her room, as she originally planned  
Ryuji: As written  
Ann/Shiho: As written (I don't want to write anything out more explicitly, it bothers me)  
Mona: Presumably executed in Kamoshida's Palace
> 
> The M1911 that Ryuji made in the other world is something like an Evoker.
> 
> As regular readers have noticed, I really like the idea of alternate timelines/branch points leading to different universes.


	44. Going the Distance (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion. (Part 2 of 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terminology/Definitions:
> 
> daiyō kangoku - Temporary jail/holding cell  
NTR'd - Cuckolded, cheated on, etc. Refers to netorare
> 
> Uh, no T/W, but NSFW (February 14th.)

December 24, 20xx 

They charged across the expanse of stone toward the floating form of what they knew to be Igor’s imposter.

“Still, you defy the will of God? Reckless Trickster… you have fooled your beloved comrades into a hopeless endeavour. You will suffer as—“

“Fox! Noir!” Ren called. He dashed forward, leaping into a badly telegraphed right straight. The Black Wing was already deployed - a gold accented black blade plunged towards the Grail’s heart.

The imposter scoffed, simply floating back. “Such insolence. You dare—Argh!”

He was interrupted again as automatic gunfire from Yusuke’s M4 raked across him, followed immediately by multiple explosions from Haru’s Milkor MGL.

The form of Igor recoiled, glowed, and then exploded into the massive, shining gold of the Holy Grail. His voice boomed across the temple, his divine power tuned to bore into the minds of these mortals. While he couldn’t control the hearts of those who hadn’t given up their free will voluntarily, he could at least bring them to their knees with the divine power of his voice.

“I am your doom and salvation! I am—“

“You’re nothing but an overgrown bowling trophy!” Ann shouted, flinging her mask into the air. “You’re finished! Celestine!”

Celestine appeared. With a haughty gesture the soprano bathed the golden chalice with an inferno of fire and flaming brimstone. Rivulets of golden slag melted from the Holy Grail.

“What?! You _ dare _!? I am your God! I am the will of the very people you seek to ‘save’!”

The whirling mechanism around the Grail started to spin; glowing gems came into alignment with the Phantom Thieves. Arrows and beams of light began to charge.

“Queen, Skull!” Futaba called. “Aim for the gems! Accuracy… up!”

Al-Azif’s power flowed into the Phantom Thieves.

Precision shots from William’s rail rifle and Makoto’s Detective Special shattered the gems before a single one of the deadly laser-like projectiles could form. The jewel shards hit the ground with an almost musical chime.

Ren’s confident voice rang out. “Free will, freely abandoned? People aren’t as stupid as you’d believe. They know when they’ve been cheated. You offered an easy way out. You gave people security and freedom from choice. But you never told them the cost.”

Ren threw his hand out behind him, gesturing towards Shibuya. “If you’re the will of the people, then why do they want us to win? With every one of your ‘angels’ we took down, more people are backing out of your ‘deal’. More people are seeing what the true cost of your ‘peace’ is, and they’re rejecting it!”

“Shortsighted rebels. Insects that would rather die ignoble, chaotic deaths than live forever in my harmony.”

“That may be so. But I’m not the first human to say I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees. So long as there’s a single spark, someone will rise up. If we fall, someone will take our place. I can’t claim we carry the will of all the people. But we carry the will of rebellion!” Ren shouted, pointing Vengeance at the Grail.

“Then I will _ crush that spark _! Watch, Phantom Thieves! Watch as your lynchpin is torn apart!”

A shockwave blew the other Phantom Thieves back.

The shards of the Grail’s jewels glinted - and then floated into the air, spinning rapidly around Ren.

“Joker!” Ann threw her mask off. “Celestine! Get him out of there!”

Her Agidyne blast burned towards the spinning column of shards.

They moved out of the way of the blast - Joker’s eyes became as wide as saucers as he hit the deck, Ann’s attack singeing the tails of his coat. Frantically, he rolled and swatted at the fabric, putting out the flames.

“Songbird, seriously! You--”

“I set you on fire, I know. Punish me later, Wildcard! Just survive!” Ann yelled.

The Phantom Thieves launched an all-out attack on the Grail itself, unable to help Joker. But they knew they didn’t have to.

The Holy Grail’s laughter filled the temple. “Truly? You would abandon your leader?”

The jewel shards started to glow brighter.

A shower of laser-like light arrows shot from the shards surrounding Joker. All aimed to shred the Trickster into an unrecognizable corpse. But there was no cry of pain; no sound of tearing flesh. Within the maelstrom, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was _ complete. _

Wrist blades deflected and cut light arrows in mid-flight; his body twisted and contorted. His coat and clothes were burned and torn as he dodged by scant millimetres. He leaned back, narrowly avoiding an arrow that burned a thin line across his domino mask.

Gradually, the sound of parrying ceased as Ren found the center within the pattern; he dodged cleanly, allowing him to draw his guns.

Like in the battle against the assassin and his team in Mementos, he acquired targets quickly; he spun in tight circles, firing with only a brief glance at the target or else simply following the trajectory of the arrows of light that were fired at him. Pistols akimbo, gunfire was punctuated by the sound of shattering glass. Muzzle flashes from the twin M1911’s reflected off the brilliant jewel shards until with a final spin, Ren settled down to a knee, his coat in tatters, but otherwise unscathed. He pointed a gun over his shoulder without looking. A final shot destroyed the last shard.

As Makoto and Agnes’ nuclear fire melted part of the Grail into a radioactive mess, Ren gave a challenging glare to the ‘god’.

“Is that all you got?”

“Mindless bravado! Overconfidence! Your spark of rebellion is useless before the will of the masses!”

Red veins exploded across the ceiling of the temple into a glowing red nexus. From there, they poured down towards the Grail.

“Mona! _ Now!” _ Ren yelled.

“Hrrraaaah!” Mona screamed. Absent for the entire battle until this moment, he soared towards the top of the Grail on the cape setup he created for the heist in Okumura’s Palace. A flash of his sword cut the cape off, landing him right on the brim of the Grail.

“Insect! How dare--”

“You think you’d stop asking that by now.” Mona said, grinning ferociously. “It’s pretty clear that we’d dare _ anything _. Diego!”

Blasts of wind, moving fast and thin enough to be like blades, started slashing at the veins.

“No!” The Grail boomed.

“Now’s our chance! Take it down!” Ren charged forward, brandishing his blades.

The Phantom Thieves poured everything they had into a final assault. Bereft of its healing power, the Grail’s golden exterior rapidly became tarnished and charred.

“Impertinent… mortals!”

An explosion of power threw the Phantom Thieves away from the Grail.

“Did you truly believe it would be so simple?”

Millions of red veins descended from the ceiling. Too many for any single attack, or even the combined powers of the Phantom Thieves.

Ren stood; he cast off the shredded remains of his long coat. The Black Wing covered his arms; two cross-straps joined the pauldrons. At his back, there was the new addition of a dark silver armor plate - seemingly part of a cuirass of some kind.

“...Ren?” Ann whispered. _ ‘Is this it… Is he going to…’ _

He couldn’t have heard her. But he turned, all the same. His eyes were their usual smoky grey, not the golden yellow of a Second Awakening - or whatever it was that Ren had the ability to summon. “Not yet. Thanks to all of you… Not yet.”

A pair of spectral wings burst from the plate on Ren’s back, black feathers drifting away. He launched himself from the stone platform, impossibly high.

“Arsene!”

The form of the gentleman thief didn’t appear - but his presence was felt with the dark, cursed flame surrounding Ren’s right-side blade. The boxer stabbed a right-straight into the nexus on the ceiling of the temple.

Within seconds, centuries of decay spread across the network. The veins crumbled into dust.

Ren hung in the air for a moment - and then plunged down, blades first.

With an echoing explosion, a cloud of dust burst up from around the Grail.

When it cleared, it revealed the Leader of the Phantom Thieves - standing between the two halves of the Grail, cloven in twain.

Ren retracted his weapons. He stepped out of the wreckage to join his friends.

“Holy shit…” Ryuji murmured. “Did… did we win? Did we just kick a _ god _’s ass?!”

“I suppose we did. I guess that makes us big goddamn heroes. Pun intended.” Ren replied, grinning.

As the human Phantom Thieves celebrated, Mona looked past the group, at the twisted metal of the Grail. The presence he felt before at the bottom of Mementos - it was still there. In fact, it seemed to be _ growing _.

“Guys… guys, this isn’t over!” Mona shouted. “Get away from the Grail!”

The ground rumbled. 

The mortar between the obsidian blocks flashed bright blue, then red… and then fell away. The temple became a single column, reaching for the heavens. It rose high into the sky, far above the clouds… And then split apart into eight smaller wedge-shaped pillars, all moving apart from each other.

The Phantom Thieves scrambled, leaping across the growing gaps to get to the same wedge-shaped column.

From where the center of the platform was - from where the Holy Grail once rested, rose a being beyond any rationality. An angel the size of a skyscraper, carved from ivory and gold. It appeared almost mechanical in nature, lacking any expression. It was the personification of cold precision and order. It slowly spread its wings, composed of carved feathers and golden machinery.

“This is my true form, Trickster. I am Yaldabaoth, the God of Control… Humans are pitiful. Simply clumps of their pathetic desires, save for a few fools flailing with their ineffectual rebellion. If you will not bend your knee, then I will purge all of humanity in order to save it. If I cannot bring Order to this world, then it will be destroyed. Humanity will be remade according to _ my _specifications.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Ryuji shouted. “You’re just forcing your own lust for power on humans! You’re no better than any of us!”

“If this is truly for the sake of humanity, isn’t our defiance proof enough that we aren’t just blindly following our desires?!” Haru yelled.

“I am the entity which governs this world. Those who dare defy my Order shall be met with punishment from the heavens.”

Yaldabaoth’s power erupted outward, forcing the Phantom Thieves a step back.

“Tch…” Ryuji hissed. “This… this is pretty serious.”

Futaba nodded, running her scans through Al-Azif. “He’s on a whole other level.”

Mona, sensing the hesitation, turned to rally the team. “Isn’t this the kind of finale we deserve? Taking down an evil god who’s forcing his vision on the world. What better target is there for the Phantom Thieves?!”

Ren raised an eyebrow at the cat-bandit’s bravado, before a smile slowly spread across his lips. “I don’t know. It’d take all kinds of stupid to take on a god. The Grail took almost everything we had.”

“Well, Wildcard…” Ann said, standing beside Ren. “Between the eight of us, I think we _ do _ have all kinds of stupid.”

“You guys are the craziest, best team I could have ever asked for…” Mona said. “Let’s do this! Let’s take back our future, and our world!”

>>>

The eight Phantom Thieves fought valiantly - even when Yaldabaoth revealed his four additional arms and his array of devastating attacks, the rogues did not falter.

They called on strength they didn’t know they had; they supported each other, trusted each other.

It was almost enough.

“Wait… wait, guys! What’s this energy?!” Futaba yelled. “Get your guard up!”

The god’s four arms regenerated. A black and crimson void appeared in front of Yaldabaoth’s chest, seeming to pull in all the light of the surrounding sky. The Rays of Control lanced out.

Divine power struck down the Phantom Thieves, sending them to their knees. The entirety of their effort was rendered naught in a single blow.

They staggered to their feet.

Haru growled. “That… won’t be enough to erase us from this world!”

Another blast. The sky darkened.

Ann groaned. “What… what is this…?”

“We… we have to get up. If we don’t, the world…” Makoto pushed herself up to her knees.

The sky shook once more; they were struck once again. The Phantom Thieves became unsure if the sky was darkening, or if it was their vision.

All they could feel was pain. Still, they tried to get to their feet. For every movement of defiance, they were punished. Beaten down with divine power. But they didn’t give up. They wouldn’t give up.

“Do you understand now? This is already my world. The masses mock you for daring to rebel against me… You have committed the ultimate sin. You have disobeyed your God. You will have pain everlasting--”

Mona shook his head, looking at Ren. He forced himself to his feet.

“We aren’t letting that happen!”

“Ah. The attendant made from the dregs of human hope? How pathetic.” Yaldabaoth’s chuckle rumbled across the sky.

“Don’t you underestimate hope…” Mona began. “You heard what Ren said! Even if only one of us remains, we’ll get back up and fight to the very end! We’ll fight, even if all we can hope to do is to pass on the spark of rebellion! We… we will… We’ll take the world!”

>>>

Chaos reigned in Shibuya. People were now aware of the fusion of Mementos and the real world. A mass panic began as Yaldabaoth began to make good on his threat to purge mankind.

“He… that guy just vanished!”

Blood rained down from the sky.

“Oh my God… Mom! Dad! No!”

Bone erupted from the pavement.

“It’s no use…”

_ ‘We… we will… We’ll take the world!’ _

“...Wait. What was that?” A student looked to the sky.

“The Phantom Thieves… they haven’t given up yet. Can they even do anything…?” His companion asked.

“Kick his ass, Phantom Thieves!” Yuuki yelled, from the center of Shibuya’s square. He punched his fist into the air. Slowly, he lowered it. He growled in frustration at the uncertain looks the people around him were giving him. “What’s wrong with all of you?! Can’t you see? Can’t you see that they’re laying down their lives for us?! Snap out of it! Stop running from the truth!”

Yuuki screamed his feelings, doubling over. “Please… those are my friends…”

“...go. ...Go!”

“Stand up, Phantom Thieves!”

“Win this!”

Yuuki’s eyes widened. He stood up, looking around. He grinned, calling to the skies. “Phantom Thieves! Can you hear us?! Please…! Please, stand up!”

>>>

“I… I hear them!” Yusuke said, dragging himself to his feet.

“We won’t be erased!” Makoto snarled.

“I’m not even _ close _ to done, yet…” Ann added.

One by one, the Phantom Thieves stood.

“Tch… We ain’t goin’ down like this. Hey, Yaldy. You hear that? Those are humans prayin’... Prayin’ for a world without you!” Ryuji called.

Ann helped Ren up - the last to stand. “We’re with you, Wildcard… Just say the word.”

Ren nodded. But there wasn’t anything left to say. There was only one move left. He looked at each of his friends - each member of his chosen family. He looked at Ann, smiling softly at her.

_ ‘But then you came along. You and Mona, Ryuji, Shiho, Yusuke, Futaba, Makoto, and so many others. All of you came and found those empty places and filled them with so much love, and joy, and hope, that sometimes I can’t do anything but stare into space and try to figure out how I deserve any of it.’ _

He still didn’t know if he deserved it. But they had all shown him so much… given him so much.

He decided they had given enough.

Ren stepped forward, ahead of his friends. 

Ann blinked. “Ren? What are you…” She reached out - her hand struck a barrier of air. It rippled, as if superheated. “...Oh. Oh, no…”

Ren looked over his shoulder. He smiled back at Ann.

_ ‘Be happy, Songbird…’ _

His eyes glowed golden. He opened his heart; he became the conduit. His mask vanished. Arsene appeared behind him, his dark wings unfurling as he started to generate the stifling pressure they had all felt previously. The sound of rattling and straining chains echoed all around them. The chains appeared in front of Ren, beckoning.

_ ‘His name will come to you when it is time, Trickster.’ _

“Satanael!”

Ren slashed through the chains with his blade. Immediately, his back arched; every tendon in his body tried to tear itself free from bone. He heard someone screaming - he only vaguely realized it was himself.

_ Himself… _ he didn’t understand what that word meant anymore. Against Shido, there really had only been a trickle of infernal power. Now, it was _ everything. _The torrent ripped away the boy that was Ren Amamiya. There simply wasn’t space for him anymore.

The ominous presence of Arsene forced the Phantom Thieves to their knees from the weight of it. Broken chain links swirled in a hurricane around the Persona. A primal scream echoed in the air, his fiery red eyes flaring, his mouth grimacing - before Arsene exploded, vanishing into the ether.

Yaldabaoth laughed. “So… you failed to harness the power after all. It seems I overestimated you…”

But Ren wasn’t listening. His eyes were focused upward, to the skies above. The color changed yet again as the sky became limned with a cold blue fire.

A massive being descended through the clouds. A figure armored like a Victorian knight, bearing a horned mask. Three pairs of wings marked that this entity was once a seraphim - the highest ranking of God’s angelic host. But this was no holy warrior.

“...It’s… it’s Satanael.” Yusuke said, in disbelief. The very same fallen angel he had painted so many months before. Though there was no Sophia here to shepherd his strength.

“Ren…?” Ann asked. She reached towards him, trembling. The barrier of air was gone, now.

Her hand touched his shoulder.

Ren glanced back at her, his golden gaze devoid of any emotion or recognition. He turned to face Yaldabaoth, without a word. 

“Fools…! I will simply strike you down again! My Order will prevail!”

The Rays of Control lanced towards the Phantom Thieves as black and red lightning.

Ren waved a hand dismissively. The Rays simply struck the air in front of the Phantom Thieves and _ vanished. _ When he spoke, his voice was not his own, but something older… something ancient.

“Arrogant godling… Self-styled creator. Your reign will end before it begins.”

Ren raised his pistol, aiming it at Yaldabaoth. At the same time, Satanael raised his own weapon - the massive, twin-bladed gun that Arsene used against Shido.

A red-clad form slammed into his back; his arms were pinned to his body as Ann held them down.

“No!”

“Release me, ward of Celestine.” Satanael said calmly, through Ren. “The Trickster knows his role. This is a sacrifice freely given. A tithe made for your sake, above all others. He gives up his place in this world so that you may have yours.”

Ann shook her head frantically. She clung to him, persisting through Satanael’s overwhelming aura. The power threatened to crush her into the ground. But still, she held on.

“I didn’t ask for that! I don’t want that! No one does... Ren! Listen… _ Listen _ to them!”

>>>

“Are you another person who’s been charmed by the Phantom Thieves? Heh… Me, too. Finish this, kid! Hurry it up so we can go home!”

“I’m not losing my favorite guinea pig! Win!”

“I’ve got high hopes for you guys! You’d better win this!”

“You’ll win if I cheer for you? Then I’ll cheer you on as much as you need! Now, and when you get back!”

“Come on, Aniki! Kick this fucker’s ass and come home! The boys need you!

“You call yourself a Takeda boxer, don’t you Renpai?! What are you stalling for?! We’re all waiting for you!”

“I swear to an _ actual _ God, champ, if you don’t make it back… if you make Blondie cry… I’ll bring you back to life just so I can kick your sorry ass! Finish it, Amamiya!”

>>>

Ann sobbed. “Don’t you hear them? Don’t you hear all of the lives you’ve touched? Everyone can only see a world with _ you _ in it. I… I don’t want a place in this world if you aren’t here. You deserve to be here, Ren. Please… ...please.”

The form of Ren stilled; the overwhelming pressure of Satanael abated for a moment.

_ ‘Who am I…?’ _

The conduit, certainly. The Trickster, probably. But that wasn’t who people were calling for.

The weight on his body increased. The ward of Al-Azif… no. Futaba, her arms around him also. “Ren-ni… please! We need you!” She was crying, too. “Me and Sojiro… We’re a family, aren’t we?”

A hand on his shoulder. “RenRen… come on. You’re not really gonna finish it like this, right?” Ryuji said, grinning fiercely.

Makoto stood in front of him, pushing his pistol down. “You’re a warrior, Ren. You fight your own battles. If you make this your end, just a tool of a fallen angel… if you leave so much unfinished, then you aren’t half the man I thought you were!”

Yusuke nodded, entering his field of view at the same time as Haru. “Listen to Ann, Ren. She is the Sophia to your Satanael. You must survive this. You _ deserve _ to survive this!”

“Don’t you trust us, Ren-kun? Aren’t we your trusted comrades?” Haru asked. She stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Aren’t we your cherished friends? We’re all telling you the same thing...”

“...We’re all saying that we all want you here, Ren!” Mona finished. “Not one of us can imagine a world without you!”

_ ‘A world without me… But who am I? I am not Satanael. I’m not just the conduit… Who am I?’ _

He knew he hadn’t spoken out loud. But somehow, she heard him. He blinked, surprised by Ann’s hand caressing his cheek.

“You. Just you. Ren Amamiya… My Wildcard.”

Satanael’s unseen force abruptly blew them back in a nova of blue flame. It didn’t burn them - far from it. It healed their wounds, energized them. But it knocked them away from Ren, all the same. All of the Phantom Thieves flew off their feet, landing on the ground several metres away. All of them save one.

The first thing Ann noticed was that she wasn’t on her feet. She was being held in a bridal carry by someone she didn’t recognize at first. He wore a strange suit of armor in gunmetal grey and silver, with gold accents. The second thing she noticed were black wings, _ not _ spectral. They extended from his back, curling forwards. Very real black feathers floated through the air.

The stranger looked down at her, allowing Ann to notice the third thing.

She was being held by Ren Amamiya.

But was it Ren? Or was he merely the conduit for Satanael?

Her answer was the sparkle in his grey eyes; the warmth in the soft kiss he pressed to her lips.

“Ren!” Ann cried, throwing her arms around him. She buried her face in his neck. “Ren…”

“Hey, Songbird.” Ren said, smiling. “...Sorry about that. Were you scared?”

She shook her head, her face still against his collar. “No. I told you. Nothing will _ ever _ make me scared of you. How many times do I need to tell you…?”

“Every day, Ann. Tell me every day, for the rest of my life.”

“Ren…”

He set her down on her feet. “...I’ll be right back.”

She smiled, nodding. “You’d better.”

Ren stepped forward, glancing briefly at the armor he now wore. Less gentleman thief, and more dark knight. He smiled faintly, shaking his head.

_ ‘My faith will be my armor, huh…?’ _

He drew both his guns.

“Satanael!” He cried.

This time, the fallen angel responded to Ren’s command. He raised his own arms in acknowledgement; a twin to his first bladed pistol appeared.

The God of Control raised all six of his arms in defense. His own wings creaked and clanked as they rotated forward as shields.

“This is _ my _ world, Trickster! _ My _game! There is no way for you to win within my rules!”

Ren, despite facing down a mechanical angel the size of a building, seemed to stare _ down _ at the self-proclaimed god.

“Then it’s a good thing I play dirty.”

Twin pistols roared. The muzzle flashes from Satanael’s weapons lit the sky like lightning. Mechanical wings shattered; each arm was blown away. Equal parts Faith and Vengeance stripped away the defenses of Yaldabaoth.

Silence reigned as Satanael took aim one final time.

“Begone.”

The shot echoed through eternity; shards of ivory and gold flew back from the false god’s head.

The sky gradually returned to the normal colors of a sunset - brilliant reds, golds, and yellows. A light the Phantom Thieves observed through the hole in the God of Control’s head.

“So… ...this is the will… of rebellion…” Yaldabaoth murmured, as he started to collapse. His massive halo fell; before it could strike the platform, the god vanished - leaving in his place only the true form of the Holy Grail: a humble copper cup.

“That’s the Treasure… isn’t it, Mona?” Ryuji asked.

Mona smiled sadly. He stepped forward, nodding. “This is it. Thanks, everyone…”

Haru frowned, catching the odd note in Mona’s voice. “Mona-chan…?”

Mona stood beside the chalice, looking fondly at the Phantom Thieves. “Humans really do have the power to change the world. It’s just that they forget it, sometimes. Make sure that none of you do, okay? ...Though, I’m sure you won’t. After all, it’s thanks to all of you that I finished my task. I completed my purpose…”

Ren startled momentarily as his armor vanished - along with Satanael. Now in his restored Phantom Thieves costume, he approached Mona. “Mona? What are you saying…?”

Mona looked around the platform in the sky, the final battlefield of the Phantom Thieves. “This place is going to disappear soon, too. ...It’s time for us to go home.”

>>>

The Phantom Thieves watched in wonder as the waist-deep bloodwater that flooded Shibuya froze and shattered, the shards floating into the air and carrying away the last vestiges of Mementos. The fragments refracted the light of the setting sun, making the world sparkle.

Ann held Ren’s hand, staring up at the sky. “This… this is incredible.”

Ren squeezed her palm back, nodding. “It really is…”

“In a way, the whole world is a product of cognition… Not just the Metaverse. It takes more effort than it does on the other side, but everything can be freely remade. Including yourselves…” Mona’s voice drew the attention of the Phantom Thieves. He too was glowing… Glowing, and becoming translucent.

“...Wait. Mona!” Ren shouted, turning. “Where are you--”

“It’s fine, Ren.” Mona said, smiling. “It really is okay. I got to help all of you grow together… change together. Nothing could have made me happier.”

“This can’t be happening!” Ann ran forwards - a flash of light carved a scar into the ground between the teenagers and their smallest ally, separating them.

Mona shook his head. “Don’t be sad. Soon, a new world will come. It will shine brightly as long as you hold hope in your hearts.”

“No! What’s going to happen to _ you _?!” Makoto cried out.

Mona didn’t respond. He simply started to ascend into the air with the other remnants of the Metaverse. Although his lips weren’t moving, each of the Phantom Thieves felt his words.

“Remember… What each person sees and feels… those are what shape reality. This is what gives the world its infinite potential. Even when things are at their darkest, so long as you join hands, and stand together… The world will never end. Goodbye… thank you.”

>>>

Ren wandered Shibuya on his own, into the evening. He wanted to spend some time alone - time to process everything that happened, and time to put a finger on the pulse of the masses. He perked up, hearing parts of a conversation.

“I don’t know if we’re going to be okay without a Prime Minister.”

“Yeah. But I’d rather have no PM than have Shido there. Or any of his cronies. Have you heard…”

So far, so good. He leaned against a wall near the _ Hachiko _ statue. Someone had placed a santa hat on the likeness of the famous dog, and lights decorated the trees overhead. Snow drifted down through the air.

_ ‘I should text Ann, see if she wants to go out. She’d love this.’ _

“Strange to find the world’s saviour by himself on Christmas Eve.”

Ren looked up from his phone. Sae Niijima stood before him, a grim expression on her fair face. Still, his inner rogue couldn’t help himself as he flashed his most charming smile.

“Are you asking me out on a date, Sae-san? I have a girlfriend.”

Sae‘s pale complexion turned briefly rosy. Despite being a consummate professional, even she wasn’t completely immune to that smile. But she recovered quickly, raising an eyebrow. “I’m aware. You’ve told me as such, in _ graphic _ detail.”

“...ah.” Ren coughed, having been put in his place. “Anyway. I take it that this isn’t a social call?”

“I’m afraid not.” Sae said, shaking her head regretfully. “I’m finally gaining traction on the Shido case… I’ve accomplished more in the past three hours than I have in the past three days. People are finally coming to their senses.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

The prosecutor sighed. “Well. It’s not a completely good thing. The Ministry of Justice, the SID, and the police are all a complete mess. Everyone’s suddenly realizing how much they were about to let Shido and the UFP get away with… Actually, no. Everyone’s suddenly realized how much they _ did _ let Shido and the UFP get away with. It’s like all three offices are waking up from a drug and alcohol induced bender. Most of them are responding to the shame and loss of face honorably. Others…”

“...Others are looking for someone to blame.” Ren mused, understanding immediately. “When we gave people the ability to think for themselves and make decisions again, we also returned to them the ability to make _ bad _ decisions. So some people are doubling down. What can we do?”

“You can turn yourself in.” Sae said.

“...Let me rephrase that. What can we do, _ really _?” Ren asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Hear me out, Amamiya-kun. Before you decide?” Sae asked. She continued when Ren nodded. “As we’ve talked about, there’s no way to actually connect you or any of the others to anything that was done in the Metaverse. The trouble is, there isn’t any way to do that with Shido, either.”

“Except for a bald, bespectacled politician who’s literally saying he did it. But do go on.”

Sae let his snippy remark pass. “It’s not enough. People with a lot to lose are still trying to sell the ‘mentally unfit’ angle. And someone’s hidden Wakaba Isshiki’s research even further, probably when they realized Shido was going to confess the location. So we need someone to testify. The only two would be Goro Akechi, who Shido has already named as his assassin... ...and yourself.”

“I thought that I was never officially arrested, Sae-san?” Ren asked.

“You weren’t. But enough people on the ‘inside’ know that you’re a suspected Phantom Thief.”

“I still haven’t heard how this ties into me turning myself in. I can’t testify as a free citizen?” Ren asked.

“You could, if you got a good enough lawyer.” Sae said. “You could even be made to look like a hero. But the police, the Ministry, and even some of my colleagues wouldn’t stand for it. They already look like fools - having you paraded in front of the masses as someone who knew what was going on while they happily licked Shido’s boot… They’d do everything they could to get revenge and call your character into question. I know they’re already planning to charge you with violating your probation on multiple counts. They could also go after your friends, or even fabricate charges. Or both.”

Ren sighed, crossing his arms. “So that’s it, then. You want me to turn myself in as a form of damage control. You’re hoping that it’ll satisfy enough people that ‘the Phantom Thief’ is behind bars, as opposed to out free and pointing the finger at an inept government.”

“That’s right.” Sae said. “It should guarantee the safety of your friends… ...In fact, I’ll make _ sure _ of it.”

“...I’ll hold you to that, Sae-san. Fine.” Ren said. “...Just give me until the morning, alright? There’s something I have to do.”

>>>

Ann let out a little shriek, hiding her face behind her scarf as they left the station in Yongen-Jaya.

“Seriously, Wildcard?! What’s with you tonight? You keep taking pictures!”

Ren grinned. “What? I can’t add to my collection?”

“You can. But you keep getting the _ worst _ shots. I think I was sneezing, just there. And at Crossroads, you kept trying to get me when I was distracted.”

“Mm. Well, it’s not _ really _ my fault.” Ren said, putting his phone away.

Ann lowered the scarf cautiously, very aware of how fast Ren’s hands could be. She resumed her place beside him, linking her arm through his. “And how’s that possibly true?”

“Well. I want cute pictures of you. The trouble is, you’re cute _ all the time _.”

“Don’t think that gets you off the hook.” Ann said, squeezing his arm happily.

“Then why are you smiling?” Ren teased.

“Oh, shut it.”

Ren laughed. He unlocked the door open to Leblanc. It had been a good evening out - he met Ann out on the town. They wandered Shibuya, taking pictures beside Hachiko before taking time to make an ornament together to place on the ‘lover’s tree’ set up in the square. Then, they managed to find a quiet dinner in Shinjuku, of all places. Crossroads was empty, and Lala kind enough to order food in for them. While eating fried chicken in a dimly lit jazz bar wasn’t a very traditional Christmas Eve for a couple, it was still the best meal Ren could recall having in a long time.

The boxer stepped behind the counter of the cafe, exchanging his coat for his apron. Hot drinks to warm up after walking around in the cold seemed like a good idea. Ann took a seat at the counter, resting her delicate chin on her palm as she watched him.

Deciding to have a little fun, Ren affected his usual politely-friendly customer service face. “Hi there, miss. What can I get you?”

Ann caught on to the little game immediately. “Hm… how about a mocha? Skim milk, extra hot.”

“Sweet and extra hot… The drink matches the girl. Come here often?” Ren asked, with a cocky smirk.

“I do. More for the coffee than the lame pick-up lines, though.” Ann said, yawning. She absently looked at her nails, stealing a quick look at Ren, clearly stifling a giggle.

“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Ren replied, making the drink. “Forgive me. I was thrown off by seeing someone like you alone on Christmas Eve.”

“Someone like me?” Ann asked. She started playing with her hair, fluttering her lashes at the boxer slash barista. Her cheeks were still rosy from the walk outside; she knew _ exactly _ how good she looked.

But Ren was prepared. He slid her mocha across to her. His voice dropped into the register of ‘sandpaper and smoke’; his grey eyes turning on a languid smolder. “You know. Stunning. Gorgeous. The beauty to launch a thousand ships.”

Ann squeaked; her eyes dropped to the mocha. No act, this time. She took a sip, trying very hard to concentrate enough to not spill. Her face felt much hotter than the blush from walking in the cold, now. “I.. .er… …”

-_ Click- _

Ann looked up, seeing Ren with his phone out _ again _. “Damnit! You’ll pay for that.”

“Gladly…”

>>>

A while later, the two sat together in Ren’s attic, talking. They already exchanged gifts - for Ren, earmuffs. For Ann, a new scarf - but it was the limited edition enamel pin of Chococat wrapped up in a crepe that had the girl clinging to Ren happily.

“This has been perfect, Wildcard.”

“It has, Songbird.” Ren smiled, a little wistfully.

Ann sighed contentedly, before looking up at Ren with some curiosity. “Hey… Futaba-chan mentioned that the Grail sent you to some alternate future? What was that like?”

Ren shook his head. “Nothing good. I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

“If it has to do with you, I want to hear it.” Ann said. She gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. “Really.”

Ren nodded - and so, he described everything: the first morning with Reiko, the four years of false memories, learning the fate of all their friends… and his final decisions at the end to intervene once more for the sake of the unknown woman that fateful night.

“So that’s everything…” Ren said.

“Really.” Ann said, flatly.

Ren blinked, looking at his girlfriend. She was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes, pursed lips. She looked… _ mad _.

“...Songbird? Are you alright?”

“Of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be? I got NTR’d by my boyfriend’s ex when he was trapped in some weird alternate timeline.”

She glared at him

Ren recoiled. “Hey, seriously?! I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I was still under--”

Ann burst into peals of laughter. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” She grinned mischievously at Ren. “Though, if you feel bad about it, you can make it up to me later.”

Ren sighed in relief. “...You’re really okay with all of that?”

“Mm.” Ann said, hugging his arm again. “From what you described… your heart was still honest, even if your memory was manipulated.”

“How do you mean?”

“You never told her you loved her. Even when you were supposed to. The Han Solo thing was lame, even for you” Ann replied, with a little wink. She then snuggled up, resting her head on his shoulder. “Hm... it’s still really hard to hate Reiko-chan. I know that wasn’t the real one… but I hope she’s happy. All versions of her.”

_ ‘There isn’t a single world where Reiko Takahase doesn’t want Ren Amamiya to be with the one he truly loves.’ _

Ren wondered what that Reiko would say to what he was doing - that he was going to give up being at Ann’s side to protect her. For a moment, his resolve weakened.

_ ‘I can’t say anything. If I do, I’ll lose my nerve.’ _

“Ren…? What’s wrong?”

He should have known better. How could he possibly hide anything from her, the girl who could always see right through him? Ren couldn’t lie to her. So he stalled.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“The way you look when you think I’m not looking at you...” Ann said, looking worried.

“...It’s nothing.” Ren said, unable to think of anything better. “I… I can’t tell you tonight. I just need some time to think about it.”

Ann looked at Ren for a long pause. She could tell that this wasn’t something small. But she could also tell that this was something he wouldn’t budge on, no matter what.

“...Fine.” Ann said, quietly. “Do you need some time alone?”

That wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to hold her; he wanted to make love to her. He wanted to keep her at his side until the bitter end, to breathe her scent and feel her warmth until the last possible second. Until he had to exchange this perfect evening for the inside of an unforgiving cell.

“...Yeah, Ann. I’m sorry. I’ll walk you home.”

Ann kissed his cheek, standing up.

“No. I’ll be fine, Ren. Just… promise me something?”

“Mm.”

“Do you promise me that this isn’t like Children’s Day?”

Ren’s eyes widened.

“I… no! It’s nothing like that!” Ren said. “There’s still things I have to do. I… I figured out that my life is worth living, Ann.”

“Good.” She smiled, bending down to kiss him again. “See you tomorrow, Wildcard.”

Ren chose his words carefully. To avoid telling a lie.

“I’ll miss you, Songbird.”

>>>

“What the hell do you _ mean _, you’re resigning, you pathetic toad?!” Sugimura screamed into his phone. “Did you roll your fat ass out of bed and find your conscience?! 

“It’s as I told you.”

“You don’t get to tell _ me _ anything, Suzuki.. You piece of shit. You call the Ministry back and you-- Did you hang up on me?! You _ fuck _!” He screamed, his voice reaching a new octave in anger. He threw his last burner phone against the wall of his office; it shattered into a collection of cheap plastic loosely attached to an equally inexpensive circuit board.

Somehow, everything was unraveling. There was a growing public uproar - suddenly, people were no longer concerned about not having leadership. They were concerned about Shido’s confession and what it meant for the rest of the UFP.

Sugimura still wasn’t directly implicated, but the multiple barriers to the investigation on Shido were quickly evaporating. Suzuki was only one of many officials who suddenly had a change of heart - Sugimura grimaced at the term - and were backing out of their previous deals with the UFP. Some party members were even declaring themselves independent, or otherwise resigning from their seats.

By Christmas morning, Shido would be available for formal interrogation - the ‘mentally unfit’ angle wasn’t going to work anymore. Watanabe’s colleagues in psychiatry were backing out of the deal, and that useless worm of an internist couldn’t declare Shido unfit by himself.

If Sugimura stood idle, a sizable chunk of the UFP would be exposed by tomorrow afternoon - and this would call into question their entire power base. He had to move.

“Shit…” He growled. He reached into the top drawer of his desk, looking for another burner phone. He slammed the drawer shut, swearing. He wasn’t stupid enough to call this particular contact on his personal cell phone, no matter how angry he was. He exited his office, instead heading into the intern ‘pool’. No one was working this late on Christmas Eve, fortunately - Sugimura had already sent them home, playing the role of magnanimous employer.

He dialed the number, his finger almost breaking the plastic keys on the office phone.

“This is Sugimura. It’s time.”

>>>

The man at the other end of Sugimura’s call hung up. He wore an unremarkable suit in light grey; his hair had a slight cowlick and his face had a substantial shadow of salt and pepper stubble. In short, he looked precisely how one would expect a half-asleep, on-call physician to look like, coming in to examine a patient.

Perfect for this particular job.

The hitman stepped out of his car, affecting a yawn. He entered Tokyo University Hospital, heading for the ICU where Masayoshi Shido _ still _ occupied a private room, all in an effort to make it seem as though the man was terribly ill from overwork and stress, to sell to the public the image of a politician-martyr.

And after tonight, the image of a martyr would be complete.

The man swiped the ID badge he had been provided for this mission at the staff entrance to the ICU. With a soft beep, the door opened.

He walked with purpose towards Shido’s room, recalling the instructions of the very-nervous looking doctor who had provided him with the ID badge.

_ ‘This is my badge. I’m going to report it stolen at the end of the work day, but deactivation of the ID will take time - especially on Christmas Eve. You should still have time to get in and get out. No one will stop you so long as you dress professionally and move as if you belong there. This syringe has potassium chloride in it… a high enough dose to stop his heart. If you can’t get out of the room in time, just start doing chest compressions on Shido. It won’t be enough to save him. And don’t worry about toxicology. After death, cell breakdown causes potassium levels to spike anyway - no one will know. I’ll see to it that he is sedated for ‘better sleep’...’ _

The hitman smirked at the irony of the doctor providing such an efficient means to kill.

He stepped into Shido’s room. The politician was lying in his bed, murmuring in restless sleep. Sedated, as promised.

The man in the grey suit approached the bedside, quickly finding the IV access port he had been told to use. He removed the syringe from his coat, screwing it on to the plastic luer lock.

He froze.

His experienced mind registered the distant -_ crack _ \- of a .22 rifle, followed by the near simultaneous _ -smack- _of the bullet penetrating the glass of the room’s window. He knew immediately that the shooter would have to be less than 100 metres away, based on the sound… and the force with which the small caliber bullet penetrated his chest.

He fell to his knees, watching his lifeblood flow to the floor. As he crumpled, hearing the increasingly distant sounds of screams as his body was discovered, he stared up at the unused syringe.

_ ‘...just start doing chest compressions on Shido. It won’t be enough to save him.’ _

Before he died, he realized that this was true for him, too.

>>>

December 25, 20xx 

“Good morning, Tokyo. In today’s news, a deadly development in the Shido scandal. In an apparent attempt to silence the disgraced Prime Minister-elect, an unknown man tried to inject him with a lethal dose of potassium. The unidentified individual was thwarted however by a precision shot through the window of the Shido’s hospital room. Authorities have declined to comment if this was action taken by their own security forces, or if this was the work of an unknown vigilante. Doctor Tae Takemi was the first physician on scene. I understand we have her on the line? Takemi-sensei, what can you tell us about this incident?”

“First of all, I want to reassure all of our patients and their families that we have already taken measures to ensure the security of this hospital. I will also be _ personally _ investigating how this individual gained access to the ICU.”

“Of course. And what about the weapon of choice? Why potassium?”

“Essentially, Shido’s death would have appeared to be a simple heart attack - nearly untraceable.”

“Absolutely chilling. Thank you, Takemi-sensei. Joining us for commentary is investigative journalist and political columnist, Ichiko Ohya. Ohya-san, who would have gained from a successful assassination?”

“Possibly quite a few individuals. However, the only organization that would have clearly benefited would be the UFP themselves. A sudden death by a supposed heart attack would have helped cement the image of a hardworking, overworked politician - essentially, it would have martyred the man. This attempt has had the opposite effect. More of Shido’s confessions are coming to light and the legitimacy of the entire UFP’s election campaign is coming into question.”

Sojiro sighed as he polished a coffee mug early in the morning at Leblanc. “It’s amazing how much can happen in one night. That attempt on his life is becoming a real powder keg…”

Ren, seated at a booth with a pen, two written letters, and multiple crumpled rejects, grunted thoughtfully.

“Hn. Interesting choice of words, Boss.”

“How so?”

“Not the first time in history where an assassination was labeled as a powder keg. Franz Ferdinand actually did get killed in Sarajevo, though.”

The cafe owner raised an eyebrow. “You know, sometimes I forget how well-read you are.”

“Why’s that?” Ren asked, reading over the letters again.

“Because of the stupid crap you do. Like thinking those letters will satisfy your friends, let alone Ann-chan. When you get out, she’s going to slap you into next year.” Sojiro said, waving his tea towel at the table.

“I appreciate your use of the word ‘when’. The letters will have to do.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“Why? Because you don’t have the time to face them, or you don’t have the guts?” Sojiro scoffed.

“Yes.” Ren answered, smiling sadly. He understood Sojiro’s flippant attitude. He told the man late last night what he was planning. And then the Boss ‘happened’ to need to open early today. And the coffee mugs had been polished so much that Ren was fairly certain they were several millimetres thinner, now.

Sojiro shook his head. He turned towards the kitchen, coughing. He appeared to take off his glasses to polish _ them _, too. “It’s almost time, isn’t it?”

Ren glanced at the two letters.

The first, for everyone:

_ ‘Everyone, _

_ I’m sorry I didn’t mention anything last night. I couldn’t do it. I know that each of you would do anything for me - but you’ve given enough already. Been through enough already. _

_ One of the things that’s rested heavily on my mind these past few months are your lives. I don’t mean what we’ve all got in line for after high school. I mean literally, your lives – every one of you has laid it on the line. Every one of you has been incredible. _

_ Makoto, you’re our brilliant strategist. Ann, our heart and conscience. Yusuke, your sharp eye and steady hand have saved every one of us on multiple occasions. Haru, your strength of will and cunning were key in overcoming the odds stacked against us. Futaba, your overwatch (see what I did there, Gremlin?) keeps us all a step ahead of our enemies. And Ryuji, my brother - no one is as courageous as you. _

_ So in a way, my role as your leader has been easy. I’ve had all of you to follow as an example. _

_ As each of you joined up, my role changed as needed. But one thing has remained constant. It has been, and always will be, my job to make sure you all get to go home at the end of the day. _

_ So please trust me that this was the only way to keep you all safe. _

_ And please remember, I’m not doing this because I have to do it. I’m doing this because I _ _ want _ _ to. _

_ Because, you are the family that chose me, just as I chose you. _

_ -Ren’ _

The second… for Ann:

_ ‘Songbird, _

_ You know me too well. I should have known better than to try to hide this from you last night. I know I promised you that I wouldn’t throw away my life, and I haven’t. I do think I deserve a place in this world. _

_ But you know me. You know that my place in the world is one where I live not just for myself, but also for my family. For you. _

_ I was taking so many pictures because I was selfish. I wanted to capture every single expression you made - I wanted to have as many memories as possible: of the twinkle in your eyes when you laugh, the blush on your cheek when you’re embarrassed. The way you roll your eyes and try not to smile at my bad puns. The way you look when you tell me you love me. _

_ Don’t feel lonely, Ann. _

_ You are not alone. You never will be alone. Someone like you, with that warmth and kindness in your heart, can never be alone. You draw people to you, Ann. You drew me to you, and you turned my world upside down in a way that I never knew I wanted, but desperately needed. I won’t say that you pulled me out of my depression – I won’t put the burden of my mental well-being on you. But I will say that meeting you is what woke me up to myself again, what made me drag myself out of the self-hatred I was trying to drown myself in. _

_ You haven’t stolen my heart, Ann Takamaki – I willingly gave it to you, to have, to hold, and to break as you see fit. Given with no let, no lien, or obligation. Even if you hate me for hiding this from you, for leaving you, this will never change. My heart beats within your chest. _

_ I’m sorry. _

_ I love you. _

_ -Your Wildcard _

“Did you write everything you wanted to say?” Sojiro asked.

“No.” Ren said. “But it’s the best I can do.”

>>>

_ ‘Hey! Morgana’d be ashamed of us sitting around here moping like this! Honestly, I don’t know what we should do. But it we give up, we’ll never save Ren! Didn’t he save all of us?! If we aren’t going to act now, when will we?! We gotta do something!’ _

Brave, defiant words from Ann Takamaki. With them, she managed to rally the team in a way that she hoped would have made Ren proud. Even in the last few hours of the evening, they had managed to mobilize in ways beyond what she had hoped.

Haru quickly deconstructed the threat, based on what Sae was able to tell them. The police and the Ministry of Justice - in particular, the ones with ties to the UFP - needed a scapegoat. While they couldn’t exonerate Shido anymore, they could at least make the case against him suspicious by delegitimizing Ren’s testimony. This would make it seem less like they were fooled by an outright villain, allowing them to save face. So that meant character assassination of the boxer, focusing on his previous conviction and tacking on any other charges they could think of.

And Makoto came up with their strategy. They had to find evidence clearing Ren of his wrongful conviction, prove his good character, and if possible, destabilize the UFP. If the UFP fell apart, there would be no point in them going after Ren anymore.

So Makoto and Futaba were going to track down the woman whose testimony had damned Ren in the first place – really, the only hard ‘evidence’ anyone had against him. Haru was confident she could use her considerable resources to attack the UFP. And Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ann were splitting up a list of names to call in every single favor Ren had earned in his short time in Tokyo.

But now, as her friends filed out of Leblanc, reality hit her. She made some excuse to stay behind. Everyone was obviously concerned; they knew how much Ann and Ren meant to each other. But, they left. Ann insisted on it. She demanded that they go home to rest, to be at their best to help save him. Sojiro wanted to close up, to make sure Futaba would be alright – she wasn’t taking the loss of her adoptive older brother particularly well. Ann insisted she could manage.

She was alone again.

Ann locked the store up from the inside, wandering up the stairs to the attic in a daze.

She sat down on his bed. She took a deep breath, now bringing herself to read his letter. She barely got through it; she read as if she could hear his voice. She cried wretchedly as she read his words.

_ ‘You are not alone _.’ It was as if he had heard her future thoughts, and even now wanted to protect her from them.

_ ‘Even if you hate me for hiding this from you.. _.’ She sobbed. As if she could ever do that. She wished she could. Things would be easier, then. She clutched his pillow to her chest. She could still smell him on it. She wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse.

She cried until she couldn’t cry anymore. She couldn’t stand it. He was supposed to be there with her. They were supposed to be back to worrying about stupid, mundane things. Where to go on their next date. The next exams. What they’d do for college. After that…

Ann shut her eyes tight, breathing his scent deeply. Espresso and old wood. She quietly lost herself in memory, of moments alone in the dark, of heat, of passion, of fitting together as one. She gradually got hold of herself.

_ ‘He needs me. He needs me to not be broken. I’m going to get him out of there, and then I’m going to kiss him. Or slap him. Both. God, why did I fall in love with a self-sacrificing idiot?’ _

>>>

December 26, 20xx 

Ren yawned sleepily in the interrogation room, deep within the police headquarters in Chiyoda Ward. He wasn’t sure what time it was - obviously, he didn’t have his phone, nor was there a clock in the room. He sat shackled to the metal table, across from two empty chairs. There were no windows. The room felt like it was designed for the express purpose of making it difficult to tell the passage of time.

_ ‘At least this one isn’t several stories below the ground. And no drugs this time. Just sleep deprivation.’ _

He had been in the police station’s _ daiyō kangoku _ since Christmas morning. As expected, he had never _ quite _ made it to the thin mattress in his assigned cell. First, the cell had to be cleaned. But of course, there was a mix up with the schedules, so the cleaning staff were all mistakenly placed on holiday. Then, when that was resolved, the mattress itself was supposedly infested with bedbugs, so Ren was taken to another nearby police station, only to be told that this station didn’t have the clearance to process his case… And so on and so forth.

Essentially, he spent the day being shuttled around, kept awake, and kept in the Shujin uniform he arrived in to try to tire him out and frustrate him. They tired him out, certainly. But frustrating a boy who had survived being black-bagged and interrogated in the basement of the SID, and then also survived fighting a literal god before shooting said god in the face… Well. That was a different story.

Ren smiled pleasantly at the two detectives who entered the room. “Good… morning, I think?”

The detectives frowned at the teenager before sitting down. They weren’t expecting a pleasant smile and polite greeting. One of them took out a folder and an audio recording device. Ren glanced briefly at the camera in the room, watching as the blinking red LED light winked off.

_ ‘Audio recording only. That means they’re probably going to get physical…’ _

“Let’s get started.” The older one said, nodding to his partner.

“Are you the Phantom Thief who’s responsible for committing acts of terrorism against the people of Japan?”

Ren yawned, before resuming his pleasant smile. He didn’t respond.

“Well?!”

“I believe I have the right to legal counsel before answering any questions. Especially before answering questions that presuppose my guilt. Are you asking me if I’m a Phantom Thief, or if I committed acts of terrorism against Japan?”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll answer my questions.” The detective said. “We know you turned yourself in as the Phantom Thief. We have you for destruction of property, trespassing, and domestic terrorism. Why did you commit these crimes?”

The tactic was obvious - they tired him out, and were asking vague, double-ended questions to try to trap him into a confession. He dealt with this sort of questioning before, during his first arrest in Kamakura. At the time, he did his best to answer, thinking that the system would work to discover the truth. He was, after all, a good, law-abiding citizen. Before, he might have tried to explain he had no reason to commit these crimes, allowed himself to be tripped up into something that could be twisted into an admission of guilt.

He knew better this time. As he was wont to say, being treated like a criminal had taught him how to be one.

“I’ll take my legal counsel now, thank you.”

The younger detective looked over his shoulder - at the camera, ensuring that the red light was no longer blinking.

Ren braced himself - and rightfully so. He winced as the man leaned forward, grabbing his collar. He twisted the fabric, not _ quite _ choking the boxer.

“Listen, you little _ shit _ . You embarrassed the entire force. Do you think any of us have any interest in respecting your rights? I can do whatever the fuck I want to _ make _ you say what we need to say. I just can’t leave any marks. Nod if you understand.”

Ren nodded, trying to cough.

The detective let go. “Good. Now, do you have anything to say?”

Ren coughed, clearing his throat. “Ahem. ...Yeah. I do.”

The detective positioned his audio recorder, waiting.

“I want to reassure you, detective, that if that’s the extent of your strength, you needn’t worry about leaving any marks.”

“Son of a bitch--”

“That’s impolite. Can you leave Kaa-chan out of this? I haven’t said anything about how _ your _mother was last night--”

Ren rocked in his chair as he was punched. The young detective had him by his collar again.

The older one sighed. “I figured we’d end up doing this the hard way. Listen, kid. We don’t _ want _ to beat this out of you. And in fact, we don’t have to. You’re a minor, and you have a past record. I’m sure that you know every juvenile case has to go before family court first, for a judge to decide if you’ll be tried in front of family court as a minor, or if you’ll be transferred to the adult courts to be tried there.”

Ren nodded, working his jaw open and closed and testing his teeth with his tongue.

“If you won’t cooperate, I can guarantee we’ll find a judge who’ll rule in our favor to have your case transferred to the adult system. That means you’d be waiting for your trial in _ real _ prison, not juvi.”

The young detective smirked, crossing his arms. “We know the terms of your deal, too. The one you made with Sae Niijima. Shido’s trial is supposed to happen _ before _ yours… So you’d be at the mercy of hardened criminals for a good, long time. Unless you say what we want you to say. Now, and at Shido’s trial.”

“I see.” Ren said, carefully controlling his expression. “Sae-san mentioned that the only concrete charges you can bring against me right now are violation of the conditions of my probation. Is that still true?”

“Yes. We have evidence that you boxed, even if it was against a consenting adult. Also, you violated curfew several times. It might seem minor to you…. But it doesn’t matter. The judge will do whatever we need him to. You’re a suspected Phantom Thief, after all.”

There was a knock on the door. It cracked open. “Er… his lawyer’s here.”

“What? At this hour? Stall them.” The older detective said.

“No. She’s _ literally _ here--Oof!”

Tachibana shoved past the guard. The two detectives startled at her military bearing; Ren looked at her with an expression of profound relief. The woman sat down beside Ren, staring quietly at the two detectives. “I’m Amamiya-kun’s legal counsel. Would one of you care to explain to me why you’re questioning a minor at four in the morning, _ without _ an advocate present?”

The younger detective started to speak - the older one raised his hand, wisely taking over.

“Time is of the essence in the investigation.” The detective said, smoothly. “We were just explaining to Amamiya-kun the importance of cooperating with us. Otherwise, the judge might deem him to be beyond the help of the juvenile justice system, and--”

“Which correctional facility will he be sent to?” Tachibana asked.

“Fuchu.” The detective said, with a slight smirk. Fuchu was a maximum security facility, housing a number of hardened criminals: murderers, arsonists, and yakuza, among others.

Tachibana paused. “Ah. That’s acceptable, then.”

Ren startled. “Wait, what?!”

Tachibana shot Ren a look, immediately silencing him. She then smiled at the two detectives. “My client has nothing further to say.”

>>>

January 2, 20xx 

“What is the meaning of this, Takemi-sensei? If you haven’t noticed, today is a stat holiday and I’m not on call.”

Takemi stared across at Watanabe as they sat in her office. While the veteran internist wasn’t wrong, she wasn’t fooled - his defensive attitude was concealing no small amount of anxiety. Anxiety that spiked when Takemi threw his ‘stolen’ ID badge onto the blotter between them. She said nothing.

Watanabe stared at the badge, wide-eyed. “Th-that was stolen! It doesn’t mean anything!”

“Mm. And the potassium chloride in the syringe is untraceable. I know.” Takemi said. “Interesting, though, that one of your interns working on your academic research put in an order for the medication just recently.”

“This is a witch hunt, Takemi. You don’t have any right to be looking at my research budgeting—“

“Actually, I have _ every _ right. This is one of the administrative duties you tried to bury me in when I came on staff here, remember?”

“This still doesn’t prove anything. There has to be dozens who’ve made the same order.”

“There are.” Takemi said. “But how many others had Masayoshi Shido anonymously admitted _ before _ he had his change of heart? How many then discharged him, only then to publicly readmit him immediately after his press conference?”

Watanabe’s mouth gaped as he tried to think of a lie that would fit those events - as well as all the other lies he had told, recently. His mind failed him.

“Let me take a guess. You’re Shido’s head physician. You’ve bragged about that _ad_ _nauseum_. He called you a few weeks ago, worried that he was going to have a ‘change of heart’. So you admitted him. And then you tried to stop the change, but failed. So someone had you cut him loose. After all, he had to give his acceptance speech - where he implicated himself, but no one else. You got him off the stage and admitted back into the hospital before he could expose the rest of you. And then, that same someone wanted him silenced, via a ‘natural death’. Only now, a man’s been shot in my ICU and Shido’s still alive. So now, Watanabe, you’re waiting anxiously for your next orders.”

“Watanabe-_ sensei _—“

“That’s rather optimistic of you.” Takemi scoffed. “The way I see it, you have two options. The first is you keep on as you are. You pretend you had nothing to do with anything. And then I leak all of the circumstantial evidence I’ve collected. While it won’t be enough to convict you of anything, it’ll be enough to make sure you never work again. Everyone will know you were in the UFP’s pocket from the start, _ and _ that you turned on Shido the second it was convenient. Immoral _ and _ disloyal. They won’t even want you in those yakuza clinics.”

Watanabe started to sweat. “And… the other option?”

“You turn yourself in. Right now. You can say you were coerced, bribed, or threatened into giving up your ID by the UFP, or if you’re feeling brave, whoever specifically put you up to it. I won’t lie to protect you, but I won’t leak any information about the anonymous admission or how you provided the murder weapon. You’ll be seen as weak, but you _ might _still be a physician when it’s all said and done.”

“That’s not much of a deal.”

“It’s the best you’ll get. You turned my ICU into a god damned murder scene. What if one of us got shot instead? A nurse? A _ patient? _ You swore the same oath as I did.” Takemi spat, before shoving her office phone across the desk to Watanabe. “Choose.”

The appeal to both his sense of self-preservation as well as whatever remained of his scruples was effective. He picked up the receiver; Takemi dialed the number for Sae Niijima’s office.

After Watanabe left to meet Sae personally, Kyouya Hayakawa invited himself into Takemi’s office, closing the door behind him.

“How did it go?”

Takemi rolled her eyes. “As expected. He caved, but is doing as little as possible. He’s implicating the UFP but not mentioning who’s directly behind this mess.”

Hayakawa shrugged. “He’s a coward, but not an idiot. If he named whoever’s in charge now, the next bullet would probably be in him. How are you doing with all of this?”

“Also about as good as expected.” Takemi sighed. “Someone was killed in my hospital, Kyouya. In my ICU! My patients and staff were at risk because Watanabe… why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just think it’s really sexy when you say things like ‘my ICU’ and ‘my hospital’.”

“...you’re really weird, Kyouya.”

Hayakawa winked, before glancing at Takemi’s computer. “Do you have much more to do? We were both working on Christmas. I’d like to make up for that, Tae-chan.”

“I can’t. There’s too much to do.” Takemi said, sighing.

“You sure?” Hayakawa asked, fishing around the pocket of his lab coat.

“Absolutely. There’s likely going to be requests for more interviews after Watanabe goes public, I’ll need to get someone to cover his patients, and…” 

Takemi trailed off. Her jaw dropped at the small box the surgeon placed on the blotter between them. It was open, prominently displaying a diamond solitaire ring.

Hayakawa grinned. “I don’t mind having this particular discussion in your office if you’re too busy, but…”

“I… you… …can you pick me up at eight?”

>>>

January 3, 20xx 

“This is just what we needed - thank you, Ohya-san.” Makoto said. She was sitting in her apartment, speaking with the reporter on the phone.

“I’m sorry that all I could get was a name, Niijima-san.” Ohya replied. “She hung up as soon as I started asking questions about Amamiya’s conviction and the events of that night. Something’s got her spooked. Probably Shido’s threats. I would have gone there personally, but…”

“You have to get to the courthouse today. I know.”

Ohya chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that Mishima kid will kill me if I’m late. It’s amazing. He’s pretty meek, usually, but when it comes to Amamiya, well…”

Makoto smiled slightly. “I don’t think any of us are any different, Ohya-san. Thank you for the name. It’s more than enough for us to work with.”

“Good luck.”

_ ‘Keiko Abe… the woman that Ren tried to help.’ _ The basis of Ren’s conviction was her testimony that the young boxer had attacked the two of them, without provocation. Makoto sighed. _ ‘There’s no guarantee that we can get her to recant. She’d be admitting to perjury…’ _

But they had to try.

Makoto glanced down at her phone again, bringing up her text chat with Futaba

**MN: I have the name.**

**FS: Keiko Abe. Here’s her address, phone number, and her smartphone brand preferences.**

**MN: ...I really wish you’d stop listening in on my phone. And why does the last thing matter?**

**FS: Why ** ** _doesn’t_ ** ** it matter?**

>>>

In Chiyoda Ward, Ren was brought out of the courtroom in shackles. The judge of the family court had just ruled that owing to the severity of the charges that Ren faced - in particular, domestic terrorism - as well as his unknown capabilities as ‘The Phantom Thief’, he was to be tried as an adult… and held in Fuchu prison until the time of his trial. This would be at least months from now, owing to the complex nature of Shido’s case.

The hearing was a farce. Ren was hustled into the courtroom with virtually no notice. It was late in the evening, far past the usual time of such hearings; he still wore his increasingly wrinkled Shujin uniform. He had missed yet another meal due to ‘traffic problems’ and ‘paperwork’ and other various excuses. Despite the presence of his ‘legal counsel’, his treatment hadn’t gotten much better.

Everything was going as planned.

Tachibana paused in the foyer of the courthouse. She looked at the guards. “I’ll be having a word in private with my client.”

The guards exchanged glances - word had gotten out as to who exactly Rui Tachibana was. They took position at the courthouse foyer, leaving her and Ren alone in the hall.

Ren sighed. “I hope this works. Did Iwai confirm--”

The force of Tachibana’s slap knocked Ren’s glasses off his face. Ren stumbled, wincing.

“Jesus! Can you warn me, first? Honestly…”

Tachibana frowned. “I did. I told you before the hearing that we’d likely need to freshen up the bruise that the detective gave you.”

“I thought you meant make-up or something?”

“Do I look like the kind of person that carries a kit around?”

Ren collected his glasses from the floor, sliding them back on. “I’m glad these things are just for show. The lens is cracked.” He winced as Tachibana grabbed his chin, inspecting the ‘freshened up’ bruise and the cracked glasses, slightly askew on the teen’s pretty face.

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

Tachibana put a hand on Ren’s shoulder, quickly marching him towards the door of the courthouse.

“H-hey! His face, what are you--” One of the prosecutors in charge of Ren’s case stepped forward.

“Cover him up! You can’t--” A guard approached, holding a jacket to cover Ren’s face

The door thudded open. Tachibana walked Ren towards the waiting transport - they were intercepted by Ichiko Ohya and Yuuki Mishima.

Ohya shoved a video camera towards Ren’s face as Mishima’s SLR rapidly clicked and flashed, taking dozens of pictures. “Excuse me! Excuse me, are you the Phantom Thief suspect?”

“I am--”

The prosecutor caught up. “Stop! Stop! He is an important witness in an ongoing investigation, and--”

“You’re the prosecutor in charge of the case? You mean the Shido case, don’t you?”

“I can’t--”

“Why have you been mistreating this witness, if he’s so important? Are… are there _ bruises _ on his face?! Why is the Ministry of Justice beating a minor to extract information? He’s even wearing his school uniform!”

“Get him out of here!”

>>>

January 4, 20xx 

“In a new development, an individual identified as the suspected Phantom Thief is currently being held in custody by authorities. Not much is known about the suspect. However, civil unrest is mounting due to the startling realization that he is not only a highschool student, but is being held in Fuchu prison rather than the Tama juvenile facility. The judge who made the ruling has extensive ties to the UFP, and the move is being seen as an attempt to either silence the youth, or to manipulate his testimony. Reportedly, the youth has also been badly mistreated…”

Sugimura shut the TV off in disgust before sitting down on his sofa, rubbing his face with his hands. The original plan was to have this ‘Phantom Thief’ transported to Fuchu, and then to _ break _ him. Now, if anything unusual happened, he would be canonized as a martyr.

He scratched the stubble on his usually clean-shaven face. Public unrest was already stirring. The boy’s death would force it to a boiling point. But if he really was the Phantom Thief, and his testimony wasn’t tailored to what the UFP needed, they were finished anyway.

And on top of that, his useless son, Hisahito, recognized the boy as the ‘Akira’ who interfered with him and Haru Okumura in Shujin’s infirmary.

So, it wasn’t that difficult of a decision.

Sugimura picked up his phone.

“Tell our man in Fuchu to proceed.”

>>>

January 5, 20xx 

Ren stepped out of processing at Fuchu, wearing the mint-green uniform he had been issued as the newest inmate at the adult correctional facility. He blinked, as he was led to a single-occupancy cell in the general population wing.

“I thought I was going to solitary confinement…?” Ren asked the guard with the perpetual scowl.

“You thought wrong, kid. Get in the fucking cell. Don’t get too comfortable, though. Meal time’s in 5 minutes. You should enjoy it. Never know when it’s going to be your last one.” He said, in an attempt at being cryptic.

Ren remained silent.

True to the guard’s word, he was led to the cafeteria with all the other inmates - some of which regarded Ren with near-predatory glares. It made the teenager think of the American movie he liked so much, ‘_ The Shawshank Redemption’ _.

Ren accepted his meal tray, taking a seat at an empty table. He wisely kept his eyes on his tray - it seemed that making eye contact here might be taken as a challenge. He felt the stares burning into his head. It was because of this that Ren didn’t notice the single inmate behind him, studying him while reaching into his pocket to grip his improvised shiv, carved from a toothbrush.

He stood up from his seat, moving quickly toward Ren’s back.

“Hey, you that boxer kid?” A burly looking man covered in tattoos abruptly plopped down beside Ren, grinning. He dropped his tray onto the table, where they were joined by several other equally-tattooed men. They gave quick, baleful glares in every direction around Ren - the malevolent attention on the teen instantly melted away.

In the background, another member of the gang put a ‘friendly’ arm around the shoulder of the would-be assassin, leading him away.

Ren blinked. “Yeah. That’s me. Ren Amamiya.”

“Welcome to Fuchu, kid. Eikichi Yamamoto. So how’s that fucker Iwai doing? He asked me and the boys to look after you while you’re here.”

>>>

January 14, 20xx 

“P-please! I’m collecting signatures to help my friend… He’s been wrongfully convicted, and…” Yuuki Mishima’s quiet voice trailed off, watching yet another person pass him by in Shibuya. It wasn’t that people weren’t outraged with Ren’s treatment. In fact, when the news broke that he was being forced into an adult correctional facility on little to no evidence due to the decision of a UFP-linked judge, riots nearly broke out.

Yuuki was having trouble collecting signatures simply because of his crippling social anxiety. He was alone, and the crowds were so huge, and his voice seemed so _ small _…

“I’ll sign.” 

Yuuki blinked, looking up - he involuntarily recoiled at the sight of his former bully, Kentaro Yamada. The boy had apologized to him months ago, but at the time, Yuuki only accepted out of shock. They hadn’t really spoken since then.

“Oh. Ah, Yamada-senpai. Th-thank you…”

“The boys’ll sign, too.” Yamada said, nodding. The remainder of the gang approached, eagerly taking the clipboard. “Now… Why don’t you try askin’ again?”

“R-right. Uhm, ex… excuse me. Can you just…”

Yamada grinned. “Come on, man! Raise your voice! Aren’t you one of us, too?! No one ignores one of aniki’s boys!”

“What?!”

“Aniki says that you and that camera saved his life, back in October. Some pictures you took around Okumura Foods. That makes you one of us. We got your back, Yuukun.”

Yuuki blinked in surprise. _ ‘...One of you?’ _

Slowly, he smiled. He watched as Yamada and the rest took a few pages out of the petition to start collecting signatures, themselves.

“...Right… ...right! Excuse me! Please! Have you heard about the suspected ‘Phantom Thief’? I’m collecting signatures to…”

>>>

January 15, 20xx 

Shiho and Ann shared lunch at the Sea Green Cafe in Odawara, a smaller city southwest of Tokyo.

“So, Blondie. Fuck, kill, or marry?”

Ann frowned, taking a sip of her maple latte. “Shiho, you’re supposed to name a celebrity or something if you want to play that game.”

“I’m talking about Ren, once he gets out.”

Ann nearly performed a spit-take, coughing and choking. “Shiho…”

“You know, I really don’t know how I still manage to surprise you with stuff like this.” Shiho said, smirking.

Ann smiled, once she managed to clear her throat. “You haven’t joked about us in awhile.”

Shiho shrugged. “RyuRyu and Mako-chan have been more amusing. I mean, the whole thing with Ryuji showing up at the Niijima residence to cook dinner was _ amazing _.”

“You’re the one that put him up to it.” Ann said, laughing.

“In my defense, Sae really wasn’t specific when she said that Ryuji had to be ‘mindful of the fact that Makoto has entrance exams’ and that she was ‘really very busy, and barely had time to take care of herself, let alone date’.” Shiho said.

Ann snorted. “Most people would interpret that as ‘stop dating my sister’. You made sure he interpreted it as ‘please, come over and cook us dinner regularly.’”

“Eh. It worked out pretty well though, didn’t it? Sae’s actually okay with RyuRyu, now. And as for you and the champ… well. Joking’s a good sign. It means that I’m feeling pretty optimistic about us getting him out.” Shiho said, smiling genuinely.

“Mm.” Ann said, nodding. Things _ were _ looking better. With extensive public pressure, Ren had been transferred to the Tama Juvenile Training School, a youth correctional facility. On Sae’s last update, she said that he seemed to be doing well. Iwai’s friends in Fuchu seemed sorry to see the boxer go, though. Ann hoped he hadn’t gained any tattoos…

“So?” Shiho asked.

“Hm?”

“Fuck, kill, or marry?” Shiho asked, grinning.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Honestly? Probably all three.”

The wait staff at the cafe changed shifts. A young woman in her mid-twenties approached the two girls.

“Ah, hello. Reina-san’s headed off shift. Please let me know if you need anything. I’m Keiko Abe…”

Ann bit her lip. This was why they had come to Odawara. “Actually, Abe-san. There _ is _ something…”

>>>

January 31, 20xx 

Sugimura was shown into the headquarters of Okumura Foods. This was his last chance. Public opinion had completely turned against the UFP; they were barely hanging onto a majority government at this point with the number of resignations that had happened. Watanabe had gone public less than a week ago, claiming he had been ‘coerced’ by the UFP to try to silence Shido. While the craven physician hadn’t explicitly named Sugimura, the deceased hit man’s cell phone had the number of his Sugimura’s political office as his last received call - Sugimura was now under heavy scrutiny.

On top of that, their attempted character assassination of the suspected Phantom Thief was a complete and utter failure - there were even ongoing proceedings to overturn his assault conviction, the one that Shido fabricated.

He was meeting with Haru Okumura to play his last card.

“Sugimura-san. How can I help you?” Haru asked, standing up in greeting, before sitting back down at the desk that once belonged to her father.

Sugimura glanced warily at Tachibana, who casually lounged on the sofa nearby. He made a mental note to ensure that his threats were purely verbal in the presence of Haru’s ‘assistant’. He took a seat across the desk, putting on a friendly smile.

“It’s more about what we can do for each other, Haru-chan.” Sugimura said.

To her credit, Haru didn’t roll her eyes at the familiar use of her name - a thinly-veiled and clumsy attempt to remind her of her age. “Oh? What do you mean?”

“An alliance between us could still be mutually beneficial.” Sugimura said. “As you know, I am the current Minister of Finance, and effectively in charge of the majority government with Shido-san’s continued… poor health. Surely Okumura Foods could use a friend in high places?”

“I decline.” Haru said, immediately, with a little smile.

“I thought you might say that. So I thought I’d bring this by.” Sugimura reached into his pocket. Tachibana was immediately at his side, her grip like iron on his wrist. “It’s a phone! A phone!” Sugimura yelled, in a higher pitch than he would have liked.

He coughed as Tachibana released his hand. “A-anyway…”

He set it to play a file on the speaker.

It played a recording of a conversation between Akechi and one of Sugimura’s agents.

_ “Yes. Haru Okumura was quite insistent that we hire the mercenaries with our contacts and funds. She believes that the media’s eye is too focused on Okumura Foods currently, and…” _

Sugimura smiled. “So, Haru-chan. I’m sure that we can come to an arrangement. I think I could use your support and resources to help combat this witch hunt being conducted against me and my company.”

Haru glanced at Sugimura’s phone with a condescending smile. “Really? You think that a recorded conversation between a wanted criminal and some unknown agent that mentions my name is enough?”

“This, combined with multiple dealings I’ve had with your father. The media think they’ve gotten the full Okumura story. I have more. Not enough to put you in prison - after all, these were your father’s dealings. But it’d be a shame if they affected your attempts to rebrand the company.”

“And what dealings are these?”

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s very complicated. Shell corporations and trust funds and all that.” Sugimura said, smiling.

Haru blinked. “Oh. You mean these ones?”

Haru slid a tablet across the desk to Sugimura. “Takakura-san took the liberty of reviewing these with me earlier in the week. We released a press release earlier today, made our apologies, and are paying the fines.”

“I… ...what?”

Haru shrugged. “At a moderate loss, unfortunately. So we saw fit to diversify the company portfolio a bit. If you swipe the tablet, you’ll see that we’ve acquired a majority interest in a few charitable foundations, trusts, and corporations. It’s all very technical. I apologize if you don’t understand. Though, oddly enough, you yourself invested in most of these. We noticed some irregularities with the book keeping… in particular, irregularities involving Masayoshi Shido’s ‘resources’. So we submitted these to the authorities for review.”

Sugimura’s jaw dropped, recalling the conversation he had with his political staffer over a month ago.

_ ‘That’s correct, sir. All of your dealings with Shido’s… ...resources... were generally through various charitable foundations, trust funds, and shell corporations. In many of them, you don’t even own the majority share. No ‘transaction’ was completed through a single account, so it should be nearly impossible to trace anything back to you. Even in the kind of investigation the SID could launch into Shido, they simply can’t ask for blanket access to so many seemingly unrelated companies and accounts. It would be unconstitutional.’ _

“...I… you can’t! It’s unconstitutional!”

“Hm? Why? We made some legitimate acquisitions, only to find that we may have stumbled into illegal activity. So we’re merely performing our due diligence on new company acquisitions. All perfectly legal.” Haru’s phone chimed. “Ah. Rui-san? Could you please escort Sugimura-san out? Sae-san’s waiting to inform him of his arrest.”

>>>

February 5, 20xx 

Tama Juvenile Training School was one of Japan’s oldest and well-established reformatories. There were usually around 150 or so ‘residents’, generally aged 15-20. It was a gentler environment than the adult facilities, focused strongly on rehabilitation. The weeks were tightly regimented, with scheduled activity essentially taking them from 0700 to 2130 each day.

The routine suited Ren just fine. It was the free time that was challenging. His workouts occupied him somewhat, but otherwise, his choices were limited - educational programs on the computers, the communal television that played family-friendly programming only, or reading.

So, Sundays were challenging. It was their ‘free’ day, but Ren certainly couldn’t exercise for 24 hours. So he did a lot of reading.

Ren glanced up from his book - _ ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ - _to do the other thing he did during the boredom: reminisce. He had been allowed to put up pictures of his family, his friends. Ann. He wasn’t allowed to contact them due to his involvement in the Shido case. 

_ ‘What are you up to today, Songbird…?’ _

“Amamiya-kun. You have a visitor.” One of the guards said, nodding to the boy from the entrance to his room. “Your lawyer.”

“Oh. Thanks, Oda-san.” Ren said, standing. He followed the guard to the visiting area, where Sae Niijima waited behind the glass to speak with him.

Sae smiled at him. She looked tired, as usual. But something was different - she seemed _ relaxed _.

“Amamiya-kun. I have some good news for you, today. First of all… Shido’s prosecution is going forward as planned. He’ll likely be found guilty. Furthermore, the UFP has completely collapsed. Sugimura was arrested, and there isn’t anyone brave enough to stand up as a successor. A non-confidence motion was passed in the Diet and a new election will be called soon.”

Ren blinked. “...Wait. Really? I haven’t given my testimony yet.”

“That’s the other news.” Sae said. “Goro Akechi turned himself in.”

“...Wait. What? Why? After almost six weeks on the run?” Ren asked, incredulous.

“He was busy.” Sae said, shaking her head. “He found Wakaba Isshiki’s research. And moreover, he was ‘convincing’ certain members of the UFP to resign…”

“...Why?”

“That’s the thing, Amamiya-kun. He’s handed over the research already, and he’s agreed to take your place to testify against Shido. Akechi, the research, and Shido’s confession essentially closes the case. Your testimony isn’t needed anymore. And, since we’ve already overturned your earlier conviction… you’re a free man.” Sae said.

Ren furrowed his brow. “I’m sensing a catch.”

“He wants to speak with you, first.”

>>>

February 13, 20xx 

Ren accompanied Sae to an interview room in Tama. They paused, outside the door.

“He’s in there, Amamiya-kun.”

Ren nodded, putting his hand on the doorknob. “Thanks, Sae-san.”

“The deal was that he could speak to you in private, no recording of any kind. If he gives you any trouble…”

“I’ll handle it.” Ren said.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Sae replied, sighing. “Didn’t you mention that you two nearly killed each other in the Metaverse? Just remember that you have a clean record, now. Try to keep it that way.”

Ren smiled. “I’ll try.”

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

Akechi looked up from his seat at the single table in the room, his shackled hands in front of him on the surface. He looked at Ren, wearing his civilian outfit - his black blazer, sweater, and jeans. He glanced down ruefully at his prison uniform.

“Heh. To think. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, walking free, while the Detective Prince is wearing prison greens and shackles…” Akechi said.

Ren sat down across from Akechi. He looked at Akechi warily.

“You wanted to talk, Akechi. So talk.” Ren said. “I know I’m walking free because of you, but the last time we saw each other, you tried to make me kill almost everyone I cared about. So if you expect me to say--”

“...thank you.” Akechi said, quietly.

“...Excuse me?” Ren said, blinking.

Akechi sighed. “I said, thank you. I… remember everything. Everything that happened in Mementos.”

“I was wondering about that.” Ren said. “How did you end up in there?”

“The god that granted me my power, he was… displeased with my failure to dispatch you and your friends.” Akechi said. “I tried to resist, but he simply inflicted pain and illusions on me until I willingly gave up both my identity and my powers. When the Metaverse disappeared - your actions, I presume - I regained my senses.”

Akechi looked ill. “The memory of me standing placidly beside Shido in Mementos nearly drove me mad. I wanted to kill him. I almost did, in fact. But when you changed the hearts of the masses… that included me. I not only regained my identity, but I also felt _ guilt _. I felt things that I thought I had sealed away for years... And moreover, the thought of owing you of all people a debt was simply unpalatable to me. So, as I told Sae-san, I busied myself with finding evidence that linked Shido to the Metaverse. Wakaba Isshiki’s research. I’ll also be testifying… and admitting to my own crimes.”

Ren frowned. “...They could execute you, Akechi. They’ve made exceptions for minors when it comes to capital crimes.”

Akechi rolled his eyes. “The last thing I need is you feeling sorry for me, Amamiya. ...Heh. I find myself wondering from time to time, if things had been different, if we could have been real friends.”

The two considered each other for a moment, before simultaneously shaking their heads.

“No. You’re _ way _ too annoying.”

“I could say the same thing.”

Akechi and Ren both laughed; Ren pushed his chair back from the table. “If that’s everything, Akechi… Good luck. You should consider us even.”

“Goodbye, Amamiya. Thank you. And I’m sorry, for what it’s worth.”

Ren nodded. He paused, his hand on the doorknob.

_ ‘I wanted to kill him. I almost did.’ _

“Akechi.”

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to be near Tokyo University Hospital on Christmas Eve?” Ren asked.

Akechi raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to know?”

Ren imagined Akechi lying prone, in the parking structure across from the ICU, rifle in his hands. He would have been able to see Shido in his crosshairs; moreover, he would have seen the hitman approach, ready to do the job for him. It would have been easy. He could have taken the shot and killed Shido, not only taking his vengeance but making it that much more difficult for Ren’s friends to topple the UFP and get him out of jail. Or he simply could have let the hitman do his job.

If he had been there, Akechi would have had to make two decisions.

First, he would have had to decide not to kill his father personally. Second, he would have had to decide to save the man’s life.

Who was Goro Akechi? Detective Prince, or Black Mask? Was he like himself, someone put into a situation where his own nature didn’t allow him a choice?

What was the nature of a man who put aside his own vengeance to save not only the father he hated, but also his former rival?

In Akechi, Ren saw someone who was at the beginning of a journey to figure out the answers to these questions.

The boxer decided it wasn’t his place to interfere.

“...No. I don’t think I really do. See you around, flatfoot.”

>>>

Ren paused outside the door to Leblanc in the last light of the setting sun, hesitating with his hand on the doorknob. _ ‘...What expression is she going to show me? Happy? Angry…?’ _

“Heh…” Sojiro laughed, amused at Ren’s hesitation. “It takes me five minutes to park the car, and you’re still just standing here? Go on, kid. She’s waiting. Don’t you want to see her?”

“More than you’d believe.” Ren said, with a resigned smile. _ ‘Even an angry Ann is still Ann.’ _

He pushed the door open. The familiar ring of the bell hanging from above the door announced his entry to the gathered Phantom Thieves.

Makoto and Futaba smiled happily, waving from the booth where they sat, facing the door. Yusuke gave Ren a cool smile and casual wave of the hand, as if the artist never had any doubt he was coming home. Haru smiled, her hands clasped at her chest; Ryuji and Shiho just grinned broadly at Ren, before turning to Ann, seated across from them.

Ann.

Ren spotted her, facing the opposite direction. Her trademark twintails bounced as she stood and turned to face him. She smiled a little as everyone else fell silent.

“Hey there!”

For Ren, time slowed to a halt. He felt like it was the first day he met her again; there was no juxtaposition of rain and a dreary sky against her golden locks and cerulean eyes this time. Instead, the rest of Leblanc simply seemed to fade into a noiseless grey. It didn’t make sense, really. She was so familiar to him. The way she looked; her smile. But right now, he drank in every detail of her. The way her baseball jacket was draped just _ so _ across her slender shoulders; the scuffs on her red sneakers. The gentle sound of her feet against the floor as she approached.

Every single little thing mattered. Like when his father met his mother, he felt the hand of God on his shoulder.

_ ‘...If I’m with her, I’m home.’ _

She approached him, crossing the floor of Leblanc. She came to a halt in front of him, peering up at him with a little smile on her face.

“...Hey, Songbird.” Ren looked down at her, unsure of whether to hug her, kiss her, apologize, or all three. He was frozen. He settled for returning a soft smile. He just stared at her, irrationally afraid that if he looked away, she’d be gone.

>>>

Ann stood silently, looking up at him. She studied his grey eyes. Right now, they were warm and gentle, behind the glasses she knew to be fake. She registered the crack in the lens; a brief distraction from the face that fascinated her, framed by his impossible-to-tame black hair. It was strange. She was also unsure of herself at this moment.

_ ‘Fuck, kill, or marry?’ _

Shiho had such an irreverent sense of humor. But as usual, the volleyball player also had a way of hitting at the basic truth of the matter. Ann had been barely holding it all together for the past six weeks. She had run the whole spectrum: heartache and despair, love and hope, irritation and anger. Even after they received news from Sae that he was going to be released, Ann worried herself sick about him.

What was six weeks apart with no communication going to do?

Was kind of shape was he going to be in? Were they feeding him well enough? What about his physical safety while in detention?

And here he was. He seemed well, wearing his casual clothes and a little smile.

“...Hey, Songbird.” He said, as if he was just arriving home to find her waiting in Leblanc for him on an average day. Like he was just casually returning from running one of the many miscellaneous errands the boxer found himself roped into. Not at all like he had been gone for weeks. As if he hadn’t just left her with nothing but a lie of omission, a heartbreaking letter, and an attic full of things that reminded her of him.

And here he was. Just staring at her like it was nothing at all. 

Her heart pounded. Her face felt hot. Her fists clenched.

She screwed her eyes shut, biting her lip.

_ ‘Fuck, kill, or marry?’ _

_ ‘Honestly? Probably all three.’ _

>>>

Ren’s felt his heart sink as Ann bit her lip and shut her eyes. He could see tears starting to collect at the corner of her eyelids. He moved towards her to hold her, to dab away the tears. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if the first thing he did on their reunion was making her sad. He frantically searched for the right words. As he got close, her face snapped back up, locking onto him like a boyfriend-seeking missile. His fighting instinct immediately reported _ danger _.

_ ‘Oh shit. Not sad. Pissed—.’ _

Her eyes narrowed. Her arm blurred faster than one of Kaname’s jabs.

A resounding slap echoed across the small café, followed by the sound of his battered fake glasses shattering into a million pieces against the wall. Ren staggered, his cheek stinging from the open-handed blow he had received. The gathered friends stared in open-mouthed shock.

Shiho, had her phone out and recording from the start. Her free hand went over her mouth as she started nudging Ryuji repeatedly with her elbow in the universal sign for _ ‘hoshit did you see that?!?! Daaaaaayum!’ _

Ren stared at Ann, eyes wide. _ ‘Okay, yep. Angry Ann it is—!!' _

He was suddenly forced to drop his bag to catch the blonde girl, who left her feet to throw her arms over his shoulders. She left keeping them both upright entirely to Ren, turning the entirety of her focus to kissing him with six weeks of pent up emotion. Her lips dashed against his cheek, his mouth, anything she could get in contact with.

As she slid down to her feet, she grasped him by his neck, pulling Ren’s face down to a convenient angle so that she could kiss him again._ Properly _. Her other hand fisted the lapel of his blazer.

Ryuji winced, as Shiho continued grinning and elbowing slash nudging him.

Futaba protested as both Makoto and Sojiro covered her eyes.

Finally breaking the kiss, Ann continued holding him by his blazer, keeping his face scant centimetres from her own. She spoke softly, her eyes half-closed, her delicate cheeks rosy.

“You are _ never _ leaving me like that again.”

Ren nodded wide-eyed and breathless. His head swam. He nodded vaguely, just barely registering what was said. That had been a lot of heat, and tongue, and… well, Ann.

Ann sighed, smiling in pleasure as she started to nuzzle his neck and collar, indulging in his scent.

The rest of the group, satisfied any further violence was over, crowded around, greeting Ren. Sojiro got them settled around a table to catch up before the man left to collect the food and drinks for the party.

“Well, you look alright.” Ann said, brightly. She clung to his arm, seemingly determined to sit as close as possible to him without actually sitting on his lap. She continued, her voice tinged with concern. “…But... have you lost weight? You seem different…”

“Yeah. Maybe you slapped some pounds into next year.” He rubbed his cheek, still wincing a bit.

Shiho grinned, holding up her phone. “Got it all on camera!”

“Oooooh. A critical hit.” Futaba said. “Hey, can you send me that?”

Within mere moments of Shiho texting Futaba, an animated gif of Ren getting slapped was immediately circulated on the group chat.

“Ooh, awesome, I’m gonna make this my lock screen.” Ryuji crowed.

Ren shrugged. “That’s fine. Here’s mine.”

Ren showed his phone - it was Ryuji, working industriously in the kitchen of the Niijima residence while wearing a frilly pink apron. Ryuji’s jaw dropped. He immediately looked to Makoto with an expression of abject betrayal.

“You… you said you were gonna delete that…”

Makoto, her face pink, stammered. “I.. ..I thought it was really sweet, and… ...Wait. Ren, how did you even _ get _ that?”

Futaba whistled innocently.

As Makoto ground her knuckles on top of Futaba’s head in an appropriately-hard noogie, she looked over at Ren curiously. “Come to think of it, Ren… You _ do _look different. Yusuke, what do you think? You usually have an eye for this sort of thing.”

Yusuke took a moment to stare at Ren, almost critically. “…Broader at the shoulders. It makes him look thinner at the waist. He’s a little taller, too.”

Ren shrugged. “There wasn’t a whole lot to do for the first three weeks at Fuchu. It’s an adult correctional facility, so I didn’t have classes. Just self-study and working out.”

Haru frowned, looking concerned. “That’s right… The UFP tried to bury you in an adult prison for awhile, didn’t they? Was it okay? Weren’t you targeted because of your age?”

“Not really. Iwai really came through. He had… uh, _ associates _ in Fuchu look out for me. So all I did was read, study, and work out. There was even a heavy bag, and as you can imagine, boxing is actually pretty common among that population. Had plenty of people to train with. At Tama, it was pretty much the same.” Ren said. “There were classes, but I still spent a lot of time just training.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened. “So you hung out with yakuza and got ripped in prison? Dude, that’s like the hardest of hardcore stereotypes.”

Futaba planted her hands on the table excitedly. “Did you get shivved with a shank!? Or shanked with a shiv?!”

“Did you get tattoos?!” Ryuji asked, grinning.

“Maybe. Are you just trying to get me to take my shirt off, buddy?”

As Ryuji and Ren fell back into their usual routine, Ann eyed her boyfriend more carefully. The boxer did seem to fill out his blazer better, now, particularly across the chest and shoulders. And when she launched herself into him, it felt like she was hitting just the right amount of _ solid _. Like he could have held her off the ground for as long as Ann wanted. She moistened her lips, her mouth feeling a little dry.

He was filling out that tall frame, gradually leaving the descriptor of ‘lanky’ behind. He had been _ boyishly _attractive before, but now... She quickly looked away as Ren started to turn to her.

He didn’t notice her scrutiny. But Shiho did. The trolly ravenette smirked at Ann, mouthing the word ‘sploosh’.

Ann scowled at her bestie and quickly changed the subject.

“So, what’s the Boss getting, anyway? He’s taking awhile.” Ann said, smiling. She tried _ very _ hard not to think about how Ren felt up against her, and how that made her think of _ other _ times where he was up against her.

“I dunno. But it’s gonna be awesome!” Ryuji said. “Everyone’s back together! It’s time to celebrate!”

Haru’s face fell. “...Everyone.”

Futaba looked downcast. “_ Almost _ everyone…”

“Right… Morgana.” Ann sighed.

Ren squeezed Ann’s hand. “Yeah… He rallied us, when the Grail turned out to be that monster…”

“We even considered what he would have done when we learned about your arrest.” Makoto said, biting her lip.

“He truly was the engine of the Phantom Thieves…” Yusuke said.

Futaba let the obvious pun pass. “I wish I could see Mona again…”

The bell above the door rang.

Ryuji glanced up briefly. “Oh. Hey, Mona.” His gaze dropped back to the floor.

“...”

“Wait. Mona?!”

“Someone call for me?”

“What are you doing here?! Didn’t you disappear?!” Ann exclaimed.

“Looks like the only one who disappeared was the Metaverse version.” Mona said, his tail swishing.

“So you remained in reality… as a cat?”

Mona nodded. “I woke up in Shibuya right after, looking like this.”

Ryuji blinked. “Wait. That doesn’t make any sense. Why didn’t you come back right away?”

Mona sighed. “Well, it was right after I said that big, dramatic goodbye. The timing seemed all wrong.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “...Timing?”

“Yeah, timing. I mean, you got all those cool lines during the last few fights.” Mona said, looking at Ren. “There was the whole ‘Light Brigade’ thing, and then the ‘spark of rebellion’ speech, and then you even used the word ‘begone’. Without the timing, all of those lines would have been pretty lame.”

Futaba nodded sagely. “He’s not wrong, Ren-ni. The number of cliches and tropes you used during the last battle was higher than all the previous Palaces combined. You even cosplayed as your Persona at the very end.”

“It wasn’t cosplay! You can’t be serious— Gremlin, did you make _ charts _?”

Futaba beamed, holding up her phone. She had indeed made a series of charts documenting the number of cliches, tropes, and slightly _ chunibyo _ moments he had in the past several Palaces.

Yusuke looked them over, impressed. “Amazing. You are quite the ‘drama empress’, Ren.”

“That’s drama queen— never mind! I’m neither!” Ren snapped. He coughed, clearing his throat before looking at Mona. “So what do you mean by timing?”

“Well, I was waiting for someone to say something like what Futaba said. You know, like ‘I wish I could see Mona again’, or something. It took six weeks for something that I thought was worthy, with the right timing—”

“You were watching us this entire time?!” Makoto shouted.

“What? It’s not a big deal. I would have stepped in if I thought you guys needed my help. I mean, you did cut it close a few times, but it worked out. Anyway, do you all mind if I take a shower before you hug me? I’m kinda dirty.”

Yusuke shook his head. “Unforgivable…”

“We want our tears back!” Haru yelled.

Futaba hopped out of the booth, pinching Mona’s cheeks. She was smiling, though, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Sh… shhhtop it!” Mona yelled, batting at Futaba’s hands.

Ren laughed. “This… this is perfect, now.”

Futaba let go of Mona’s cheeks, rubbing his ears affectionately. “Yeah…”

Sojiro returned, carrying the food. He blinked. “Oh! Your cat’s back! Heh. I missed the little guy.”

Mona meowed. “And I missed fatty tuna. Sushi! Is there sushi in those bags?!”

“Cute little fella.” Sojiro said, amused. “Here.”

He gave Mona a piece of dried jerky.

“This isn’t… oh, hey. This is good…”

>>>

A short time later, the group was celebrating over pizza, cake, and other junk food. “So, when are you coming back to school?” Ryuji asked.

“Not until Wednesday.” Ren said. “They’re giving me a day to get settled back in.”

“Not that I am displeased to see you back, Ren… but why are you finishing out your year here, rather than heading back to Kamakura?” Yusuke asked. “You must miss your home.”

“I do.” Ren said. “But this is home, too. And it’s easier for me to just finish the year out here than trying to transfer right now.”

“But you still have to go back in March, don’t you…?” Ann murmured.

Ryuji sighed. “Can’t you just… finish high school here? I mean, we cleared your name, but people at your old school… aren’t some of them gonna just label you to try to save face?”

“Probably.” Ren said. “But that kind of stuff doesn’t bother me. I still have all of you guys.”

“It still sucks.” Futaba muttered. “We just got you back.”

A pall settled over the group.

Ryuji grinned, deciding to brighten the mood. “Hey. On the plus side, if Ren isn’t around tomorrow, doesn’t that mean my chances of getting chocolate is higher?”

Shiho raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you only be concerned with getting chocolate from _ one _ person, RyuRyu?”

Ryuji blinked, before brightening. It was his first Valentine’s Day with an actual girlfriend. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. “W-well, Makoto’s been really busy and stuff with exams, so… but I’d love it if… ...right?”

Makoto was studiously ignoring Ryuji. “Er… anyway, Boss. What’s in the last bag, there?”

“Ah… Well. It’s the reason I was late. Okita-san at the liquor store saw that I was buying food for a celebration. He heard that the kid was coming back, so he gave me this bottle of sake. I tried telling him you’re all underage…” Sojiro frowned at Ryuji’s hopeful look. “Not a chance in hell, Ryuji. Your mom would kill me if she found out.”

“Ah, fine. Well, what about RenRen then? It’s a super special occasion.” Ryuji said.

Ren looked at Sojiro, also _ very _ hopeful.

Sojiro sighed. “One. You get _ one _ small cup.”

“Oh! What about—“ Futaba started to ask.

“Never.” Sojiro said. “Not until you’re thirty.”

“The legal age is twenty, tou-san!”

“Calling me dad in any form isn’t going to work for this.”

Ann frowned, looking over at Makoto as Sojiro poured the small measure of sake. The brunette girl seemed quite worried about something. She was about to ask, when she suddenly recalled something about Ren.

_ ‘Fourth, he can’t hold alcohol. Not even a little.’ _

>>>

“Nn… Songbirb…” Ren mumbled, as Ann tucked him into his bed. She rolled her eyes, but smiled fondly at him. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. He was incredibly, foolishly affectionate when he was drunk. Also quite clingy.

“Seriously, Wildcard? One drink leads to this…?” Ann mused. She then yelped in surprise; she glanced down to see Ren’s hand on her thigh. Affectionate, clingy, and handsy, apparently. She tucked him back in, before heading downstairs. 

Makoto was there, waiting for her.

“Makoto? What are you still doing here?”

“Chocolate! You have to help me make chocolate!”

>>>

“So, it’s actually pretty easy.” Ann whisked the scalded cream into the bittersweet chocolate. “Just whisk it until it’s smooth, and then pour it into the moulds. You can add that lemon zest you have ready now, too.”

“Why lemon?” Shiho asked, sitting on the other side of the island from Ann and Makoto. The three were gathered in the Takamaki residence, making chocolate. At least, Ann and Makoto were.

“Ryuji mentioned he likes lemons soaked in honey, once. Before we were dating, back when we were going on ‘practice dates’.” Makoto said, carefully following Ann’s directions. “So I’m going to mix in the zest, and then drizzle some honey over the top.”

“Pretty attentive of you, Mako-chan.” Shiho said.

“Speaking of attentive.” Ann said.

Shiho hissed as Ann squirted her with a small spray bottle she kept handy.

“Don’t think I don’t see you trying to come around to this side of the kitchen, Shiho.” Ann said, warily.

“Oh come on, Blondie. My cookies are great.”

Ann arched an eyebrow. She reached over, picking up one of the cookies that Shiho had brought over as a sample. It was roughly the colour of charred oak. Ann hefted the ‘treat’ in her hand, eyeing the walnuts she had on the cutting board in front of her.

The model slammed the cookie down onto the walnuts, crushing them. She held up the intact cookie in front of Shiho’s face.

“...well. I didn’t say they were great for _ eating _. Have you ever seen nuts crushed so perfectly?!” Shiho said, grinning.

Ann shook her head, laughing. She finished pouring the chocolate into the moulds for her batch, glancing over at how Makoto was doing. True to the brunette’s nature, she had followed the directions to the letter - they looked great.

“Honestly, Makoto, I don’t know why you asked for my help. I barely did anything.”

Makoto wrung her hands, looking very much _ not _ like the calm and collected senpai. “I uh… Wanted to talk to you about something. Concerning Ryuji.”

Ann and Shiho blinked.

“This sounds serious.” Shiho said. “Is everything alright? I thought your sister approved, now.”

“She does! She does… It’s just…”

Makoto stopped wringing her hands, instead starting to needlessly organize her unused chunks of chocolate and lemon zest. She glanced quickly at Ann before looking back down at the kitchen island.

“Makoto…?” Ann asked, gently.

Makoto took a deep breath. She looked up, with a sternly gallant expression as she summoned up her courage. “Ann, when did you and Amamiya-kun…”

Shiho blinked. “_ Amamiya-kun _? You haven’t called him that since last year--”

Makoto quickly spat it out. “When did you and Amamiya-kun decideitwasanappropriatetimetostartengaginginsexualintercourse?”

Shiho’s mouth slowly opened in shock.

Ann’s hand limply dropped Shiho’s cookie, where it struck the ground with an astonishingly loud thud (and remained intact). The noise seemed to perfectly accentuate Makoto’s statement.

Makoto’s hands shook; the third-year looked like she was trying to will herself back into the Metaverse.

“Er… I… think you should field this carefully, Blondie.” Shiho said. She knew this wasn’t quite the right time for mockery.

Ann coughed, thinking back to her first time with Ren. “Uhm, Makoto… We aren’t maybe the _ best _ example to follow.”

“...Why?” Makoto asked, curiously. “You two are so comfortable around each other. I imagine that you had a good relationship before, and.. …”

Ann looked away innocently. “Y-yeah. A really good, established relationship.”

Shiho nodded, seriously. “_ Well _ established. For like an hour.”

“..._ what?! _” Makoto gasped.

Ann coughed. “Well, it was right after Rei-chan and Ren cleared the air with each other. Bachan wasn’t home, and we.. ..._ anyway _ . Makoto, I can’t really answer that. We didn’t really _ decide _ . Things just… worked out.” She said, shrugging. “You shouldn’t really put pressure on yourself to--... wait. Is _ he _ putting pressure on you?”

“No! No…” Makoto said, shaking her head quickly. “I just… ...lately, when we’re together, I… ...I just keep hoping he’ll take the hint?”

“This is RyuRyu we’re talking about.” Shiho said, laughing. “Subtlety won’t work great on him. It’s even worse because he’s a good boy at heart. If you told him at the end of a date that you wanted to have breakfast with him, he’d ask you what time he should come by. Oh. Or…”

Shiho scampered off to Ann’s room. _ Now _ it was time for mockery.

Ann smiled. “It’s true, Makoto. I think you’ll have to actually _ tell _ him.”

“I… ...I guess I’ll try?” Makoto said, uncertainly. “What if he doesn’t want to?”

“He’s a teenage boy.” Ann said, rolling her eyes. She looked up as Shiho returned. She facepalmed as she recognized a specific shopping bag, one that Shiho had given her back in Hawaii.

“Or, Mako-chan, you could just pack these in with his chocolates.” Shiho said.

Ann waved her hand. “Shiho, no--”

She dumped out the contents of the bag. A multitude of square, foil-wrapped packages poured onto the kitchen island.

Makoto stared blankly at the pile of condoms. She picked one up, shaking her head.

“...Suzui. When you get a boyfriend, I swear to _ God _, I’m going to make you pay. Now, clean these up before someone sees!”

“Who’s going to see?” Shiho asked, rolling her eyes. “We’re--”

The front door opened. Bachan walked in, with a few shopping bags.

“Kei-chan! I’m home. I brought you and your friends some snacks. You’ll have to wait on the ice cream, though. It’s still a little...” Bachan looked up, taking in the scene. Shiho, about to burst out laughing. Ann, her face buried in her hands. And Makoto, frantically trying to sweep condoms into a shopping bag, but mostly just sweeping half of them onto the floor.

Bachan coughed.

“...The ice cream’s still a little _ hard _.”

>>>

February 14, 20xx 

Sojiro sighed, looking over Leblanc. The place was bustling. “Thanks for sticking around and helping out, kid. It gets crazy on Valentine’s Day.”

“No problem, Boss.” Ren said. “It’s not like I had anywhere else to be today.”

Sojiro smirked. “Heh. What, you and Ann get into a fight? That’s a shame. I tell ya, when _ I _was your age, hoo, boy--”

The cafe owner snatched the apron out of the air before it smacked him in the face. “What’s the big idea?!”

Ren flashed a grin at Sojiro as he pulled on his coat. “I said I didn’t have anywhere to be to_ day _ . Didn’t say anything about to _ night _. And really, are you sure you want to keep up with the ‘dirty uncle’ act? You’re a dad now, technically.”

Sojiro rolled his eyes. “Just go. Get out of here, and don’t be late for your first day back to school, punk. Or--”

“Or you’ll throw me out.” Ren said, laughing. He grabbed his bag, pausing at the door. “...Hey, Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for everything.”

>>>

“So… How was it?” Ann asked, eagerly. She was sitting at the kitchen island, kitty-corner to Ren. The apartment was dimly lit, with just a few candles on the island between the two of them. Chet Baker played softly in the background. It was a far more intimate setting than her family’s large-ish dining table. To anyone other than the couple, the meal that Ann had made was something of a contrast to the romantic atmosphere.

Mapo tofu for dinner, followed by French toast with peanut butter, condensed milk, and a bit of ice cream for dessert. A seemingly odd, discordant choice - except for the fact that these were the first two things that Ren ever cooked for Ann.

He shook his head in disbelief as he finished his dessert, remembering what her okayu tasted like when he was sick. “It’s almost perfect. How did you improve so much?”

Ann looked thoughtful. “Well. I asked Shiho for her advice.”

“Seriously?”

“And then I did the opposite of everything she said.” Ann said, nodding wisely.

Ren blinked. Ann looked at him seriously.

They both burst out laughing.

Ann giggled. “Ah, I’m kidding… Actually, it was a little embarrassing, but I called your mother.”

“Heh. Explains why she was so quick to hang up on me today.” Ren said.

“She was so happy to help…” Ann said, smiling. “She really misses you, you know…?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah… I miss them, too.”

Ann chewed on her lower lip. “...I guess it’s probably a good thing you’re going home next month. I mean, you’ve got your parents, your Coach, and Kana-chan all waiting for you. I mean, we’ll be fine. We can do the long-distance thing, and--”

“Ann…” Ren said, shaking his head. “You don’t need to do that.”

“What do you mean? I was just…”

Ann looked up at Ren, trailing off. He only leaned forward a fraction - and yet somehow, he seemed to fill her vision; his eyes caught the reflection of the candlelight between them, the dancing flame accentuating his smoke-colored irises. His lashes were actually long enough to cast little shadows. There was a time where Ann thought that long lashes were wasted on boys. Not so, now.

“...then, what should I do?” Ann murmured, her lips remaining just a little parted. Her hand quietly slid their plates out of the way. Her fingers stroked his forearm.

“Be selfish...” Ren said, his voice like melting honey. He moved as if to kiss her - instead, he took a slow breath, just in front of her ear. “Be selfish and greedy for me. I want to indulge you.”

Ann closed her eyes, her fingers tangling in his hair as he started to kiss her neck. “I… I can do that.”

“Songbird… Do you have a shoot coming up?”

Ann’s heart skipped a beat. She felt the involuntarily, anticipatory chill. She knew what that meant. When he asked that, it was a prelude to--

The blonde gasped, her back arching as Ren gently bit the junction between her shoulder and neck. She fell forward off the bar stool and into his arms, clutching at his back. She thought she had an idea of how badly she needed him after six weeks away. She thought she knew from the way she passed the lonely nights the extent of her want. But the way her body pressed against him instantly, the way they _ fit… _ The way her muscles went utterly lax in his arms at the mix of pleasure and pain when he bit her… The way her gasp devolved into soft, desperate moans as he started to kiss and nuzzle where he had bitten…

Clearly, she only understood the bare surface of her addiction to him.

She barely remembered to put out the candles in the kitchen as they made their way to her bedroom. Her hand lightly touched the skin on her neck; she was all but certain that he had left a mark. She kissed his jaw as he fumbled with the doorknob, before guiding her inside.

“Ren… You didn’t wait for me to answer.”

“Hm?” He murmured, starting to tug on her hoody’s zipper.

“About whether or not I had a shoot coming up.”

She shivered at the sound of his voice in her ear.

“That’s because I didn’t care.”

Ann’s eyes half-closed, feeling him divest her of her sweater. It was tempting to just get swept along at his pace. To let him take care of everything, to get lost in him. Her lips parted as he kissed her, savoring the slick heat of his tongue tasting her. His hand slid up her back, starting to unhook her bra under the black t-shirt she wore.

That reminded her of what she had wanted to do. She pushed him back.

Immediately, Ren halted. He looked at Ann, not with irritation, but equal measures of concern and confusion.

Ann’s heart nearly swelled out of her chest at that, nearly made her throw her arms around him again. Even on the cusp, he was so _ sweet _ with her. It made this next thing all the more important. It _ was _ Valentine’s Day, after all.

She stepped forward, putting a hand on Ren’s chest. She kissed him, softly.

“Go take a shower, Wildcard.”

“...What? I did, before I left--” Ren started to say, automatically.

Ann shook her head. She looked at him intently.

From the way she smiled; from the way her hand gently pressed on his chest, it became clear to him - Ann was stalling. She wanted him out of the room for just a few minutes. She winked at him, driving the point home.

“Go on… I’ll be right here, waiting.”

The demure glance drove the cocky joke about her joining him in the shower out of his mind. He disappeared into the bathroom.

>>>

He exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. As he stepped out of the walk-in closet that served as the ‘hall’ between Ann’s bedroom and bathroom, he stared in surprise as his eyes adjusted to the dim light.

The room was lit with candles. The bed was made; the sheets beckoning. But his love was nowhere to be seen.

He felt her presence behind him. He started to turn.

“Stop.” Ann murmured, a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t turn around yet.”

“Why…?”

“This is a little embarrassing.” Ann said, quietly. “It’s been awhile, and I haven’t worn something like this before. I’m not ready for you to see, not yet.”

“Now I _ really _ want to turn around.” Ren said, the corner of his mouth quirking. He behaved, though, remaining still.

“Do you trust me, Wildcard?” Ann asked.

“...Yes. Always.” Ren said.

“Good. Then just… hold still.”

He heard the soft pad of her footsteps as she drew closer. Her arms came up - dark fabric fluttered into his field of vision. A silk scarf, he realized. One that Ann carefully slid over his eyes, tying it in place as a blindfold. For an anxious split second, this made him think of his various incarcerations and interrogations, being bound and led around.

Then, he felt her.

The warmth of her chest against his back; her soft lips touching the nape of his neck. Her arms slipped around him, her palms flat against the muscles of his chest and abdomen as she held him. Reassured him. He trusted her… loved her. He lost himself to the feel of her. There was a thin layer of fabric between them; it felt almost immaterial with how light it was. Barely there. Whatever she was wearing, it seemed to be fairly _ impractical _.

Ren swallowed; his hands itched to touch her.

She took him by the hand, leading him towards the bed. She gently pushed him down into a seated position. He could tell from the shift in the air and the brush of her hair against his skin that she was in front of him, leaning forward.

“Lie down. On your stomach.”

He nodded. He rested his head on the pillow, turning his face to the side. He felt her lie alongside him, kiss his cheek, breathe hot air into his exposed ear. He shivered for the sensation and sound of it; moreso as her fingers lightly trailed the same path of the chill that had gone down his spine.

As she moved closer against him, He could feel the press of her breasts against his side. Covered, but _ definitely _ impractical, he decided. Whatever she was wearing. The mystery was both enticing and maddening; he shifted his hips slightly as his body responded to the images his mind conjured of what his love might be hiding from him.

The movement wasn’t lost to Ann, apparently. She giggled softly, moving. She shifted her position again, moving to sit astride Ren, on the towel that still wrapped around his pelvis. The added weight pushed his erection just a little harder against the bed under him, eliciting a quiet groan from the blindfolded boxer. She leaned forward.

“Mm. That’s a cute sound, Wildcard.” Ann said, amusement and arousal making her voice sound like smoke and silk. In the absence of vision, her voice just behind his ear seemed to fill his mind completely, massaging his brain into a euphoric ASMR-induced haze. Once again, the brush of something soft, cool and feathery against his back brought to mind every recollection he had of sheer material that covered _ nothing _.

He felt her hands slide across him, tracing the lines of his shoulders, the definition of his back and flanks. He heard what sounded like an appreciative little purr as she inspected him.

“Like what you see, Songbird?

“I do.” Ann said. She tugged the towel around his waist off, giving his firm glutes a small squeeze. “I really, really do. ... turn over.”

Ann moved off of him; he turned. Another quiet sound of approval before feeling the warmth of her breath against his lips, preceding the passionate kiss that followed. The blindfold subtly changed the dynamic of the touches; he felt her take the lead just a little more than usual; a flick of the tongue against his lips to part them before slipping past them, touching his teeth, exchanging saliva against his tongue.

As they parted, he felt her straddle him again. This time, the underside of his cock pressed against her crotch, separated by just a thin layer of some fabric that already felt hot, and damp, and _ barely _ there…

“_ Fuck _ … Ann…” Ren gasped, as she started to slowly roll her hips against him. A small corner of his mind wondered if there was a better term for this than ‘dry hump’. It seemed _ painfully _ inaccurate, as he realized all he had to do was push aside the seemingly thin strip of fabric he felt, and he’d be _ in _ her.

“Ah…” Ann moaned, taking her time in enjoying the friction. She guided Ren’s hands to her body, inviting them to her sides.

His hands slipped past the nearly phantom-fabric. He realized then, it was only a loose-fitting skirt of material attached to a bralette. Babydoll lingerie, he realized. His hands wandered; Ann mewled, arching her back as he cupped her full breasts. Decorated with a bow on the front. Lots of lace, by the feel.

“Can I take this blindfold off, yet?” Ren asked, unable to keep the near-desperation out of his voice.

An amused chuckle.

“No. But you’re being good, Wildcard. Good boys get rewarded.” She murmured. She moved off of him - but the disappointment was fleeting, as he started to feel light kisses down his chest… the hard muscle of his abdomen.

His hips involuntarily thrust forward as her hand brushed his cock, increasingly wet and messy with precum.

A frustrated growl and another amused giggle as she kissed his inner thighs, intentionally missing what he _ really _ wanted her to touch.

“Poor thing…” Ann said, softly.

“God…” Ren nearly whimpered. He didn’t have to wait long, though. He soon felt the light touch of her tongue to the tip of his glans. Just barely there. And then the long, slow, wet sweep as she licked the underside. Shaft, to tip, and then… all around him. He felt her head bob slowly up and down, in time with her hand squeezing and stroking just below where her lips were sealed around his cock.

The complete absence of visual input combined with his rapidly increasing sensitivity felt like it was completely short-circuiting his brain. It didn’t make _ sense _. Normally it was the visual stimulus that did it - seeing the perfectly beautiful model go down on him had driven him over the edge so many times in the past. But right now, in the enforced darkness of the blindfold, particularly when she guided his hands to her head, and he caressed, held, and ran his fingers through her hair…

It made brought to mind _ every single time _ she had done this for him in the past.

“Ann…! Ann, I’m going to… Oh, _ fuck _.”

If she heard him, she didn’t show it.

Aside from a brief reaction as he started to come, she continued steadily sucking and stroking. Ren felt like he was going to sink into the mattress and disappear. His skin was slick with sweat. He panted, every muscle in his body felt as formless and lax as jelly.

He felt Ann squeeze his thigh, as if calling for his attention. Her mouth was still on him; she made him fully aware of the feeling of her swallowing every drop of his cum.

“Holy…” Ren cursed, softly.

He felt her move yet again. He reached for the blindfold.

Slender fingers stopped him.

“Not yet.”

A frustrated groan was cut off as he felt the pillow sink on one side of his head, then the other. Her knees. And then a hand, gently sliding through his tousled hair. The heat of her crotch, lowering down towards his mouth.

Ren pushed the thin strip of fabric aside with his fingers before starting to kiss and lick her pussy.

Ann cried out loudly at that; her other hand steadied herself on his chest as her back arched. He thrust his tongue into her, lapping her up. He massaged her sex with his soft lips, licking and manipulating the nub of her aching clit. He welcomed the feeling of her thrusts against his mouth, trying to drive his tongue and lips deeper and harder into and against her wet pussy.

She pulled his hair; her other hand slid back and stroked his cock, erect again from the stimulation of drinking up her arousal, of her deliciously loud mewls and cries and moans.

He slid his hands up her taut belly, groping and fondling her chest, rubbing and stroking her aching nipples under her thin garment.

She screamed his name, thrusting hard against his face as he started to suck on her clit, soaking his chin with her quim. She moved back; he felt her settle over him. She was straddling him again, her crotch once again resting against the underside of his cock. The fabric of whatever she was wearing was still pushed aside; just a slight shift in his angle, in her angle, and… Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

“You… ...you can take off that blindfold, Wildcard.” Ann panted.

And so he did, no longer having to imagine what she _ might _ look like.

One thing was clear - his imagination was severely lacking.

Her face was flushed; the candlelight caught the light sheen of sweat on her body perfectly. The babydoll lingerie was indeed barely there, and incredibly impractical; A plunging, deep red bralette. A black bow decorating the cleft between her full breasts. An equally deep red but sheer skirt that flowed down from the bust, revealing a perfectly toned stomach. It was clear that Ann hadn’t slacked on her training, either.

And finally, as he had felt - a red thong, once again decorated with a black bow. The crotch shoved aside.

Ren froze, staring at her.

Ann’s boldness wilted just a little with the blindfold gone. “...Do you like it? Aren’t you going to say something?”

Ren shook his head. “I… … … wow.” He finished, sounding like his wits had utterly and completely left him.

Ann blinked, and then smirked slightly. “That’s pretty much what I was going for. Happy Valentine’s Day, Wildcard.”

Ann leaned forward, capturing his lips in a deep kiss. They both moaned into the kiss as she guided him, slowly taking his cock into her waiting sex, not bothering to take off the thong.

Ren resisted the urge to thrust up to hilt himself in her, to take his pleasure from her. Six weeks was a long time; he didn’t want to hurt her. He felt her tense on top of him, her breath catching for a moment. Tension mounted for every single millimetre he pushed into her. So close, now.

She then smiled against his neck, kissing the skin just below his ear.

“You’re so sweet…” She murmured. “I can tell from your hands how badly you want to…”

Ren was starting to leave the imprint of his fingertips on the smooth skin of her hips. “Ah. Well… It’s been awhile.”

She kissed his lips again. “Six weeks. But that just means I’ve _ needed _ you for six weeks, too.” She murmured. “Go ahead, Wildcard… Show me that you needed me, too.”

She gasped as he pulled down the bralette, nipping lightly at her erect nipple - and in that moment of distraction, he hilted himself within her, thrusting up as his hands pushed her hips down. The mounting tension roared to a breaking point, and then washed over into overwhelming pleasure, crashing through and radiating from her sex, through to her entire body. Every muscle in her contracted and relaxed; her mind went blank as everything that was remotely concerning her - Ren’s impending move back to Kamakura, exams, _ everything _, simply evaporated.

She was somewhat aware of Ren gently moving her. She was on her back… and he was thrusting his hips. Her body responded before her mind did - she spread her thighs, inviting him in as deep as she could have him. Thin lines were scratched across his broad back. The lingerie she had purchased for him was left on, barely, the spaghetti straps sliding down and freeing her breasts from the scant confines of the garment, bouncing and moving in time with his increasingly hard thrusts. She watched in rapt fascination as he panted, his grey eyes dark, his pupils dilated. She reached up for him, dragging him down to her waiting lips.

The six weeks apart didn’t seem to matter anymore. They were tuned to each other; their familiarity and mutual addiction made up for the lost time in an instant. Their movements ranged back and forth from tender lovemaking to mindless fucking; back and forth, over and over, until they couldn’t anymore.

Ren crushed Ann against his body, twitching and spasming inside of her, his release filling her, then spilling out from where they joined.

The feeling of him flooding her, making her his own, pushed Ann over the crest into another orgasm. She wrapped her legs around him, trapping him. Keeping him buried deep within her as her body convulsed against him, around him. Her hand found his; their fingers entwined as they indulged in the final few strokes before collapsing against each other.

They rolled onto their sides, facing each other.

Their eyes were half-lidded; smoky-grey met clear blue. Ren smiled sleepily; he swept some of Ann’s hair, now thoroughly messy, out of the way of his kiss.

Ann returned the kiss - a paradoxically chaste one - softly. “Mm. I didn’t even give you your chocolate yet, you know?”

“Ah… get it for me later.” Ren murmured. He cuddled her closer; pulled the blankets over their entwined forms. “You’re all I want, right now.”

“You might have to get it for yourself.” Ann said, kissing his sternum. “They’re really heavy. I put lots of love in there.”

Ren blinked. “...Did you just make that joke?”

“Mm. My sense of humor has gone down to your level. Take it as a point of pride, Wildcard. You’ve apparently fucked me senseless.”

Ren shook his head at the compliment/insult (complisult?). Before he drifted off to sleep, he found himself wondering - could he really bring himself to be long distance with this girl for a year?

Did they _ really _ have to…?

>>>

March 20, 20xx 

**RA: Sounds good. Thanks, Kaa-chan. I’ll let her know.**

**MM: Not a problem, sweetie. Your father’s thrilled. Just hurry on home, though! We can’t wait to see you.**

Ren smiled, putting away his phone. He was walking in Shibuya, his gym bag slung over his shoulder and a shopping bag full of _ omiyage _in his hand. He left Leblanc much earlier in the day to do some last minute shopping; now he was headed to the station to catch the train to Kamakura.

He paused, at the crosswalk, blinking at some commotion in the middle of the square.

“Heeeey! RenRen!” Ryuji yelled, grinning. He leaned _ way _ out of the passenger side window of a beat-up Toyota LiteAce van from the 1980’s. It looked like it _ might _ have been blue at one point in its lifespan. It was parked right in the middle of the square, the hood popped open. “Over here! Shotgun for eternity, by the way!”

“Damnit, RyuRyu! Shotgun for eternity is _ not _ a thing!” Shiho said, tossing her bag in the back.

“Hm. That hardly seems safe.” Yusuke intoned, walking up to stand beside Ren. “Though, I believe it could be more interesting than the train, Ren.”

Ren shook his head, laughing as he approached the van. Ann leaned out the rear sliding, stealing a kiss from him.

“Did you really think we were going to let you just disappear on to the train, Wildcard?” Ann asked, grinning. “Come on. Sit with me.”

Ren looked over the van dubiously. “Where did you even find this thing? And why are we parked out here?”

Futaba frowned. “Engine.exe wasn’t found. Tech support’s working on it.”

“..Tech support?” Ren asked.

He heard a clank and a muffled curse from the hood of the van. He walked over, looking inside. Mona was there, somehow installing a spark plug using his teeth, tail, and paws.

“Oh, hway wRen!” Mona said, around the plug. He installed it part of the way, before headbutting it the rest of the way in. “This is _ way _ harder without opposable thumbs.”

“How did you know it was the spark plug? Cat scan?”

Mona stared at Ren, frowning. As much as he could for a cat. “Just get in the van.”

Ren climbed in.

Haru blinked, looking at Ren’s gym bag and shopping bag. “That’s all you’re bringing with you? You’re packing pretty light… Is Sojiro just storing things for you, then?”

Futaba rolled her eyes. “Sojiro didn’t even notice He didn’t even seem that sad to see Ren-ni go.”

Ren shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Gremlin.”

Mona climbed into the van. “Give it a try, Makoto.”

The van sputtered to life.

“Nice! First try!” Makoto exclaimed. “Everyone buckle up. Next stop, Kamakura.”

The van pulled away, leaving behind two very confused agents in their car.

Ryuji frowned. “Hey, wait. We’re not just taking him straight home, are we?”

“There aren’t many places to stop between here and Kamakura, Ryuji.” Ren said. He grinned. “Besides. If you guys are free for the week, why don’t you just stay over?”

>>>

As the van merged off the 21 and onto the 134 at Yuigahama, the Phantom Thieves collectively gasped. The land just seemed to fall away to the sight of the ocean. Expansive, extending seemingly forever into the horizon.

“It’s beautiful…” Haru breathed.

“Mm.” Ren said, looking out. He opened the window, treating himself to the cool ocean air. The smell of salt and sea reminded him of home. One of his two homes…

Ann, at his side, smiled at him, a little sparkle in her eyes. “You know. They say the Pacific has no memory…”

Ren laughed, immediately recognizing the _ Shawshank _ reference.

“Just when I thought I couldn’t fall _ more _ in love with you…” He sighed. “...I hope that’s not true, though, Songbird. I have too many things I want to remember.”

“I know.” Ann said, nodding. “I hope so too. I hope it’s the opposite, Wildcard. I hope that the Pacific carries our memories and dreams forever.”

>>>

April 1, 20xx (Many Years Later…) 

The girl with the cello case stepped off the train in Aoyama-Itchome. She glanced at her phone in irritation, paying no mind to the people who stared at her. She was used to having eyes on her. After all, she had been a cellist from an early age in the United States, her country of birth. Audiences, recitals, and concerts were the norm for her. However, she wasn’t being stared at for her instrument. It was for her looks.

The Japanese-American girl had long, inky black hair. Pale, smooth skin. She was almost the picture-perfect _ yamato-nadeshiko _. Slender, graceful. Almost perfect, because instead of a demure glance, she had a bold, straightforward gaze. Hazel eyes seemed to shoot daggers at anyone she caught looking for too long. They were the eyes of a girl who knew what she wanted.

And what she wanted was to be home, in New York. Not moving to Japan for her first year of high school, even if it was the home country of her parents. And certainly not late on her first day.

_ ‘Ended up not even finding that umbrella. Thankfully, the train was faster than I thought it would be.’ _ She thought, sighing. She stepped out of the station, glancing up at the threatening grey sky. A fat, cool drop of water splashed onto her cheek. It quickly became a deluge.

“...Crap!”

She ran for it, holding her cello case above her head, glad she had listened to her father, a trumpet player, when he suggested she choose the case as carefully as she had selected her cello.

_ ‘Your cello needs a good home, Rin-chan. Without a home, it’ll feel and sound cold.’ _

She smirked sardonically. And now here _ she _ was. Away from home. Running in the cold rain. She wondered if she would sound cold, too. She sought refuge under an awning, glancing briefly up at the sign.

_ ‘Jeunesse et Beaute… ‘ _The little boutique looked like it had been there for years. As she wondered if the little Japanese woman behind the counter actually spoke French or not, she spotted someone else running along the road, apparently also seeking refuge.

He was unusually tall, by Japanese standards. He sported a hoody and track pants - the only way she recognized him as a fellow student was by the Shujin school bag he carried, slung over his shoulder alongside a larger gym bag. She realized he wasn’t running from the rain - he was moving at a practiced, regular pace; his head wasn’t scanning for a place to seek refuge. That was odd.

The girl arched an eyebrow in curiosity as he abruptly stopped running. He stood on his toes, his left foot sliding forward. His hands came up, apparently in some kind of fighting stance.

And then he _ moved _.

His hands sliced through the downpour as he shadowboxed. The speed of his hands was such that he cut brief outlines in the rain, sending the water flying.

The girl watched in shock. A musician, she immediately picked up on the fact that his movements had _ rhythm _. The way his punches snapped; the way each of his movements was a kinetic chain from feet to fist. He slipped and dodged around his imagined opponent before suddenly resuming his run.

He stumbled, right outside the awning. His shoelace was undone.

He ducked under the shelter beside her; he knelt to tie his shoe, throwing his hood back.

Her eyes widened in surprise. _ ‘...Blonde? ...and cute.” _

>>>

The boy jogged down the street, past Aoyama-Itchome station. He could have taken the train, but he lived close enough to Shujin that running was a convenient way to get the day’s roadwork in. His pace was quick, his condition good - like all Takeda boxers. The route _ was _ slightly shorter than what he did in Kamakura.

Reflexively, he looked over his shoulder.

_ ‘Onee-san is two hours south of here. I’m fine. She’ll never know that I’m running one kilometre less… …’ _

He shivered, glancing over his shoulder again. His feeling of foreboding didn’t fade until he resolved to do a little more running at the end of the day.

It started to rain, but the young boxer didn’t mind. In Kamakura, he ran regardless of the weather. And his uniform was clean and protected inside his bag, anyhow. He came to a stop at the end of his interval, shadow boxing. He smiled with anticipation for the coming year. It was a tough decision to leave Kamakura for Tokyo. Things were good, there. Comfortable. But his father hadn’t become the boxer he was by being comfortable.

_ ‘Your dad would never say he’s grateful for what happened, sweetheart. He’d say thinking that way is selfish. But if he hadn’t been sent to Tokyo, he wouldn’t have met his closest friends… all your aunts and uncles. He wouldn’t have met me. He wouldn’t be the boxer he is today. And more importantly, he wouldn’t be the person he is today. So… if you want to go to Shujin, to try to make your mark the same way he did, we’re both happy to support you.’ _

He sighed. It was going to be lonely, though. At least for awhile.

_ ‘Especially if Ryuto doesn’t get his ass out of bed to join me on these runs.’ _

He started jogging again, nearly falling on his face as his shoelace came undone. He ducked under the nearby awning beside another student, kneeling to tie his shoe without really looking at her. He rolled his eyes in irritation when he felt them burning a hole in the side of his head after he threw his hood back. At least in Kamakura, everyone was used to the sight of him and his mother, with their blonde hair and height. In Tokyo, people gawked.

“Hey. Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer!...”

She was beautiful. No. That didn’t cover it. He was raised by a model and boxer. He grew up around beautiful people. Glamorous people. This was different. He knelt there, looking up at her, trying to figure out _ why. _

She started to glare at him.

>>>

Unexpected blonde hair aside, he was cute, definitely. His hair was messy; he had those ash grey eyes. They flashed quicksilver as he snapped at her.

“Hey. Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer!...”

She covered her embarrassment with indignation, glaring at him.

“What am I supposed to do? You were punching the air like a maniac, and then _ you _ ran under this awning! I was here first—“

“**You’re American?”** He asked, in fluent English.

The girl was surprised. **“Yes. How did you know…?”**

He smiled up at her. He smiled, and oh, he was beautiful.

“Your eyes.” He said, in Japanese. “It’s your eyes.”

>>>

It was her eyes. That’s what made her more than beautiful. The way she sized him up like he was an opponent in the ring; the way she glared at him. And now, the way they lit up when he spoke in English.

“...but other than your eyes, it’s the luggage tag and American flag on your cello case.” He added, his smile turning into a cheeky grin.

She blinked. She started to smile; her laughter was like music.

Their laughter settled down after a moment. He stared up at her; she looked down at him.

She raised her eyebrow at him. “Can you… you know, stand up? This is weird.”

It was the boy’s turn to look surprised. He sprang to his feet, his shoelace forgotten. He stumbled forward with a yelp.

The girl caught him, steadied him. They gripped each other by the forearms.

“Oh…!”

“Sorry.”

His father’s words came to mind.

_ ‘I met your mother on my first day at school… ...well. I wasn’t even _ ** _at_ ** _ school, yet. I think… I think the only thing I regret was that I didn’t get her name, right there and then. Everything worked out, mind you. It’s just that… well. You can call me selfish. But we could have gotten started that much sooner.’ _

>>>

The girl looked up at him. He really _ was _tall. It reminded her of home - New York home. Her mother’s words came to mind.

_ ‘Rin-chan… I know you’re disappointed about not getting into that music program. I know you weren’t expecting to move to Tokyo with us. I’m sorry for that. But life’s like that, sometimes. I thought I was meant to be somewhere else, with someone else. But then I ended up here. I found my career, and I found your father. I thought I missed my chance at that kind of love, and he proved me wrong. So… promise me. Keep an open mind. Maybe Tokyo will become home for you in the way New York became home for me?’ _

She let go of him.

“...the rain stopped.” She said, smiling.

“Ah… yeah. Hey. Want to walk with me?”

“Sure.” She peered at his bag, a wry smile spreading across her face. “Although, a guy who has to write ‘sincerity’ on his gym bag is a bit suspicious. Like a car salesman calling himself ‘Honest Bob’.”

“Ah. That’s my given name, actually. It’s because my father and I used to train out of the same gym. We’re both Amamiya.”

“So…?”

“Seiji. Seiji Amamiya.” The blonde boy said, smiling. He looked at the luggage tag, and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you. Nakazawa-san?”

“Karin. Karin Nakazawa.” She shook his hand, smiling back. “So you’re a boxer?”

“Mmhm. Aspiring facepuncher. And that’s a cello? Can you do the Ray Brown arrangement of _ ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ _?”

“Oh. A man of culture. Be still my beating cello…”

They started to walk down the street, laughing and chatting. The freshly fallen rain conjured the smell of cut grass and petrichor. It was the scent of renewal. The fragrance of beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, wow. So I made it...? I had all these brilliant ideas for end/author notes, but as usual, they've completely fallen out of my head.
> 
> So first of all, and most importantly - if you've read all the way to the end, thank you! This became a way bigger project than I thought, even though I knew roughly how this was going to go down from the start. All of your kudos/comments/hits really kept me motivated. Also special thanks to the ShuAnn Discord, all my other fellow P5/ShuAnn authors for keeping me going also.
> 
> Second of all, to unpack this ending - this is sort of a 'full closure' ending for people who aren't interested in reading all the layers of fluff/other stuff I have planned. You can interpret the end as you will; basically Ren and Ann are living their best life, and clearly, Reiko is doing pretty well, too. I don't know why, but I like the idea of things going full circle. This isn't to say that Ann was the 'second choice' for Ren, and that things are okay only because Ren and Reiko's kids are hitting it off. 
> 
> I wrote this more as a way of the universe trying to gently make amends for everything they've all been through. Or maybe it's the Reiko of the other world getting her wish.
> 
> Third, Ryuto - Yeah, derivative. Don't care. Makoto isn't that self-centered; she picked the 'to' part of the name for her father (who I named 'Toshi')
> 
> Fourth - Faith. This has been a recurring theme in GtD. I'm not a religious person. But one of the things I was taught in martial arts was the idea of belief. An overarching belief in something bigger than yourself. This is more what I've been getting at (and probably beating like a dead horse). Realistically, you can probably explain things like 'ki' with 'experience', 'anticipation', 'intimidation', whatever. I started out like that. But eventually, I just... didn't need to. The explanation wasn't and isn't important. It just is, and that's okay with me.
> 
> Last of all, To quote one of my favorite movies: "And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further."
> 
> Things I have planned (hopefully will get them done at some point, after a break):
> 
> 1) Going the Distance: Extra Rounds (Will get into things like Hayakawa/Takemi's proposal, the week off in Kamakura, maybe an actual wedding). Meeting the future in laws. Etc. This is my candy, damn it.  
2) Shuann Week stuff for GtD AU: White Day  
3) RyuKoto Week stuff for GtD AU: Ryuji helps Makoto during finals, Sae spies on Ryuji like a creepy ass creeper. Makoto possibly takes Shiho's advice about the 'extras' to go with the chocolate. That, or Shiho packs them in without Makoto's knowledge.
> 
> Almost forgot! When Ren gets drunk, he actually does say Songbir**b**. This is intentional.


End file.
